Annette Bening as Beulah Jackson in 'Dutton Ranch.' Emerson Miller/Paramount+. Logo text [This story contains major spoilers from Dutton Ranch’s season one finale, “El Padrino.”]
Annette Bening was lured into the Taylor Sheridan-verse by Beulah Jackson. She was already a fan of Yellowstone when the Dutton Ranch role came to her, and playing a rancher who is one of most powerful women in Texas was too juicy to pass up.
“They told me the [whole] story. All of that was just so appealing and exciting, like a new adventure; a new place to go,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter about saddling up with Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, as well as Yellowstone franchise newcomer Ed Harris, for Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler’s spinoff — where she plays a rival ranch boss who we know now made a deal with the cartel.
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Dutton Ranch just concluded its first season and already has a second season on the way. Reilly and Hauser told THR the writers room starts soon, with production slated for early 2027 after a cliffhanger finale that set up an all-out war between the Jackson family and their 10 Petal Ranch with the Duttons. The season ended with Beth and Rip’s adopted son Carter (Finn Little) being abducted by the family that Beulah scorned when going into business with the infamous Beth Dutton.
“Everything’s on the table [but] the one thing that’s más importante is that we get our kid back. Carter needs to come home,” Hauser said in a post-finale chat. Meanwhile Natalie Alyn Lind, who plays Bening’s onscreen granddaughter Oreana, said the actors who make up the Jackson family have been privy to their backstory from the get-go: “I hope it’s brought into season two,” she teased.
THR spoke with Bening when Dutton Ranch premiered, after she had wrapped filming on season one and was waiting to hear what the future would hold. Spoiler alert: the spinoff was a hit out of the gate and became the biggest original series debut in Paramount+ history. Below, Bening shares why she joined the Yellowstone-verse and what’s most appealing to her about a possible multi-season run as Beulah Jackson.
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How did this role first come to you to make your entrance into the Taylor Sheridan-verse?
I don’t know that I can tell you when exactly. They just came and said, “Hey, we’d like you to be part of this. It’s another season with Yellowstone characters” — and then they told me the story. They said, “Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser,” and I said, “Wow,” because I was so in love with them on Yellowstone. Then they also told me that Ed Harris would possibly be in it, and that maybe we would have a thing. Then they told me the [whole] story. All of that was just so appealing and exciting, like a new adventure; a new place to go.
So you were a fan of Yellowstone going into Dutton Ranch.
Yes.
Had you ever met Kelly Reilly or Cole Hauser?
I had not. I was really intrigued. I didn’t know Cole personally, but I watched his work for a long time. And Kelly Reilly, I was completely blown away by what she did in Yellowstone as an actress; I just admired her so much. I was very interested to get to meet them and know them. I’m a big admirer of Kelly’s. I think a lot of what Yellowstone was is because of Kelly. She knows how to bring the stakes really high. And the writing is, obviously, phenomenal. Taylor Sheridan’s ability to write these characters is phenomenal.
Our show is not a Taylor Sheridan-written show. We had a showrunner named Chad [Feehan] who did our story. [Note: Feehan exited after season one; Benjamin Cavell is showrunner for season two.] But I knew there was a potential to make something really juicy and interesting with high stakes, so that’s why I jumped in. And, of course, it was Beulah — what her complications and her desires are, and what’s in the way of them and all of that.
After coming in with such an admiration for Kelly, you then are the “villain” who gets to spar with her and keep Beth on her toes.
I love this idea that I’m keeping her on her toes ! (Laughs.). It was just so much fun. What’s underneath Beulah and what’s really driving her is what interests me. What is behind all this need for power and control? And a lot of it is trying to please her dad and the legacy of the ranch and trying to keep the ranch alive, quite frankly, just as a businesswoman. She’s trying to hold this ranch up. This business is tough these days for real ranchers. And then she has two amazing sons [played by Juan Pablo Raba and Jai Courtney; the latter whose character was killed in the finale] and we have a lot of problems in our family. We’re trying to keep it all together, and we’re not doing that very well, but that’s what the show is about. It’s about people trying, and what choices they make to keep everything together, and quite frankly, Beulah makes some really dodgy choices.
How much did you know about the story when you signed on?
We talked through the whole thing. Although things evolved and changed as we made the show, they told me the whole story. The whole thing, which is one of the actual, really interesting things about doing a streamer is this vast arc of storytelling. You do a film with the beginning, middle and the end as you’re working through it. Here, we also know that, but the nuances and how it changes and develops as the shooting process goes on is really a kick.
It was reported early on that Dutton Ranch could be a five-season show. Was a vision laid out for you?
I’ve never heard the five-season thing. But having a certain amount of uncertainty and thinking, “where is this going to go?” is fun. That’s interesting to me. Then hopefully, I can contribute something and bring a dimension to whatever ideas they have going on that makes it stronger.
With a Yellowstone sequel — a spinoff of the biggest hit on television — it’s safe to say the goal from Paramount+ is for the series to go on for multiple seasons. Does that appeal to you, to do several years of television?
Yes! It’s all the group that you’re hanging out with, and this is wonderful company to be in the midst of; everyone. We had a very, very harmonious experience. So, for me, at this stage, I get to do this interesting, challenging new world of Texas and ranching and being in Texas, and shooting there. It’s refreshing for me as a person, but also as an actor trying to find what’s underneath this woman. And working with people I really admire. I love walking on the set and seeing each of them — the guys playing my sons and my granddaughter; everyone. It’s really a pleasant experience.
Beth describing Beulah as “grizzly in Gucci” caught on quickly. When you got to set and put on her wardrobe, was there a moment where you felt like you found her, or did you prep to find her?
I did a lot of thinking and rooting around inside of her; asking questions, like always. But also, the whole world of the way that women dress up in Texas is, for me, beautiful, and really a wonderful part of Beulah. Not all of the ranch women are into bling, but many of them are. Especially if it’s a rodeo day or a going-out-on-the-town day or to a party. I’ve really fallen in love with that part of the world of the women in Texas, as well as listening to people and finding what I was comfortable with in terms of the voice and accent. Like everywhere in the world, there are lots of varieties of accents and strengths, so I wanted to try to find something that felt real for me. I did a lot of that work, too. It’s all just a pleasure.
John Dutton (Kevin Costner’s now-deceased Dutton patriarch) was the subject of conversation between Beth and Rip in the first episode. Many viewers came in knowing Yellowstone history, but you’re also creating a whole new world with the Jackson family. How would you say you’re catering to a new audience as well as the incoming audience as Dutton Ranch goes?
I don’t worry so much about that, personally. My focus is really on what I can do and trying to keep the stakes really high and defend my character, which I do. When people say, “She’s a villain.” She’s not a villain. She’s just a woman trying to do her job. She’s got a ranch to run, she’s got some complicated kids; a wonderful granddaughter who has issues. And she’s also trying to find love in her life. It’s not hard to play opposite Ed Harris and fall in love. Everett and Beulah, I love their storyline. I love that they knew each other when they were quite young, and they’ve known each other their whole lives living in this small town in southern Texas. Beulah is trying to make that happen.
Showrunner Chad Feehan exited after season one. I understand that Taylor Sheridan as executive producer is very involved. Does this feel like a big change to have a new showrunner for a season two? [Writer’s note: This interview took place before season two and Benjamin Cavell as showrunner were confirmed.]
A big part of our show has been Christina [Alexandra] Voros, who is a very talented director. She came up in the Yellowstone world and she’s phenomenal. She started as a camera operator, and is a trained cinematographer and a trained filmmaker. She got into operating and cinematography, then directing. She’s a big part of our show. I am such a fan of hers. She’s a woman who is able to be in charge in the most phenomenal way. She’s very confident in herself. She’s open; a hell of a lot of fun. Christina deserves a lot of credit for Yellowstone, as well as what’s happening in our show. I hope people enjoy the show. It’s meant to be entertaining and fun. We were definitely trying to build towards a finale that gets people really interested and is entertaining to watch and has high stakes.
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Dutton Ranch is now streaming all of season one on Paramount+. Read our show coverage here, including our spoiler finale interviews with Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, and Natalie Alyn Lind.
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