If you’re the one person not watching Dutton Ranch, this is your time to catch up. The latest spinoff in Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone universe follows Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) navigating their new life in South Texas. The show dropped the first two episodes on May 15 and since then, fans have tuned in every Friday to see the fate of their favorite characters.
With only two more episodes left of the first season, many have been hearing rumors Hauser is leaving the show. Even worse, there are terrible rumors about Rip’s potential fate. Don’t worry, we’re here to clear up to set the gossip straight about fans’s number one question: Is Cole Hauser leaving the show?
Is Cole Hauser leaving Dutton Ranch?
No way!
Hauser is the star and executive producer of the series. In an interview with PEOPLE, Hauser opened up about the importance of his and Reilly’s new roles as executive producers. “It was more responsibility, to be quite honest, which I think Kelly and I took on and enjoyed for the most part. We put a lot of work into the continuation of the show with Christina Alexandra Voros, with Chad Feehan and everybody else that was part of it,” said Hauser. Safe to say, Hauser isn’t leaving the show anytime soon.
Does Rip Wheeler still run the Dutton Ranch?
No. This may be why fans are convinced Hauser will be departing the show, but the real truth is that Rip is now in charge of the 10-Petal Ranch. Rip, his foreman Azul (J.R. Vilarreal), and ranch hand Zachariah (Marc Menchaca) had to euthanized the entire Dutton Ranch herd after a foot-and-mouth outbreak. Per the USDA, foot-and-mouth disease is “a severe, fast-spreading viral disease that primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and deer.” The USDA site also describes FMD as “one of the most challenging animal diseases to control.”
Is Rip Wheeler going to die on Dutton Ranch?
Very unlikely. It would be shocking if Rip Wheeler were to be killed off in the first season. However, don’t expect things to be easy peasy for Rip.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Dutton Ranch, which is streaming on Paramount+
In the last episode, we discovered Rip might be in more trouble than we thought since Rob-Will’s back in the picture. As you know, Rob-Will has it out for Rip after he took over 10-Petal Ranch when Rob-Will was sent to a rehab. In two weeks time we shall see Rip’s fate. While we should be worried for Rip, there’s almost zero chance he won’t stick around. We can’t get enough of Rip and Beth!
