“Dutton Ranch” hasn’t even aired yet, and there’s already drama.
The “Yellowstone” spinoff, which is set to premiere in just three weeks, has “quietly let go” of its showrunner, Chad Feehan.
“Chad won’t be returning should the show be picked up for a second season,” a source told Page Six.
Insiders told Puck, who was first to report the news on Friday, that Feehan allegedly “clashed on set” with series stars and executive producers Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly, who portray Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton, respectively.
In addition to Reilly and Hauser, “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios boss David Glasser reportedly weren’t happy with Feehan’s work on Season 1.
While Sheridan created the original “Yellowstone” world, Feehan came on board as the showrunner for Season 1 of “Dutton Ranch.”
Puck reported Friday that Paramount is “confident in the show,” but the issue behind the scenes has been with how Feehan ran production.
Page Six has reached out to Paramount and Feehan for comment.
“Yellowstone” aired on Paramount from 2018 to 2024, and followed the powerful Dutton Ranch family, which included patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his adult children: sons Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Jamie (Wes Bentley), spitfire daughter Beth (Reilly), and her husband, Rip (Hauser).
“Yellowstone” ended with — spoiler alert! — John and Jamie dead, Beth and Rip moving away and Kayce getting back to his roots as a US Marshal (which is chronicled on his own spinoff show, “Marshals,” currently airing on CBS and renewed for Season 2).
“Dutton Ranch” will continue to follow the story of fan-favorite couple Beth and Rip as they relocate from Montana (where “Yellowstone” was set) to Texas.
Feehan getting the axe is just the latest event in a long line of behind-the-scenes drama involving the “Yellowstone” cast.
Costner left the original series after the first half of Season 5, amid rumors of a feud with Sheridan.
Then, in November 2023, Hauser’s coffee brand, Free Rein Coffee Company, was sued by Bosque Ranch — which is owned by Sheridan.
The suit claimed that Free Rein used “a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers,” according to San Angelo Live.
On Dec. 20 of that same year, the suit was dismissed.
“Dutton Ranch” premieres May 15 at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network and Paramount+.
