The first season of Dutton Ranch went about as well as Taylor Sheridan & Co. could have hoped, as far as delivering stellar ratings from the very start, to the point where it was the fifth most-watched show of the 2025-2026 TV season. Behind the scenes, however, things were slightly less than hunky-dory, at least when it comes to esteemed co-star Ed Harris, who spoke harshly about feeling he was misled regarding his character’s involvement.
Harris went off on a mini-rant about filming Season 1 of Dutton Ranch while giving an interview for his Apple TV film The Dink, saying he was sold on his character Everett being one of the four leads, and that he’d have major impact on the story. The actor did not feel that promise was delivered on whatsoever, and even though his complaints are only now making headlines, Deadline reports that Harris’ dissatisfaction was directly responsible for creator and former showrunner Chad Feehan exiting the drama.
At the time, no details were provided regarding the specifics for why Feehan vacated the series, his second showrunning gig for Taylor Sheridan after Lawman: Bass Reeves. But if it was indeed due to creative differences involving one of the show’s most globally renowned stars, I can understand why that was kept from public knowledge.
Though it isn’t clear if Harris and Feehan talked their grievances out ahead of the latter’s exit, it does seem like the actor took a vested interest in making sure the replacement wouldn’t step in and pull something similar. It’s reported that he was involved with seeking out and securing Feehan’s replacement.
Dutton Ranch‘s new showrunner is Benjamin Cavell, whose next TV effort will be the second season of MGM+’s upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Institute. He previously developed Paramount+’s The Stand miniseries, and also created the CBS-turned-streaming drama SEAL Team. Though arguably the gig that makes him the best fit for Rip and Beth’s world is his seasons writing for Justified.
コール・ハウザーは以前、エド・ハリスがシーズン2でより大きな役割を果たすべきだと語っており、それは後に振り返れば半ば予言的だったようにも感じられる。俳優が潜在的な騒動を前触れなく指摘してエベレットの出演回数の増加を示したこと、あるいは単にハリウッドの伝説的な俳優と共演できること自体に興奮していただけなのか、どちらもあり得る。
ハリスが挙げた大きな不満点の一つは、開幕エピソードのシーンで彼のキャラクターがバーのステージで歌を歌うはずだった場面だった。撮影に対して彼が興奮しすぎていたとは思えず、結局そのシーンは最終編集には使われなかった。ハリスによれば次のとおりだ：
I’m talking to Kelly at the bar and Cole comes in and says, ‘Okay, Everett, C’mon it’s your turn.’ I walk up to the mic and they cut it. They cut the song out. Fuck you people. . . . They said it was too up for the dark ending of that episode, and that to me was reason enough to say, ‘I’m voiding my contract.’
Perhaps ironically, Ed Harris doesn’t necessarily think it’s clear after watching the first season of Dutton Ranch that Everett was indeed underused. But that doesn’t devalue his experiences during the production. As he put it:
When I watched this season, and it’s fine, and I thought it’s pretty good. I felt fine about what I did in it, and it seemed like I was relatively important to the story, but the doing of it did not feel that way.
I can’t wait to see how Season 2 plays out now, and whether or not Everett will immediately have huge stakes to deal with right out of the gate now that Benajamin Cavell is in the showrunner seat. It likely isn’t getting here until 2027, but in the meantime, all of Season 1 can be streamed in full via Paramount+ subscription.
