Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler, has opened up about the nine-month North Texas production that tested the cast and crew at every turn. The 51-year-old actor revealed in a freshly published People interview that the show nearly never reached the record-breaking success it achieved, thanks to 106°F (41.1°C) temperatures, 3,400 rattlesnakes removed by professional wranglers, and a four-day ice storm shutdown that halted filming entirely.

Production on Dutton Ranch ran from August 2025 through March 2026, primarily in Ferris — roughly 20 miles south of Dallas — with additional locations in Fort Worth, Dallas, Weatherford, Mineral Wells, Boyd, Cleburne, and Rio Vista. The shift from Yellowstone’s Montana landscapes to North Texas brought Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler into new territory, but it also introduced conditions that no Montana shoot could have prepared the crew for.

Director and executive producer Christina Alexandra Voros, who previously served as Yellowstone’s longtime cinematographer, described the first week of filming as approximately 106°F (41.1°C). Hauser, who typically adds around 25 pounds to his frame before stepping into character as Rip Wheeler, found himself fighting the heat for every single pound. “I was trying to keep weight on,” he told People. “I usually put on about 25 pounds, but it was hard to keep it on. I was sweating it out.”

The season did not become easier as winter arrived. Near the end of the shoot, the production ground to a complete halt when an ice storm rolled through North Texas. “We finished the show in March and we got shut down for four days because of an ice storm,” Voros told People. The director summed up the range of conditions the crew endured across the eight-month shoot in blunt terms: they experienced “every weather emoji.”

What Wrangled 3,400 Rattlesnakes While Beth Dutton Ran Through Fields in Stilettos

North Texas ranch country introduced one additional occupational hazard that no Montana production would have prepared the crew for: rattlesnakes. Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show alongside co-star Kelly Reilly in May 2026, Hauser revealed that professional snake wranglers removed 3,400 reptiles from set across the eight-month shoot. Fox News reported that one rattlesnake discovery that shut down production occurred at a night-shoot location where director Voros discovered between 40 and 50 rattlesnakes, forcing filming to stop for the evening before work could resume.

Up to six snake wranglers worked on set simultaneously to keep the cast and crew safe. Kelly Reilly described the experience in vivid terms, telling The Kelly Clarkson Show: “We have snake wranglers, like, literally six of them on set at any point, and I’m in these stiletto heels running through fields. And I’m just praying, ‘Please let them have got all the snakes in this vicinity.’”

Voros offered the show’s earned perspective from behind the camera: “Our crew is really intrepid. Our cast is really intrepid. We got through all of it, but it wasn’t easy,” she told People.

Life Without Taylor Sheridan — and the Creative Turbulence Nobody Saw Coming

The physical conditions, grueling as they were, ran parallel to a creative challenge that proved equally demanding. Dutton Ranch marked the first entry in the Yellowstone franchise not written by Sheridan himself — a significant departure for a franchise in which Sheridan personally wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of Yellowstone’s 53 episodes.

Hauser was candid about what that absence meant for the cast. “There were challenges, you know? Not having Taylor there, for us to really kind of be able to work with these new writers, these new directors, these people — everything had changed,” he told Film Inside NYC. “The only normality that we had whatsoever was Carter [Finn Little], Christina [Voros], Kelly and myself.”

Compounding the creative reset was a behind-the-scenes shakeup that became public weeks before the premiere. Chad Feehan — who created the series and served as its Season 1 showrunner, having written all nine episodes — showrunner Chad Feehan exited the series before Dutton Ranch ever aired. According to reporting from Puck and confirmed in subsequent coverage, Feehan’s exit followed tensions with cast members and principal stakeholders including Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios chief David Glasser. Ed Harris, who was cast as ranch veterinarian Everett McKinney with the expectation of a main character role alongside Beth, Rip, and antagonist Beulah Jackson, later spoke publicly about his dissatisfaction. “Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do — and that I was one of the four main characters,” Harris told Variety. “And that wasn’t really the case.” He told his representatives mid-production to “get me the f— out of here,” Harris felt misled about his role on the show.

Harris added that his character’s arc will expand in Season 2, and he remains attached to the show.

How Does 3,400 Rattlesnakes Feel When 13.3 Million People Are Watching?

It feels like a trade worth making, according to Hauser. Dutton Ranch’s premiere drew the biggest original series debut ever on Paramount+, amassing 12.9 million views globally in its first seven days — surpassing every previous original series launch in the streamer’s history, including The Madison (8 million views in its first 10 days in March 2026). The show went on to average Season 1 averaged 13.3 million views per episode over the full season, finishing as the No. 1 title on Paramount+ globally every week since its May launch. On Paramount Network, the two-episode premiere drew 2.9 million viewers, marking the biggest cable series premiere since 2023, per Deadline.

Rotten Tomatoes logged the show at 88% Certified Fresh, per Paramount.

“All in all, I think the whole season was tough,” Hauser told People, “but it was very rewarding in the end. The audience loved it. The critics loved it. I can’t wait to continue to make Dutton Ranch as good as it can be.”

Benjamin Cavell and What Comes Next for Rip and Beth

When Dutton Ranch was renewed for a second season in June 2026, Paramount moved quickly to establish new creative leadership. In late June, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Benjamin Cavell named showrunner for Season 2.

Cavell’s résumé is built around exactly the kind of character-forward, ensemble-driven Western storytelling that the franchise requires. He spent six seasons on Justified — ending as an executive producer — and has writing credits on Homeland. He is the creator of the CBS/Paramount+ military drama SEAL Team (seven seasons) and co-created the Paramount+ limited series The Stand, based on the Stephen King novel, per Benjamin Cavell showrunner credits. Most recently, he created The Institute MGM Plus adaptation of another King novel.

Hauser has been direct about his enthusiasm. “We have a wonderful new showrunner, Benjamin Cavell, and I’ve been talking to him. He’s a very special guy, and I think the future is bright — not only for myself, but Beth [Kelly Reilly] and Carter [Finn Little] and the show in general. I think this is going to be a really nice next step,” he told People.

Sheridan, who was absent from Season 1’s writers’ room, is expected to take a more active role going forward. Kelly Reilly told The Hollywood Reporter that conversations with Sheridan about Season 2 were already underway and that Sheridan wants to be involved: “We talk to him now about what the next season could be, and he wants to be involved.”

Per Screen Rant, Season 2 filming begins February 2027, with the writers’ room ramping up in the months before cameras roll. The Season 1 finale’s cliffhanger — Carter’s abduction by the cartel — gives Cavell and Sheridan a clear dramatic foundation to build from, with Hauser confirming that bringing Carter home is the overriding priority for Beth and Rip. “The one thing that’s most important is that we get our kid back,” he said, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Season 1 is streaming now on Paramount+.