‘Dutton Ranch’ Showrunner Exits Show Before the Debut of Its First Season Due to Off-Camera Drama

Yellowstone's success had a mass effect on the U.S. TV industry, launching several spin-off shows, bolstering the careers of its stars, establishing creator Taylor Sheridan as an instant greenlit project creator, and re-framing Paramount+'s network lineup and revitalizing the legacy Hollywood studio.

With so much riding on the success of these properties, it's not surprising that higher-ups pay meticulous attention to how they're being managed. And Dutton Ranch is no exception, as it's had a showrunner change before the debut of its first season.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote on April 24, 2026, that Chad Feehan was exiting the show ahead of its series premiere on May 15, meaning that if it gets renewed for Season 2, which seems likely given its direct ties to its wildly successful predecessor, Feehan won't be overseeing production.

The show follows Yellowstone leads Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser (who play Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler) as they strive to keep their new life in South Texas afloat. Its logline is as follows: "As Beth and Rip fight to build a future together — far from the ghosts of Yellowstone — they collide with brutal new realities and a ruthless rival ranch that will stop at nothing to protect its empire. In South Texas, blood runs deeper, forgiveness is fleeting, and the cost of survival might just be your soul."

Carter (Finn Little), their son, will come back to the Yellowstone fold, and Natalie Alyn Lind, Ed Harris, Annette Bening, Marc Menchaca, J.R. Villareal, Juan Pablo Raba, and Jai Courtney will also be featured in the series. Taylor Sheridan and John Linson are listed as executive producers on the series.

According to Variety, Feehan's exit had to do with some off-camera drama that had production had with the first season's nine-episode order. The outlet also cited reports from Puck, which stated that the show's stars, along with Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios' higher-up David Glasser, weren't too happy with Feehan's work on the series.

And this isn't the first time one of Sheridan's properties had showrunner drama. The Sylvester Stallone-led crime drama Tulsa King didn't even have a showrunner for its fourth season. 101 Studios executive Scott Stone instead oversaw the day-to-day operations of its episodes.

Even more showrunner woes came to another Sheridan property, Tulsa King's own spin-off, Frisco King. Dave Erickson was supposed to be in charge of filming, but was booted from the show before DPs ever hit the record button.

Feehan is credited as the creator of Dutton Ranch, which is based on characters that have been created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. He's previously worked on another Sheridan series: Lawmen: Bass Reeves, an eight-episode miniseries that was featured on Paramount+, in which Feehan was also credited as a creator.

Screenrant also commented on Feehan's departure, stating that he was "relieved of his duties." The outlet wrote on X that "the reason for this is less to do with any creative or story reasons, and more to do with the fact that Feehan clashed with important figures who had been on Yellowstone for years."

As for who will take his place, there hasn't been an official passing of the mantle as of this writing. CBR speculated that someone from the Season 1 writing team may take the job. Additionally, reports indicate that although there was tension between Feehan and others off-camera, Sheridan and others were ultimately happy with how Season 1 turned out.