It’s fair to say that Yellowstone might not be worth watching anymore if Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip’s (Cole Hauser) upcoming show, tentatively titled The Dutton Ranch, repeats Taylor Sheridan’s trend with the Dutton family spinoffs. The franchise has two Yellowstone spinoffs, 1883 and 1923, and they both explore past generations of the Dutton family tree.

Following the ending of Yellowstone in late 2024, several spinoffs are in development, most of which will continue the modern-day story. Reilly and Hauser’s The Dutton Ranch, Michelle Pfeiffer’s The Madison, and Luke Grimes’ Y: Marshals will all take place in the present, and one show in particular must avoid the ending we see in the prequels.

Beth & Rip’s Yellowstone Spinoff Can’t Kill Beth Dutton

In Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequels, the young women who lead his stories meet a horrible fate, and Beth and Rip’s show risks repeating that. It’s evident from his productions, especially Yellowstone, that the executive producer isn’t afraid to utilize tragedies to tell his stories and underline their messages, creating dramas that stick with his audiences long after they conclude.

If Sheridan follows a trend he has established with his other Yellowstone spinoffs, that would ultimately mean Beth Dutton experiencing her downfall. However, the franchise wouldn’t be complete without Beth, so perhaps Sheridan will find a new way to end his spinoffs. On the other hand, Sheridan may have no endgame for Beth and Rip’s show in mind.

Beth and Rip’s Yellowstone spinoff will have the difficult mission of replacing the original series, which was led by Kevin Costner’s legendary John Dutton character. Deadline reported that the spinoff would share the most DNA with the flagship, and Reilly and Hauser’s characters are now the most prominent in the franchise. Therefore, it’s possible that Sheridan isn’t focusing on ending the franchise at all.

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Spinoffs Traditionally Kill Their Female Protagonists

It still makes sense to exercise caution about Taylor Sheridan’s plans for his beloved leading Yellowstone character, because in every one of his Yellowstone spinoffs so far, the brave and determined female protagonist dies. It’s the story he tells in 1883 and repeats in 1923, the finales of which both mark the franchise with indelible tragedy.

In the first Yellowstone prequel, its narrator and leading character, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), meets an awful fate. While the ending of 1883 set up the Yellowstone franchise, its story is quite divisive because fans don’t want to part with the series’ star. Sheridan repeats the tragedy in 1923, when Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) is gone too soon.

Hopefully, the same won’t happen with Beth. She will have to endure new conflicts in The Dutton Ranch, though, some of which will certainly threaten her life, as they did in Yellowstone. Beth Dutton unmistakably shares qualities with Elsa and Alex Dutton, but ideally, she won’t share their tragic ending, because that might be it for me and Yellowstone.