We’re finally figuring out why Dutton Ranch’s original showrunner unexpectedly and abruptly exited…. and it has to do with one of the stars of the show unhappily speaking out.
It was a bit shocking to hear that the Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton-focused show lost its original showrunner before Season 1 ever premiered. Back in April, and just three weeks before Dutton Ranch was set to air on Paramount, it was announced that executive producer and creator, Chad Feehan, would be leaving the show.
Now to be clear, it’s not out of the norm for a Taylor Sheridan series to have some turnover in the showrunner department. But the timing of this particular departure definitely raised some red flags. One source did tell Puck that Feehan had clashes with the stars and executive producers of the show – Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly. And that outlet also floated that Sheridan may or may not have been happy with how Season 1 of the series turned out (I don’t know if that concern was really necessary… but Sheridan is a perfectionist).
We’re now also learning that comments and complaints from Ed Harris, who plays Everett McKinney in the series, may have very well led to the end of Chad Feehan acting as Dutton Ranch’s showrunner.
By now you’ve probably heard the wild comments that Harris provided to Variety at the red carpet premiere for Apple TV’s The Dink. The 75-year-old actor revealed that he signed up for two seasons of Dutton Ranch… but halfway through shooting the first season, he was ready to get out of there:
“Midway through the first season I was ready to say, ‘Get me the f*** out of here’ to tell you the truth. I didn’t feel like I was being used. I felt a little bit mislead. 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. And that wasn’t really the case.”
You rarely ever hear an actor or actress be that honest about their role.
Harris went on to say that he approached the higher ups at Dutton Ranch and expressed his concern about his character not being featured more prominently. From what he says, they were surprised to hear him say that, and apparently promised to get him more involved in the show’s sophomore season:
“I said, ‘I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,’ and they kind of went, ‘Oh.’ We don’t start (filming Season 2) until February. I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do. I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth.”
Harris also added that he was furious one particular scene of his was cut from Season 1, and that when he actually watched the show back… he didn’t think it was all that bad.
But those “higher ups” that Ed Harris went to? One of those was almost certainly Chad Feehan, and the issues that arose from not including Harris as much as the actor would have liked was apparently all it took for Feehan’s showrunner duties to crumble. Deadline has reported that moving on from Chad Feehan to Benjamin Cavell (known for his work on Justified and Homeland) was “largely related to how Harris’ character Everett McKinney was utilized—or rather underutilized.” It’s also interesting to hear that “Harris is said to have been involved in picking Feehan’s replacement.”
Now everything’s lining up, eh? The showrunner was butting heads with Reilly and Hauser, and then the straw that broke the camel’s back seems to be Ed Harris confronting Feehan about his role. Things got messy, and Dutton Ranch and Chad Feehan needed to part ways.
Granted, the entertainment business can be messy, and a lot of egos can be at play. As a fan, I’m just hoping the drama outside of this spinoff doesn’t keep the drama on the TV screen from continuing…
