It's Official: 'Yellowstone' Will Continue To Limp Along As the Beth and Rip Show

Although the last few episodes have effectively neutered Yellowstone’s best character, Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler, as reported earlier this year, Hauser and Kelly Reilly — who plays Beth Dutton — will continue the Yellowstone storyline in an as-yet-untitled spin-off.

This spin-off is distinct from The Madison, the Yellowstone spin-off starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Patrick Adams, which focuses on a New York family grappling with grief while vacationing in rural Montana. Presumably, this takes place on land currently occupied by the Dutton ranch in Yellowstone.

The Yellowstone finale arrives this week, but the penultimate episode hinted at the ranch’s fate (spoilers): To avoid paying ruinous taxes, Beth (with Kayce’s help) devised a plan to essentially give the ranch away. The specifics remain unclear, but it could easily become a rural vacation destination, perhaps run by Rip, Beth, and Lloyd Pierce (Forrie J. Smith), who — based on the last episode — may be one of the few remaining on the ranch.

All of this is starting to feel like the trajectory of The Walking Dead franchise: a series of spin-offs that seem to have lost their creative spark. While Beth and Rip are fan favorites, it’s unclear how well they can carry a show. They’re not particularly dynamic characters — Rip is stoic, and Beth is histrionic. And that’s about the extent of their personalities.

Also, spoiler: If Beth kills Jamie in this week’s season finale, as widely expected, she apparently gets away with it. Otherwise, the spin-off would be set in prison—not that I’d put that past Sheridan.