‘Dutton Ranch’ Hires New Season 2 Showrunner (Exclusive)

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Paramount has hired a new foreman at the Ranch.

Benjamin Cavell — a veteran of shows such as Justified, SEAL Team and The Stand — has been tapped as showrunner for the second season of the streaming hit Dutton Ranch.

Cavell replaces Chad Feehan, who stepped down from running the show in June.

Dutton Ranch was picked up for a second season last week. The Yellowstone spinoff was the biggest original series launch in Paramount+ history, while its premiere on Paramount Network marked the biggest basic cable launch in three years.

Dutton Ranch stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser — reprising their fan favorite roles from Yellowstone — weighed in on the shakeup earlier this month during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“Showrunners change all the time,” Hauser said. “This business is about adapting. We’ve been doing this for a long time. Things change. People move on.”

“We finished [season one] with Chad beautifully,” Reilly added. “We finished this season together. It was a really difficult but really satisfying show to make. And so was Yellowstone. So is anything worth making. We’re all creative minds and we all work together and I’m so proud of that.”

Cavell is the creator of the series The Institute, based on the Stephen King novel. He also created the CBS Network and Paramount+ series SEAL Team and is the co-creator of the Paramount+ limited series The Stand. He spent six seasons on Justified, ending the run as an executive producer.

Dutton Ranch season one also stars Finn Little, Juan Pablo Raba, Jai Courtney, J.R. Villarreal, Marc Menchaca, Natalie Alyn Lind, and Academy Award nominees Ed Harris and Annette Bening. The finale releases on Friday.

The show is produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios.

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