iStockphoto / The Kelly Clarkson Show / Edgar Figueiredo
Dutton Ranch stars Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly are the faces of the new Yellowstone spin-off series. It is based in North Texas and centers around the characters of Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler keeping their massive 7,000-acre ranch afloat during tough times.
The two were guests on The Kelly Clarkson Show recently where they talked about the challenges of filming in North Texas and how the fictional Dutton Ranch was overran with real-life rattlesnakes as they are abundant throughout the region.
‘Dutton Ranch’ Overran By Rattlesnakes
The new Yellowstone spin-off series is set in the fictional town of Rio Paloma, Texas while the show itself is filmed throughout North Texas and the greater Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex region. Specific filming locations include the Saunders Ranch in Weatherford and the city of Ferris, Texas. The Saunders Ranch is the stand in for Weatherford, Rip and Beth’s home. They also film around Dallas, Fort Worth, Rio Visa, Mineral Wells, and other cities/towns in the region.
Those who are not from the area and/or have not spent much time outside of the urban sprawl of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex might not realize how quickly things can go from a concrete jungle to endless prairie land and cow country. Those areas are the perfect habitats for the TEN subspecies of rattlesnakes found throughout Texas. Yes, you read that correctly, Texas is home to 10 different species/subspecies of rattlesnake.
According to Cole Hauser who plays Rip Wheeler, during the 8 months they spent filming Dutton Ranch the crew captured 3,400 rattlesnakes. Kelly Clarkson is very familiar with the area and used to live there, so she can relate. Here’s their discussion:
Kelly Reilly who plays Beth Dutton (real name Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly) is actually British and born in Chessington, London, England. There are no native rattlesnakes in England of course. She said on the set of Dutton Ranch they have snake wranglers to round up the native rattlesnakes and make it safe for those on set. At the end of the day, it is kind of funny imagining a British actress in North Texas coming to grips with being straight-up surrounded by rattlesnakes.
For what it’s worth, I lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a year and got around quite a bit. I never once saw a rattlesnake in the Metroplex but the first time we went camping it was like the hills were alive with rattlesnakes.