What Is 'Yellowstone' About? A First Timer's Guide to The Popular Western Drama

The modern-Western drama Yellowstone premiered on the Paramount Network in 2018 and has been taking fans on a wild ride ever since. The show centers on the Dutton family and their working cattle ranch. John Dutton owns the largest private land ranch in the state, and the family is in a constant battle to protect their land from those who want to destroy it — including the neighboring Native American reservations, the state, and wealthy developers. Like any good TV drama, the characters relationships are complicated, to say the least. The show is rooted in family and what lengths the family will go to in protecting their legacy, even if it winds up tearing them apart. 

The show's broader story gives viewers an inside look into the world of modern ranching, an area of life that often goes overlooked. It's still a Hollywood production, meaning there are definitely dramatizations and fictional depictions (such as the train station) that don't exactly mimic the life of a real rancher.

Luke Grimes, the actor who plays Kayce Dutton, told Vanity Fair, "It's great to be able to show this to people who normally wouldn't understand that this is still a way of life for a lot of people."

Who are the Duttons?

The show centers on the Dutton family and their ranch, Yellowstone. The patriarch of the family, John Dutton III, is a seventh-generation cattle rancher in Montana and the owner of Yellowstone. James Dutton was the original patriarch of the Dutton Ranch, which he acquired during the westward expansion. The family was originally from Tennessee, where James Dutton was a farmer during the Civil War. After trekking through Texas, the family settled on their ranch in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. You can watch this story unfold in the Yellowstone prequel series 1883.

Tragically, John Dutton's wife, Evelyn, died in a tragic horse riding accident in front of two of her young children, Kayce and Beth, years before the events featured in current Yellowstone seasons. The tragic event changed the dynamics of the family forever, with Beth saying that part of her father also died when their mother passed away.

John Dutton has four adult children who each serve as an integral part of protecting the ranch. Kayce, the youngest of the clan, is an ex-Navy SEAL and rancher who is thrown into the position of helping defend the land. The one and only daughter, Beth, is a cutthroat banker who will stop at nothing — and we mean nothing — to serve her father's interests and protect the Dutton legacy. She and her older brother Jamie, who is a prominent Harvard-trained attorney, have a strained relationship that is only tested more and more each season. The eldest brother, Lee, is poised to take over the ranch; however, after a terrible tragedy, he is no longer able to take on that role. 

Kayce Dutton's wife, Monica, and his son, Tate, are the other members of the Dutton family. Monica is Native American and is in a constant internal battle between her family history and culture and her husband's familial loyalty. 

Broken Rock Reservation

One of the Dutton family's biggest rivals is the Broken Rock Indian tribe. The Broken Rock Indian Reservation borders the Dutton Ranch and is in a long-standing battle for control of the land. Newly appointed Tribal Chairman Chief Thomas Rainwater is the central figure in pushing to acquire the Duttons' land. Rainwater is a highly educated man who attended Harvard business school. He was adopted as a child and believed he was Mexican until his adoptive parents told him the truth about his Native heritage. Upon finding out his background, he took steps to become a leader in the Native American community. Chief Rainwater owns a reservation casino and looks to partner with questionable adversaries to upend the Duttons' land and acquire it as part of the reservation. 

Before filming the show, the show's creator, Taylor Sheridan, met with the Crow Indian Reservation tribal chairman, AJ Not Afraid. The show is filmed on the real Crow Reservation, as Sheridan wanted to provide an accurate portrayal of the modern-day American Indian. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Not Afraid said, "Our perception had always been more stereotypical, but here the folks at the show came out and reckoned the terrain and the people, and they got a better taste of the native side."

The Ranch Hands

To run a successful working cattle ranch, the Dutton family relies on ranch hands to keep the everyday operations running smoothly. The small group consists of day workers and those who live full-time on the ranch. The ranch hands are mostly trained cowboys who aren't afraid of a hard day's work. Though most of their work centers on the ranch's everyday operations, John Dutton relies on some of the workers to help him with personal conflicts. The leader of the ranch hands is a man named Rip Wheeler. His rough-and-tumble exterior allows him to keep the rest of the rowdy crew in line. Though Rip is not technically part of the family, he is more of an insider than an outsider and is a trusted member of the Dutton clan. 

While some of the ranch hands come and go as they please, a special group of loyal ranch hands remains on the ranch. The Duttons choose how and where the special group is picked, with each member donning a permanent symbol of fealty to the ranch. 

The Land Developers

The Dutton Ranch is in constant danger when it comes to the land. Not only does John Dutton have to fend off nature and the elements, but he also has to worry about wealthy landowners purchasing his property and turning it into a fancy, master-planned community. Wealthy outsider investors come to Montana and fall in love with the scenery and the gorgeous landscape. Not surprisingly, investors want to secure their bottom line by building golf courses, country clubs and sprawling communities. Dan Jenkins, a developer backed by California businessmen, wants to develop Paradise Valley, a master-planned community with amenities galore. His desperation to acquire the Dutton property lands him in some unexpected and unfortunate situations.

At play are two differing visions for the land where Dutton resides. The Duttons, other local ranchers and the Native Americans value the cowboy lifestyle and want the land to essentially stay untouched. They want to live off the land and attempt to stall time, or even turn it back to before the land was developed. The developers and outsiders look to the ever-changing future and seek to profit from necessary changes. If the land gets destroyed in the process, it's viewed as progress. The tug and pull between those living in the past and those looking toward the future continues to rear its ugly head throughout the series. 

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