Every Yellowstone Show Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes — Where Does Dutton Ranch Land?

Alright, Yellowstone is officially stretching its legs over on Paramount+, and with today's debut of Dutton Ranch, the franchise is up to five (!) shows. Now that there are enough Dutton-related dramas to actually rank, I thought I'd walk you through how each series holds up, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes. We're talking everything from the Kevin Costner original to the latest Texas-set mess, plus a pair of prestige-y prequels, and yes, the spinoff most people have already forgotten aired.

For what it's worth, the ranking here goes by critics' scores on Rotten Tomatoes. (That doesn't mean you have to agree—some of these RT numbers are real head-scratchers.)

How the Yellowstone Shows Stack Up: From Roughest to Best-Reviewed

1. Marshals (RT Score: 42%)
   This is as low as it gets for Yellowstone. Marshals debuted a couple months back and promptly grabbed the franchise's worst reviews. The critics' take is pretty brutal: mostly, they claim the show is just another bland police procedural masquerading as a Dutton thing—so don't expect the dysfunctional family fireworks or soapy cattle politics that made the OG Yellowstone addictive.
   
   A quick recap: Marshals is Paramount+'s first straight-up sequel. Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) sells the ranch (yup, that ranch) to Chief Rainwater and the Broken Rock Reservation by the series' end, then heads off to join a special group of U.S. Marshals. Aside from Grimes, the cast includes Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle Kebbel, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, and Brett Cullen. Spencer Hudnut (Seal Team) is the showrunner.
   
   Here's the weird part: In spite of the negative buzz, CBS is bringing Marshals back for a second season. Never doubt the staying power of bland network procedurals, I guess.
2. Yellowstone (RT Score: 83%)
   This one shocked me a bit. The mega-popular flagship show itself lands in the middle of the RT pack. The five-season saga of the Dutton clan winds up with a solid-but-not-spectacular 83% average from critics, mostly dragged down by mixed feelings about season one. Still, as the years went on, people (eventually) warmed up to Taylor Sheridan's soapy, violent family battles, political corruption, and all-around Montana-shenanigans.
   
   If you've somehow avoided Yellowstone: it centers on John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his sprawling cattle ranch—apparently the largest in the U.S.—as he fights off rivals and internal family drama. Along for the ride: Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and the rest of the ensemble. The show actually wrapped for good in 2024, mostly due to Costner bailing after a well-publicized clash over his schedule and the show's direction.
3. Dutton Ranch (RT Score: 86%)
   The brand-new spin-off is off to a much stronger start, review-wise, than the last one. Critics so far seem more than happy to hand this currently-airing series a "Fresh" badge, thanks mostly to its main cast—a returning Kelly Reilly (Beth) and Cole Hauser (Rip). Set in Texas (because Texas is cheaper?), the show follows Beth and Rip as they try ranching on a smaller scale, only to wind up facing—you guessed it—a rival ranch family that might be more cutthroat than even the Duttons.
   
   Homeruns casting-wise: Ed Harris and Annette Bening have joined up to play some truly formidable neighbors. Showrunner is Chad Feehan, who's apparently figured out how to keep the original's addictive energy alive. If you were worried, the early word is that this one actually feels like Yellowstone.
4. 1883 (RT Score: 89%)
   This was Taylor Sheridan's first stab at a Yellowstone prequel, and it landed just right. Launched in late 2021 as a limited "event," it's all covered wagons, muddy boots, and no cell phones anywhere. 1883 tells the story of the Dutton ancestors' grueling trek from Texas up to Montana—a legit Western epic, but with just enough soapy twists.
   
   Cast is stacked: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill headline as the earlier Dutton generation, with Sam Elliott giving big mustache energy, plus Isabel May and LaMonica Garrett. The cameos are wild—Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson—and pretty much every critic agreed: the performances, the grittiness, and the authentic setting make it top-tier TV western stuff.
5. 1923 (RT Score: 94%)
   Here we are: the Yellowstone franchise at its critical peak. Sheridan landed two actual Oscars with Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford for his second prequel. 1923 is an even more sprawling story of the Dutton family's next generation, now facing a mess of new problems between WWI, the Great Depression, and an avalanche of personal tragedy.
   
   Did the critics love it?
   Yes, they went wild. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes—massive for a spin-off of a modern Western soap. The rest of the cast is also stacked: Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Jerome Flynn, Darren Mann, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Michelle Randolph, and Timothy Dalton.
   
   Strange twist, though: Viewers in general weren't as wowed, at least if you believe RT's audience (Popcorn) scores—just 58% for season one and 51% for season two. Did they tune out? Get Dutton fatigue? Go figure.

Final Thoughts

If you're keeping track: the further back in time the Duttons go, the happier the critics are. Meanwhile, sequel territory is trickier—at least until Dutton Ranch, which seems to have broken the procedural curse. Maybe it's the hats. Maybe it's just that, after all these spin-offs, you can't keep a Dutton down.