Ed Harris Returning for ‘Dutton Ranch’ Season 2 Despite Previous Grievances About His Character

The "Truman Show" star is set to return as Everett McKinney in "Dutton Ranch" season two, despite previously admitting he nearly walked away from the "Yellowstone" spinoff.

Ed Harris is officially returning to "Dutton Ranch" for a second season, reprising his role as Everett McKinney in the "Yellowstone" spinoff created by Taylor Sheridan.

Ed Harris attends the premiere of Apple TV+'s "The Dink" at AMC Century City 15 on July 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

The news comes just months after the Emmy-nominated actor admitted he'd been ready to walk away from the show partway through filming its first season.

According to Deadline, Harris has been signed on for the upcoming season, which is set to begin production in January. The script is still being written, and the "Apollo 13" star is reportedly being kept informed as the story develops.

Before this news broke, Harris had been candid about his frustration with his character's trajectory in "Dutton Ranch."

Speaking to Variety on the red carpet for the premiere of his upcoming Apple TV+ film "The Dink," he admitted that filming the show's debut season had been anything but smooth, and had considered leaving despite being signed on for a two-year deal.

"Midway through this first season, I was ready to go; I said, 'Get me the [expletive] out of here,' to tell you the truth. Because I didn't feel like I was being used," Harris said. "I felt a little bit misled."

He elaborated on what had drawn him to the project in the first place.

"Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do, and that I was one of the four main characters. And that wasn't really the case," he said.

Harris said he eventually raised the issue directly with those overseeing the production. "I said, 'I'm feeling underused and inconsequential.' And they kind of went 'Oh,'" he recalled.

The "Appaloosa" star also pointed to a specific moment that stuck with him: a scene cut from one of the season's earlier episodes. "One of the things they told me before I signed on, they said, 'Hey, you get to sing,'" Harris explained.

"You're in the bar, right? So there's a scene in there… I'm talking to Kelly [Reilly] at the bar and Cole [Hauser] comes in and says 'OK, Everett. C'mon, it's your turn.' I walk up to the mic and they cut it. They cut the song out."

Harris told the outlet the production felt the moment was "too up for the dark ending of that episode," adding that, in his eyes, that alone was "reason enough to say, 'I'm voiding my contract.'"

"I [was like], '[Expletive] you people,'" he added. "That's all I've got to say." Although Harris may have felt unheard at the time, insiders suggest his complaints didn't go unnoticed.

Sources say the recent departure of Chad Feehan, who served as showrunner for the first season, ahead of the series premiere was largely tied to concerns over how Harris' character had been used — or underused.

Harris is said to have had a hand in selecting Feehan's successor, "SEAL Team" creator Benjamin Cavell, who was named the new showrunner last month.

His concerns are reportedly being addressed, with Everett expected to take on a far more central role in the show's second season. Despite the rocky road to get there, Harris said he ultimately came away satisfied with how the first season turned out.

"When I watched this season, and it's fine, and I thought it's pretty good," he said. "I felt fine about what I did in it, and it seemed like I was relatively important to the story, but the doing of it did not feel that way."