The Dutton Ranch Storyline That Annette Bening 'Loved' Being Part Of

The "Yellowstone" series kickstarted a number of spinoff series, including "Dutton Ranch," which is all about Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler's new lives in Texas. Played by Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser, Beth and Rip had a tumultuous time finding their way to each other romantically when they were on "Yellowstone." Now they're a united front against the challenges of the Lone Star State. One such challenge comes in the form of the Jackson family, led by matriarch Beulah Jackson, played by the talented Annette Bening. While much of "Dutton Ranch" is centered around Beth and Rip, we also get to know Beulah and some of her own — at times tragic — backstory, including a romantic history with the local veterinarian Everett McKinney, played by Ed Harris. The two characters seem to have some complicated and layered feelings towards each other, and that's a part of the show that Bening is a big fan of.

In a conversation with People about "Dutton Ranch," Bening said of the "will they, won't they" aspect to Beulah's relationship with Harris' character: "I love that storyline. We had romance when we were very young, and then we had another rekindling, maybe 15, 20 years ago."

There's a sense of it being a true-to-life situation. As Bening put it for People, "I get to play a woman who's still fighting for romance and connection and feeling this sense of aloneness — I know a lot of women at my stage in life feel this."

Many of the "Dutton Ranch" stars are in long-term relationships in real life, including Annette Bening, who has four children with her husband Warren Beatty. So Beulah Jackson's romantic dilemma may not be something that the actors have personally experienced. But it's nice to see an acknowledgement of older women still being open to the possibility of love and not simply written off as mothers and grandmothers without hopes and feelings of their own. The character of Beulah is certainly a complex one, and her past relationship with Ed Harris's character is just one layer. Bening is doing a great job bringing out all the nuance and disappearing into the character. As one person on a "Dutton Ranch" Reddit thread posted, "Annette Bening does that, OMG such a great character actress took me two episodes before I realized it was her."

In an interview with Variety, Bening explained some of Beulah's complexity, which is part of what attracted her to the role: "She's a rancher, but she's longing for love as she wants to keep everything together, which she is unable to do, which is why the show happens. A lot of things are falling apart and crackling inside of her."

So far, Beulah and her former beau haven't rekindled anything, but only time will tell how things play out between the two of them. It's not the first time that Bening and Ed Harris have had an on-screen connection. The two of them starred in "The Face of Love," a romantic drama that came out in 2014.