Men's Lifestyle June 5, 2026 0 Comments

Deadly Danger on Set: How Rattlesnake Infestation at Dutton Ranch Almost Shut Down Filming!

Ever wonder what truly counts as a villain on a TV set? Believe it or not, for the cast of the new Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch, it wasn’t just the usual drama—it was a literal swarm of rattlesnakes creeping into their filming zone. Yeah, you read that right. Cole Hauser, the guy who plays Rip Wheeler, recently spilled that the biggest threat on set wasn’t a bad guy with a six-shooter but an infestation of what felt like tens of thousands of those slithering critters. Imagine wrapping a shoot only to have your biggest stunt be avoiding 34,000 rattlesnakes! Honestly, it’s a wild reminder of how nature loves to insert itself into the chaos of showbiz—and maybe a good reason to rethink those shooting locations next time. Want the full lowdown on this scaly saga? LEARN MORE

2 min read

How’s this for a new Yellowstone villain? According to Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler on the new Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch, the greatest threat to filming was “34,000 rattlesnakes.”

The Dutton Ranch star is exaggerating (I hope!), but he told Kelly Clarkson during a recent appearance on her daytime talkshow that they had to make a quick change to one of their filming locations after they found that it was infested with snakes.

“Weren’t you filming down somewhere where there was like a [rattlesnake] den?” Hauser’s co-star, Kelly Reilly asked.

“I don’t want to give it away, there might be a train station this year, but that particular location we were at, we actually were going to go from there at night and got turned away,” Hauser confirmed. “[Director] Christina [Alexandra Voros] found like, I don’t know, 40 or 50 rattlesnakes.”

l r: cole hauser as rip wheeler and kelly reilly as beth dutton in dutton ranch, episode 1, season 1, streaming on paramount+, 2026. photo credit: emerson miller/paramount+.

Emerson Miller//Paramount

The ‘Yellowstone’ spinoff series was reportedly infested with rattlesnakes.

The actor is most likely referring to a scene in the two-episode premiere, when Rip tosses a dead body he found on his ranch down an abandoned mine shaft. After the Dutton couple move to South Texas to start a new life in the Yellowstone sequel spinoff, Rip disposes of the body to preserve the peace. Tragically, his decision will probably put them in even greater peril instead.

But in another scene, Rip orders one of his ranch hands, Azul (J. R. Villarreal), to step on a rattlesnake and kill it. (From what we’ve seen on TV this past month, it’s a particularly nasty way to go.) I’m sure that production tried not to harm any of the rattlesnakes on set, but now I’m wondering if that was an improvised move.

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Kelly Reilly told ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ that she was fearful of the rattlesnakes while filming ‘Dutton Ranch.’

According to Reilly, the crew reportedly had six animal wranglers on set who were in charge of clearing the area before filming. As Reilly recalled, “I’m in these stiletto heels, running through fields, and I’m just praying, ‘Please let them have got all the snakes in this vicinity.’”

It’s funny news following the latest episode of Dutton Ranch, in which Beth reveals that the only two things she doesn’t handle well are “fear and losing money.” Now, it seems like we need to add snakes to that list.