In a report by the San Antonio Express-News, it has been revealed that Sheridan’s new show will be filmed in Ferris, Texas, a small town 20 miles south of Dallas with a population of approximately 5,000 people. The show will be filmed under the title Rio Palo, which translates to “stick river” in Spanish. Rio Palo is likely only a working title, and not the official title of the show.
What Rio Palo Means For Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone Franchise
Rio Palo will send a shockwave for the Yellowstone fandom, which has heard nothing about the new spinoff so far. The announcement that filming will begin for Rio Palo in Ferris, Texas, comes as fans anticipate long-awaited news of spinoffs like 6666 and The Madison, which have been in the works for years with little to show for it.
Since it’s been given a separate title, the spinoff likely doesn’t connect to any of the other offshoots and will instead write an entirely new chapter of the Yellowstone franchise. In their statement on Facebook, the City of Ferris noted that the town “helped build Texas and the nation,” noting Ferris’ reputation as “the brick capital of the nation” (via Fort Worth Star-Telegram).
Many of Taylor Sheridan’s TV shows highlight American-based industries, such as John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) ranching empire in Yellowstone or Billy Bob Thornton’s oil business in Landman. With Rio Palo, perhaps Taylor Sheridan aims to shed light on another underappreciated aspect of American industry, bringing a new Yellowstone family to the spotlight.
The City of Ferris announced in their statement that “A location in Ferris will be featured as the central home of the show’s lead characters.” While it’s yet to be seen who will lead the show and what role their characters will play in the franchise, the show promises to introduce a fresh bunch of Yellowstone characters to the mix.
Our Take On Yellowstone’s Rio Palo Spinoff
The new Yellowstone spinoff will doubtlessly add an entirely new page to the Yellowstone franchise, and that’s exciting, though completely unexpected. Despite the City of Ferris saying that they were working closely with Paramount Pictures on the filming process, neither Paramount nor Taylor Sheridan offered so much as a peep to explain the new development.
