Finn Little Found Out He Was Filming ‘Dutton Ranch’ Just One Week Before Cameras Rolled — “Hope You’re Ready”

The 19-year-old Australian actor had barely any time to pack his bags before heading back to set as Carter in the buzzed-about Yellowstone spinoff now streaming on Paramount+.

Finn Little is no stranger to life on the ranch — but even he didn’t see this one coming. The young Australian actor, best known for playing scrappy teenager Carter on the hit drama Yellowstone, has confirmed that he found out about his role in the newly launched spinoff series Dutton Ranch with barely a week’s notice before filming kicked off.

In an exclusive sit-down with People magazine ahead of the New York City premiere on May 12, 2026, Little — now 19 years old — opened up about the whirlwind timeline that brought him back to one of television’s most beloved fictional families. “I didn’t hear anything about it until like a week before I flew out,” he told the outlet, describing a very sudden, very real call to action.

“Hey, it’s happening, hope you’re ready. I was like, ‘Oh, all right. Let’s go.'” — Finn Little, on how he learned about filming Dutton Ranch

Despite the last-minute heads-up, Little says he was nothing but enthusiastic. He had always hoped to revisit Carter’s story after the Yellowstone flagship series wrapped in 2024, and a possible Beth and Rip-centered spinoff had been floated in conversations — though nothing concrete had been confirmed to him until that final week.

“I was excited,” he said. “I wanted to see more from Carter. I wanted to keep playing the character, for sure.” It’s a sentiment that will resonate with fans who watched Little grow up on screen, first joining the cast at just 14 years old.

In the new series, Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) uproot their lives and relocate to Texas, with Carter along for the ride. Little teases that viewers will find a noticeably different Carter — older, more self-assured, but still finding trouble. A key new dynamic comes through the character Oreana (played by Natalie Alyn Lind), who quickly gets under Carter’s skin.

“I think Carter sees a lot of Beth in Oreana — that fierceness and that strong personality,” Little explained. “I think that’s what attracts Carter.”

When asked what Yellowstone loyalists can expect from the spinoff, Little didn’t hesitate. Beth and Rip, he said, are the heartbeat of this new chapter. “If you love Beth and Rip, you’ll love Dutton Ranch,” he said at the premiere, “and you’ll love all the new problems that come along with it.”

As for whether the spirit of Yellowstone survives the move from Montana to Texas? “It feels like Yellowstone,” Little said. “It’s never an easy life for the Duttons.”

Dutton Ranch is now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping every Friday.