The small town of Ferris, about 20 miles south of Dallas, is the latest North Texas locale to be absorbed by Fort Worth-raised hitmaker Taylor Sheridan’s expanding TV universe.
Rio Palo, a spinoff of Yellowstone, has been filming on a ranch in Ferris, according to the town’s city manager, Brooks Williams. The ranch is home to a mansion that may be used to depict a family’s residence, Williams said. Other nearby filming sites are on the outskirts of Ferris and in its downtown.
Williams said there are parts of these properties “that have really unique landscapes and elevation changes,” adding that someone could be standing there and “have no clue” they were right outside Dallas.
The production is expected to wrap in about four months.
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Over this time, Ferris residents may encounter some road closures, Williams said. Notices will be sent out to those impacted in advance.
Paramount+, the streamer behind Sheridan’s shows, has not announced any details about Rio Palo’s plot or existence. (A representative declined a request for comment Friday.)
It’s unclear if the show may be related to Dutton Ranch, another Yellowstone spinoff, which reportedly would follow Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) after the events of the western’s fifth and final season that ended last fall.
With each passing month, there seems to be a new sighting of Sheridan’s productions in North Texas. Most recently, filming crews hard at work on the second season of the oil drama Landman have set up shop in downtown Fort Worth and in Dallas, as well as the small towns of Jacksboro and Springtown.
Billy Bob Thornton, the star of Landman, was spotted walking into the Knox District restaurant Mister Charles for some Landman scenes in July.
“Those shows have done extremely well,” Williams said, referring to Sheridan’s Paramount+ slate. He described the Ferris production as “an opportunity to memorialize us as a part of that.”
The town has had some airtime in the past.
The ‘90s crime series Walker, Texas Ranger filmed there. Politician Bob Dole filmed an ad at a since-closed cafe in Ferris when he was running for the 1996 presidency. There was also a former Magnolia gas station that was popular for movie shoots, according to Williams.
There was a time when Ferris did a “pretty good job” at drawing productions, Williams said.
“About 25 years ago, Ferris really took a turn. That gas station went down. Several of the industries that were there closed,” he added. “But we’ve turned that corner and really improved the city. It’s got that small town charm.”
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