How Was Rooster Written Off ‘The Ranch’? Danny Masterson’s Exit Explained

Earlier today, the first half of Season 3 (Part 5) of The Ranch premiered on Netflix. Last we saw the Bennett family, Abby (Elisha Cuthbert) left Garrison for a new job in Denver, Beau was recovering from a heart attack, and Colt and Rooster’s plan to buy the Peterson ranch with their pipeline money hit a snag. The Season 3 trailer revealed a slew of spoilery details about Part 5, most notably that Abby is pregnant and wildfires threaten the Bennett family ranch. But the biggest question about the current season centered around Danny Masterson.

In December of 2017, just as production was wrapping on Part 5 of The Ranch, Netflix fired Danny Masterson from the multi-cam comedy amid reports of multiple rape allegations against the actor. It was reported that Masterson would be written out of the series and not be appearing in the second half of Season 3 (Part 6).

How did the Netflix comedy handle Masterson’s exit? Obvious spoilers for Part 5 of The Ranch ahead.

IS ROOSTER IN SEASON 5 OF THE RANCH?

Many Ranch fans refer to the current batch of episodes as “Season 5.” Technically, the new episodes are Season 3 (or Part 5), which is admittedly confusing. Regardless, yes, Rooster is a major part of the latest batch of episodes.

HOW DOES ROOSTER LEAVE THE RANCH? DOES ROOSTER DIE ON THE RANCH?

In Part 5, Rooster and Mary (Megyn Price) rekindle their romance. The only problem? Mary is already in a relationship with her ex-husband, the shady ex-con Nick (Josh Burrow). Eventually, Nick finds out about Rooster and Mary’s affair, and in Episode 9, he breaks into Rooster’s place and threatens to kill him. In the Season 3 finale, Nick once again surprises Rooster at his home, but this time he has a gun.

Did they do it? Did The Ranch really kill off Rooster?

No. Nick tosses an army bag at Rooster’s feet and delivers a threatening ultimatum.

“So you got two choices: Either take that bag and disappear or you can just disappear.”

Fearing for his life, Rooster chooses to leave Garrison but not without one last threat from Nick, which he delivers as the Alice in Chains power ballad “Rooster” begins to play:

IS ROOSTER COMING BACK ON THE RANCH? IS DANNY MASTERSON RETURNING TO THE RANCH?

As of now, no. There are no reported plans to bring back Masterson’s character.

Part 5 of The Ranch is now streaming on Netflix.

Stream The Ranch on Netflix