Ransom Canyon

The thing I love about this so far is it is not trying to be Yellowstone or any similar spinoff. It is more family friendly than Yellowstone. The content is not so heavy and depressing to get through. It is just what I felt it would be, a more mellow, enjoyable story with good acting that has kept me wanting to come back for each episode.

The acting by Josh D is great for his character. I feel they could have lingered on the events in his life early on a bit longer for an emotional connection it.

The feel of the show has a mild flavor of something like Virgin River, but not nearly as Hallmark feeling as that. This show in my opinion is right down the road of what fans of a western drama are looking for. Don't go into this show looking for the grit, turmoil, intensity of Yellowstone. Come with an open mind for something enjoyable, and just a good watch.

First, to the reviewers/critics that suggest this is Yellowstone or Friday Night Lights.....you are simply off base. Yellowstone was 60% cowboy, 40% drama. FNL was 50% football, 50% drama. Ransom Canyon is 5% cowboy, 5% football, 20% drama and 70% melodrama/soap opera.

Secondly, there are probably 17 different subplots all trying to be developed over the episodes and only 2 of these are actually brought to a conclusion. I am thinking the producers/writers a must be looking for a second season renewal, but not sure I am willing to sit through all the one-step forward, two steps backward plot lines again.

Worse yet, the lead male and lead female compose only about 10% of the airtime....and their stories are left unsatifyingly hanging at the end. It was a very unsatisfying watch for me.

This is exactly why new shows shouldn't be compared to giants like Yellowstone. Ransom Canyon has its own vibe-definitely leaning into the soap opera lane and I'm not mad about it. I grew up on Days of Our Lives, so a little melodrama now and then feels like comfort food. Honestly, some of the plot twists had me half-expecting Stefano DiMera to walk in.

Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly as the leads, the chemistry is there, no doubt, but I found myself wanting just a little more from them emotionally. His brother-in-law, Davis, is a walking red flag-a full-blown nightmare, really. There's a brief moment where you think, maybe there's some goodness buried in there, but nope. Especially once he teams up with Staten's dad, who's just another barrel of bad decisions.

There are quite a few subplots woven in-Yancy and Ellie, the teenagers (Reid, Lucas, and Lauren)-and while they played into the main arc, some of their drama didn't land for me. A bit too much going on at times.

That said, I did enjoy the show. I'd absolutely tune in for season two. I went into it with zero expectations, which honestly helped. Trying to compare it to a juggernaut like Yellowstone or even Virgin River is just setting yourself up for disappointment. And let's be real, even Virgin River has its fair share of soap-level chaos.

I haven't read the books the show is based on-maybe I will, maybe I won't. Sometimes diving into the source material ruins the fun of the adaptation.

Bottom line: This isn't Yellowstone, it isn't Virgin River, and that's okay. It has potential, there's room to grow, and I'm rooting hard for Staten and Quinn. His grief-fueled stubbornness nearly drove me to drink, but I also totally got it. Grief does that-it hardens and isolates. I just hope he softens before she walks away for good.

Overview: This series is a fun and engaging drama set in Texas with real country elements on show. It is fairly similar to a number of other country dramas with fairly predictable storylines. However, it is still enjoyable with some really good performances.

Plot: The story starts with Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel) a rancher in small town Texas whose wife and son have both passed away recently. After a period of reclusiveness, he renter's town society and new relationships are built and some rekindled. Amongst the personal drama, is the overarching big corporation who wants to buy all the farmland to build a pipeline.

Acting: Performances are generally good with all cast members pulling their weight.

Conclusion: Nothing to write home about but if you enjoy Southern dramas like I do then you will like this series.

7/10.

As it's been said it's a Texas soap opera. The characters are half way interesting and the plot is there. It's an modern "Dallas" but with less polish. It's easy to watch and you can actually follow it while doing something else at the same time. It's not bad, it's just not particularly good. It has some decent photography and scenery and Josh Duhamel is easy on the eyes. It's an age old story of feuding families and has the heroes and villains. It's somewhat predictable and cheesy but mildly entertaining at the least. At least most of the actors are new faces and have some actual talent. It's not raunchy but does have some almost sex scenes and a few catastrophes thrown in to keep it moving. Not hard to follow.