If you weren't sure what target audience Netflix is aiming at with its newest Western-tinged series, Ransom Canyon, there's a moment in its first teaser trailer that makes things very clear. Three words pop up one after the other: "Love, Land, Legacy": a trio that is laser-focused on Yellowstone devotees.
After all, those three words very much nail the entire point of that hugely popular series (and its spinoff, 1923), which has become a juggernaut in its own right. Here in the UK, Netflix is actually the new home of Yellowstone (which isn't true in the US), but that hasn't stopped it from making its own in-house rival, as behoves one of the best streaming services out there.
Ransom Canyon looks like lush fun, too, with a cast of characters all going through big changes in the titular area, from high-school graduations to marriage renewals and others just finding their way in adulthood. At this stage, with just a single teaser to go on, we don't have a huge amount of detail about exactly what the main thrust of the plot will be, though.
Expect land disputes and love triangles aplenty, though, against a backdrop of classic American patriotism and insignia, from flags buffeting in the wind to ranch hands taking off into the distance for a breakneck gallop. Everyone in the trailer is also suitably beautiful, with chiseled jaws and cheekbones to die for – another staple of the new Western genre.
Indeed, Westerns are proving themselves to be great investments, with all sorts of popularity still being drummed up among audiences, despite it being a genre that's been around for well over a century at this point (on-screen, at least). There's something about a cowboy hat and boots, a rearing horse and a simmering bit of romantic tension that people just can't stay away from.
If this all sounds like it's extremely up your street, you don't have to wait too long to sink into Ransom Canyon. It'll start streaming on Netflix on 17 April, in a couple of months' time, and we'll certainly get a longer and more detailed trailer before then, to make it clearer what sort of plotlines we can expect.
