Netflix’s new Western drama, Ransom Canyon, has been torn apart by critics who found it to be aEmmy-nominated Yellowstone.
The show, released on Thursday, stars Josh Duhamel, Minka Kelly, and James Brolin. Based on Jodi Thomas’s eight-book romance series, the adaptation tells the story of three Texas ranching dynasties vying for control of their land while facing threats that endanger their legacies.
Described as a mix between Taylor Sheridan’s critically acclaimed Yellowstone and Netflix’s six-season romance Virgin River, the new cowboy series has left critics thoroughly unimpressed.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han found it to be a “generically pretty” and “thoroughly bland Western romance.” “It is featureless and formulaic, happy to borrow just a fraction of your attention while you mostly focus on other things,” she said.
While Han acknowledged that “background shows can have their place in an omnivorous TV diet,” she said that Ransom Canyon’s “smooth, flat execution makes it feel like the output of a market research meeting about Yellowstone and Virgin River’s strong viewership numbers, more than a passion project for anyone involved.”
It “goes down easy but leaves a weird aftertaste,” AV Club’s Meredith Hobbs Coons said, noting that “maybe Ransom Canyon’s more vibey elements are all that matter to the show’s intended audience anyway. Maybe they just want to see a tasteful amount of kissing and skin with a Western overlay and some good tunes.”
“This inadvertently hilarious cowboy romance is no Yellowstone,” The Telegraph’s Ed Power wrote in a two-star review, adding that it is “full of preposterously-named characters and duff dialogue.”
Similarly, Kelly Lawler wrote for USA Today: “It takes more than a sad sap story, a couple of Stetsons and a ‘yee-haw’ to make a Yellowstone competitor.
“Still, we get cheap knockoffs,” she continued. “But I don’t think Yellowstone should be flattered by Netflix’s latest copycat attempt.”
Variety’s Aramide Tinubu warned: “When it comes down to it, Ransom Canyon doesn’t offer anything viewers haven’t seen or experienced on television.”
However, she noted that “this is what makes it such a delightful watch. From the illicit affairs to the bar fights, the picturesque landscapes, and the dazzling cast, fans who adore the ruggedness of Yellowstone and the romantic charm of Virgin River will surely come rushing in to binge the series.”
Ransom Canyon is out now on Netflix.
