Is Ransom Canyon the next Yellowstone or the new Virgin River? Depends on who you ask.

At first glance, Netflix’s foray into Westerns checks everything off our checklist from hot cowboys to feuding ranch families to love triangles. But just one episode in, Ransom Canyon makes it clear that they aren’t trying to compete with what came before.

“It’s an honor to be held amongst shows that have such a legacy like Yellowstone, Virgin River and Friday Night Lights,” Garrett Wareing, who portrays the golden retriever coded Lucas Russell, exclusively shared ahead of the Thursday, April 17, premiere. “But what we bring to our show is a sense of not only that romance and love — but also that sense of grit and the drama that comes with that.”

Based on Jodi Thomas‘ book series, Ransom Canyon introduces Texas Hill Country where “everyone is running from something or running to something,” according to Josh Duhamel‘s Staten Kirkland. The 10-episode season kicks off with stoic rancher Staten grieving two major losses while navigating his undeniable connection to childhood friend Quinn (Minka Kelly), who has also caught the eye of Staten’s brother-in-law and love triangle rival Davis (Eoin Macken).

But the star-studded casting doesn’t stop there: James Brolin draws Us in before letting newcomers such as Wareing, Lizzy Greene, Andrew Liner (who are part of another addicting love triangle) and Jack Schumacher do the rest.

“[The goal] is to create something that isn’t a knockoff. It is something that exists on its own in its own world,” Schumacher a.k.a the mysterious newcomer Yancy Grey said while praising creator April Blair for prioritizing the “female gaze” on screen, to which Wareing, 23, added, “Our writers did a beautiful job at making it their own. I hope that the fans who loved these books for what they were also love our show for what it is. They’ll hopefully see parallels but also the newness.”

Schumacher continues: “The female gaze is more present here, which you don’t get in the vast majority of westerns and I’m a huge fan of the genre. Nowadays you have to be living under a rock not to know about Yellowstone and all the spinoffs. They’re so great. Then you have the more romantic side of it, which is shows like Virgin River.”

Duhamel, 52, couldn’t agree more about how Ransom Canyon speaks for itself. “I really related to [my character] in a lot of ways,” he shared with Us. “Because it’s all about his land, legacy, taking care of family, preserving what his family built over the years.”
Ransom Canyon is the newest addition to the growing selection of Western TV shows. Yellowstone kicked Us off when it premiered in 2018 and has since expanded with spinoffs such as 1883, 1923 and The Madison were picked up by the network.

Netflix, which is also home to cozy romance series Virgin River, initially followed suit with American Primeval, which felt more historic than cowboy chic. Ransom Canyon is the perfect compromise while mixing drama, romance and adventure set against the backdrop of a contemporary western saga.