12 hours ago
Viewers overjoyed as Netflix renews new show for another season despite VERY negative reviews from critics
Netflix has officially renewed the romantic western drama Ransom Canyon for a second season.
The soapy series became a surprise hit for the streamer when it premiered in April, debuting at No. 2 on the weekly Netflix charts.
It continued to surge in the following weeks and eventually topped Variety's most-streamed TV list with over 2.6 billion minutes watched.
To put its popularity into perspective, the second most-streamed show, Paramount's Mobland, logged 530 million minutes watched.
Viewers have been overjoyed by the news of a season two, with many flocking to social media to share their excitement.
'Let's rock and roll baby!' gushed one fan, while another wrote, 'This is what dreams are made of!'
A third commented, 'The only good news on the internet today.'
'Season two better have 25 episodes!!!!! I love Lucas and Lauren so much,' wrote another.
However, not everybody was impressed with the series, which has suffered from mixed critical reviews despite its success on streaming.
'Josh Duhamel is just not a good actor... Minka Kelly honestly was the only bright spot in the whole show for me,' commented one.
'Ransom Canyon is Heartland, Virgin River and Hallmark. Terrible writing, terrible!' wrote another.
Reviewers seemed to dislike season one more than viewers, with headlines calling it 'a try-hard Western' that is a 'far cry from Yellowstone,' and 'goes down easy but leaves a weird aftertaste.'
Ransom Canyon stars Josh Duhamel, Minka Kelly, James Brolin, Eoin Macken, Lizzy Greene, Andrew Liner, Marianly Tejada, Garrett Wareing and Jack Schumacher.
USA Today gave the series one and a half stars out of four as it said, 'Peek underneath the jean jackets and cowboy hats and you'll find there's very little substance to Canyon.'
AV Club said, 'The show's ten episodes are engineered for maximum escapism and bingeability.'
Both Duhamel and Kelly have compared their western soap to food.
The Win a Date with Tad Hamilton star, called it 'comfort food,' while the Friday Night Lights actress called it 'gooey chocolate cake.'
And while many reviews compared Ransom Canyon to Yellowstone and its spin-offs, that wasn't quite on the mark.
Netflix was looking to capitalize on the success they've had with romantic dramas Virgin and Sweet Magnolias, this time with some western flair.
The series is adapted from the series of books by Jodi Thomas and created by Wednesday writer April Blair. Set in the fictional town of Ransom Canyon, Variety called it 'horny, absurd, and ridiculously entertaining' and 'a sexy, predictable, breezy viewing experience that delivers on its promises.'
