Netflix’s answer to Yellowstone canceled after two seasons

• Netflix has canceled the neo-Western romance series Ransom Canyon after two seasons, which starred Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly and was based on Jodi Thomas’s book series.
• The show’s second season underperformed with viewers, drawing 4.1 million views in its first week, a 43 percent drop from the previous season, and remained in the streamer’s top 10 for just three weeks.
• Ransom Canyon was described as a mix between Yellowstone and Virgin River, but received negative reviews from critics for its preposterously-named characters and duff dialogue, leading to its cancellation by Netflix.

Ransom Canyon, the neo-Western romance series billed as Netflix’s answer to Taylor Sheridan’s hitYellowstone, has been canceled after two seasons.

Based on Jodi Thomas’s book series, the drama starred Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly and followed three ranching dynasties as they battled over land and power in a tight-knit Texas community.

Now, just a few months after the show’s second season aired on July 23, the streamer hasdecided not to move forward with a third, Deadlinefirst reported.

The Independenthas approached Netflix for comment.

Ransom Canyon‘s second season underperformed with viewers, drawing 4.1 million views in its first week — a 43 percent drop from the 7.2 million views recorded during the show’s opening week in 2025.

It remained in the streamer’s top 10 for just three weeks, down from Season One’s four weeks.

In addition to Duhamel and Kelly, the cast also included Lizzy Greene, Garrett Wareing, Marianly Tejada, Jack Schumacher, Casey W. Johnson, Philip Winchester and Justin Johnson Cortez.

Described as a mix between Yellowstoneand Netflix‘ssix-season romanceVirgin River, the cowboy series left critics thoroughly unimpressed when its first season debuted in April last year.

“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… I don’t think Yellowstone should be flattered by Netflix’s latest copycat attempt.”

Ransom Canyonwas greenlit in December 2023 after locking in Transformersstar Duhamel and Friday Night Lights actor Kelly. However, Kelly later spoke about demanding equal pay with Duhamel, who was initially earning a larger salary.

While Deadlinereported that parity was not achieved, Kelly’s earnings were bumped up significantly beyond her previous earnings history to close the gap between the two leads.

“I think that’s probably one of the best things about working with Netflix, is that they’re very pro that. So I didn’t have to fight very hard. They sort of made that easy,” she told Deadlinelast year. “I feel really lucky to get to work with the company that does care about that.”

Ransom Canyon joins a slew of canceled Netflix shows this year, including sci-fi series The Boroughs, Western drama The Abandons, The Vince Staples Show, and Japan’s Alice in Borderland.