Netflix’s new Western series has been drawing comparisons to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, and despite being poorly received by critics, the show has still been a huge hit for the streamer. Ransom Canyon, which stars Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly, remains the second-most-popular project on Netflix at the time of writing, 12 days after its premiere. The series has earned a 44% score from critics on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, but general audiences have been higher on the contemporary Western series, rating it at 73%. Ransom Canyon is a romance-charged family drama set against the backdrop of Texas Hill Country. The show follows the intersecting work and personal lives of three ranching families. Eoin Macken, Lizzy Greene, and Garrett Wareing also star in the Netflix series.

Ransom Canyon is based on the novel of the same name by Jodi Thomas, and April Blair adapted the book into a television series with Paul Haapaniemi,...