Ransom Canyon Cast: Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly Lead the Romantic Western
If you don’t live and die by your land, then you’re not a resident of Ransom Canyon.
The new series from creator April Blair (Wednesday, All American) follows the intersecting lives of the cowboys and cowgirls who call the Texas Hill Country town home.
“I wanted to do something that felt big and escapist and had the romance, but also had the drama, and the mystery wrapped up in one package,” Blair tells Tudum. “Old Westerns did have a romance and drama to them, so it leans into a more bygone-era Western.”
The beating heart bringing that bygone-era Western to life is the show’s long-simmering romance between grieving rancher Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel) and musician and dance hall owner Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly). “They have a lot of chemistry, but it’s also very volatile,” Kelly explains. “There’s a lot of push-pull with the two of them. You don’t really know, are they or aren’t they, which I find super relatable.”
Duhamel thinks the relationship dynamic works because it feels “real” for the rancher who’s been so numb for so long. “In a lot of ways, Quinn was the bridge between all the darkness that Staten felt,” he says.
But they’re not the only ones in for some yearning this season. Below, meet all of Ransom’s locals, from Staten’s rival ranchers to Quinn’s crew at the dance hall to the teens simply trying to find where they fit into the scheme of it all.
The Key Players
Josh Duhamel
The steadfast and stoic Staten Kirkland is owner and sole occupant of the sprawling Double K Ranch. Reeling from the loss of his wife and son, he’s slowly opening himself up to love again. “That’s where Minka comes in,” says Duhamel. “The one person that really does see him is Quinn and she always has, even in high school.”
Staten’s ranch, left to him by his grandfather, is what matters most to him. That’s why he’s leading the charge to resist the outside forces threatening the Ransom Canyon way of life and the land that he loves. “Staten is the wounded, grizzled cowboy who isn’t necessarily always in touch with his emotions. Josh brings a warmth and a sense of humor to him,” Blair says of her leading man. “He just has this twinkle in his eye, a little bit mischievous. There’s always a little Tad Hamilton in there somewhere.”
Transformers, Love, Simon, Las Vegas, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
Minka Kelly
Quinn O’Grady has often found herself in the shadow of others. After a stint in New York pursuing a career as a concert pianist, she returned to Ransom Canyon to carve out a new path and run the local dance hall. “A big part of why I related to her was being away from your hometown and then coming back. I grew up in Albuquerque and went back to shoot the show,” says Kelly.
Quinn was the best friend of Staten’s late wife, but she’s always held a torch for him. Despite the pain and longing, “she’s got fire, and sass, and she sticks up for herself,” says Blair. “She’s running from a life that maybe she was a little overwhelmed by, and came home to help this friend who was terminally ill, and then stays there to protect the people she loves, and the town she loves.”
Euphoria, Friday Night Lights, Titans, The Roommate
Eoin Macken
Davis Collins is the charming, Ivy League-educated owner of the modern Bar W Ranch. He’s Staten’s brother-in-law and butts heads with him over just about everything, but especially as a romantic rival for Quinn. Though he shows his softer side to her — and sometimes as a father to his son Reid — he’s otherwise a cold, shrewd businessman looking to get his family’s ranch out of debt.
“[Eoin] has the ability to play this guy that’s doing some very bad things, but he makes him relatable, and he makes him a believable romantic foil,” Blair says. “I feel like he brings a gentleness and a humanness to the antagonist.”
La Brea, The Night Shift, I Used to Be Famous, Merlin
The Ranchers
Jack Schumacher
Yancy Grey is a charming and enigmatic drifter with a secretive, troubled past. No one knows much about Yancy and he’d like to keep it that way. But as he becomes a ranch hand for Cap Fuller and starts falling in love with Ellie, his past catches up with him as he fights to hide it from the town he’s starting to call home.
“He is so handsome, and just so lovely. He’s that ‘bad boy you want to fix’ character — every woman’s fantasy is that she’s able to fix him,” says Blair. “He wants to be a better man. I don’t know if those men really exist, but I hope so. And Jack does a good job of portraying it. He’s just always game for everything — went to Cowboy Camp, did all of his own riding. He’s such a committed actor and I can’t believe he hasn’t had a longer career before this.”
Top Gun: Maverick, S.W.A.T., Chicago P.D.
James Brolin
Cap is a brash ex-Army captain and the bullheaded owner of Fuller Ranch. After losing his only son in Afghanistan, Cap buried his grief in work and the occasional drink, and his once renowned ranch slipped into slight disrepair. Resisting pressure to sell, Cap hires a new foreman, Yancy Grey, and is quick to let the young man know exactly what he’s doing wrong. About as salty as they come, Cap is kept in line only by Ellie, the daughter of a fallen brother-in-arms, who checks in on him from time to time.
Blair says that if you get a kick out of watching Cap, you’re essentially watching Brolin. “It’s really who he is. He’s so funny. Such a character. And so many stories! He’s an iconic actor, and he brings equal parts gravitas and humor to that part.”
Sweet Tooth, Life in Pieces, Hotel, Marcus Welby, M.D.
