Since an almost unsuccessful period replacing Charlie Sheen as the other half of the two men of Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher is best known for his philanthropy, as the founder of the human rights organization Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children . The organization aims to end child exploitation and child pornography globally. He is also known to be a venture capitalist. A minority of the population hears the name of Ashton Kutcher and still considers him an active player, as a recent poll showed. Still, he has been a lead on the Netflix show, The Ranch for three seasons since 2016.
Netflix’s bull run to become the number one source of entertainment in the modern world has seen many shows and movies grow and shine. Unfortunately, a number of them have gone under the radar despite their good level. The Ranch belongs to this category. It’s not a breakthrough sitcom, but it will surely make you laugh and feel good at the end.
The Ranch was developed by Jamie Rhonheimer and Steve Tompkins. The show is exclusive to Netflix produced by production company Ranch Hand Productions.
The Ranch – Synopsis
The Ranch is a sitcom set in the fictional town of Garrison, Colorado. The show details the life of a family in the small town, the Bennetts. A dysfunctional family consisting of a rancher father, two brothers, the father’s divorced wife and a local bar owner. They live on the ranch, Iron River Ranch.
Despite its lack of mainstream popularity, The Ranch features big names in the industry other than Ashton Kutcher himself. Here is the cast of The Ranch
Cast and characters
Ashton Kutcher – Colt Reagan Bennett
Ashton plays Colt Reagan, a man whose pursuit of a professional football career after a successful high school and college career ended in mixed success. He returns to his hometown, Garrison, to his father’s ranch after 15 years. Although his main motive for returning is to pursue a professional career trying out for a semi-pro team, he eventually stays and helps his father and older brother on the family ranch.
Due to his long absence from the ranch and family, Colt has little to no ranching skills and this, along with the disappointing end to his football career, makes him the butt of ranch jokes. His character traits include being a heavy drinker and tending not to use common sense. However, he has a big heart.
So far, the show hasn’t done much categorically which teams Colt has played for, but aside from Florida State and Saskatoon Cold, his shirts on the show suggest he’s played for teams like the Barcelona Dragons, Orlando Predators, Minnesota Axemen, Philadelphia Soul, among others. In the show’s later episodes, Colt is currently married and expecting his first child.
Danny Masterson – Jameson Ford Bennett
Danny Masterson plays Jameson Ford who usually goes by the name, Rooster. The show’s dynamic draws a comparison between Jameson who stayed at the ranch and took on the responsibilities and Colt who left to find a way to become a heavy hitter.
As Colt’s older brother, Jameson is a more level-headed thinker though he harbors some bitterness towards Colt for leaving ranch responsibilities to himself and living in Colt’s shadow. Not exactly perfect, Jameson’s flaws include alcoholism and sex addiction.
Danny Masterson, who loves Ashton Kutcher is also a That 70s Show alumnus and has appeared in several movies and TV shows. Danny was on The Ranch for 3 seasons. Much like his character’s flaw on the show, Danny was written out in the third season in response to allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
He was accused of rape by five women, including a sixth accusation by Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the lead singer of the band, At The Drive-In, who claimed his wife was raped by Masterson. Netflix therefore released a statement on December 5, 2017, terminating him from the show. So far, he has not been charged by the police.
Debra Winger- Margaret “Maggie” Bennett
The veteran actress plays Margaret Bennett, mother of Colt and Jameson on the show. Debra is a stage, film and television actress and has been acting since 1976. She has appeared in notable films like Terms of Endearment, A Dangerous Woman and Black Widow. She has been nominated and won several awards.
On The Ranch, she is divorced from Colt and Jameson’s father, Beau (Sam Elliot). She owns a bar and lives in a trailer behind. Her characterization portrays her as an open and caring person who her sons usually come to for advice. She is also a hippie and a chronic marijuana smoker.
Elisha Cuthbert – Abigail Phillips-Bennett
The Canadian actress plays Abigail, a Garrison high school teacher and was Colt’s high school sweetheart. In the later episodes of the show, she is currently married to Colt. Prior to The Ranch, the much younger Elisha Cuthbert was featured in the American counterterrorism television series, 24. She has also appeared in films like Just Before I Go and Love Actually.
She started her career in 1996 and is currently married to Dion Phaneuf, a hockey star who plays for the Los Angeles Kings.
Sam Elliot – Handsome Roosevelt Bennett
Veteran actor, Sam Elliot plays the grumpy old man, Beau Bennett. He is the patriarch of the Bennett family and he is characterized as a difficult man to work with who is constantly annoyed by everyone and everything. As the father of Colt and Jameson, Beau is described as having a strained relationship with his sons. He hates modern technology and inventions and is a vocal critic of politicians. He is also a Vietnam War veteran.
Played by Sam Elliot who has been the leading Hollywood man for ranch and cowboy roles due to his physique and western sledding. Sam has been in the acting industry since 1968 and has notable films such as Road House, The Big Lebowski, Thunderbolt Ross to his credit . Her recent performance in A Star Is Born earned her critical acclaim.
Apart from the entire main cast, the show’s recurring cast and actresses include Barry Corbin, who plays a hearing-impaired vet and Beau’s close friend Dale Rivers. Others include Megyn Price, Kathy Baker, Wendie Malick and Kelli Goss. The show featured special guests such as Jon Cryer, who co-starred with Ashton Kutcher on Two and a Half Men. Others are John Amos, Jim Beaver, Nancy Travis, among others.
Season and episodes
If you’re looking to relax, grab some popcorn and enjoy The Ranch’s farmhouse humor, but you’re wary of having too many episodes to catch up on, no.
The Ranch has only three seasons so far and each season has 20 episodes. Each episode, like the average runtime of a sitcom, is 24 minutes long. The show is also divided into parts, each consisting of 10 episodes.
Home
The Ranch has received fair or mostly positive reviews depending on which movie/TV review site you trust. The show currently has a 70% rating on the aggregator’s website, Rotten Tomatoes, based on over 120 reviews. On Metacritic it has a score of 56/100 based on reviews from 20 critics.
Other Important Ranch Facts
Show movies in Burbank, California
Although the show is set in Colorado and its opening sequence shows scenes from Norwood and Ouray in Colorado, the show is actually filmed on a sound stage in Burbank, California.
It doesn’t have a laugh track per se.
While you may hear laughter from the show as a typical laugh track, it’s not. The show is filmed in front of a live audience at his sound stage studio in Burbank.
All episodes are named American Country Music Songs
The Ranch takes its connection with rural American culture very seriously. All episodes of the show are named after country music songs. The first part of the show is named after songs by Kenny Chesney, the second part after George Strait, the third part is named after Tim McGraw, the fourth after Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton completes the fifth part of the show. ‘episode.
Parts are published separately
One of the great things about Netflix is that it lets you binge an entire season of a TV show at once, saving you the fear and anxiety of waiting a week for new episodes. However, this is only partly true for The Ranch. Although all 10 episodes of each part are released at the same time, the full season is not.
There is a fourth season
For those looking to start binging and worried about Netflix pulling the channel when they fell in love with the series, fear not. Netflix announced on October 31, 2018 that the show had been renewed for a fourth season.
The show’s theme song “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys” is sung by Lukas Be and Shooter Jennings.