Josh Duhamel in “Ransom Canyon.”
Josh Duhamel is currently hiding Off the Grid in his new action tech thriller, but he’s looking forward to returning to wide open spaces of Netflix’s Ransom Canyon to film Season 2 in the fall.
New in select theaters on streaming on premium video on demand, Off the Grid stars Duhamel as Guy, a brilliant scientist hiding out in the wild from a megalomaniac employer who wants to weaponize his mini cold fusion reactor for nefarious purposes. The release of the film, new in select theaters and on video on demand, comes not long after the success of Ransom Canyon on Netflix
Ransom Canyon, which premiered on April 17 with 10 episodes, debuted at No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 list of most-watched TV shows on the streaming service in the U.S. for the weeklong period of April 14-20.
Additionally, Ransom Canyon debuted at No. 2 on Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched TV series globally from April 14-20 with 7.2 million views — which equates to 56.6 million hours viewed — and remained on the streamer’s Top 10 global chart for a month.
Duhamel received the good news when Netflix announced on June 24 that Ransom Canyon was renewed for a second season with filming slated to begin in September.
“If you’re in this game long enough you have more losses than you do wins, but when the wins come it feels good,” Duhamel said of renewal during a Zoom conversation last week from his home in the woods in Northern Minnesota.
“With this one, more than anything I’ve done — maybe [including] Transformers — the positive response has been really, really nice,” Duhamel added. “So, I’m just very grateful because I know how hard it is to make a show that works.”
Josh Duhamel Believes Relatability Makes ‘Ransom Canyon’ Resonate With Audiences
Set in Texas Hill Country, Ransom Canyon is a neo-Western drama imbued with romance. Josh Duhamel stars as Staten Kirkland, a rancher who suffers the tragic loss of his 16-year-old son, Randall (Hubert Smielecki) amid their strained relationship following the death of his mother.
A year following the loss, Staten begins to find meaning in his life again thanks to a burgeoning yet complicated romance with Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly), while another battle emerges that threatens the rancher’s land and his lifestyle. Worse yet, Staten discovers there’s more to the accident that claimed Randall’s life.
Created by April Blair and based on the book of the same name by author Jodi Thomas, Ransom Canyon also stars Eoin Macken, Lizzy Greene, Jack Schumacher, Marianly Tejada, Garret Wareing, Andrew Liner and James Brolin.
During our Zoom conversation, Duhamel said that he believes there are several different reasons why Ransom Canyon Season 1 resonated with viewers on an emotional level.
“It’s really about the simplicity of it — it’s like an escape into this world that’s Much less connected to technology and everything else, “Duhamel observed. “It’s about family, it’s about legacy, it’s about love, it’s about friendship, it’s about sons and daughters and it’s beautifully shot.”
As such, Duhamel noted, Ransom Canyon is “an easy watch” because of Blair’s deft ability to capture the story’s sense of relatability throughout the entire series.
“I compare it to like an old pair of jeans or comfort food in a way. It’s pretty straightforward with really good actors,” Duhamel said. “I think Minka does an amazing job — all of the actors do an amazing job — and April writes a world that’s easily consumable. I think that’s really what it is. There’s nothing more complex than that.”
All 10 episodes of Ransom Canyon Season 1 are streaming on Netflix while the release date for Season 2 is yet to be announced.
Directed by Johnny Martin, Off the Grid, starring Josh Duhamel, Greg Kinnear, Peter Stormare, María Elisa Camargo, Michael Zapesotsky, Ricky Russert and Michael Papajohn is new in select theaters and available on digital streaming via premium video on demand.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/06/30/josh-duhamel-talks-netflixs-ransom-canyon-season-2-renewal-and-why-hes-grateful/