Josh Duhamel Reacts to Shocking ‘Ransom Canyon’ Cancellation: ‘Feel Bad for the Fans’

Josh Duhamel is as baffled as fans are by Netflix’s decision to cancel Ransom Canyon. 

“I was pretty surprised, if I’m being honest,” the actor told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with STOKE Shoes. “I thought [it was safe] because the show was No. 1 for almost two weeks and the numbers looked really, really good and people really loved the show.”

Netflix canceled ‘Ransom Canyon’ after two seasons

In September, Deadline reported that the streamer had canceled the Western romantic drama, which also featured Minka Kelly, after two seasons. The move came roughly six weeks after the release of the sophomore season.

While Ransom Canyon Season 2 did make it into the top 10, the viewership numbers weren’t as strong as Netflix had hoped they would be. The eight-episode season had 4.1 million views in its first week of release, per Deadline. That was a  43% drop season 1, which had 7.2 million views in its first week.

Duhamel said that he was “bummed” the show, which is based on a series of books by Jodi Thomas, won’t return for season 3. But he understood that the cancellation was a business decision.

“I was a little upset with Netflix for not giving the audience another season, because people really did love the show … but that’s the business,” he said. “At the same time, I get it. They have their reasons for why things stay and why things go. I don’t always understand those reasons, but it’s not my job to question.”

“I’ve just gotta move on,” he said. “I just feel bad for the fans who are really invested in it, and that’s it, unfortunately.”

Josh Duhamel ‘love playing’ Staten Kirkland on ‘Ransom Canyon’

Ransom Canyon stars Kelly as Quinn O’Grady, a pianist and dance hall owner, and Duhamel as grieving rancher Staten Kirkland. The longtime friends’ simmering romance plays out against the backdrop of Texas hill country, alongside plenty of small town drama. 

Duhamel said that while he’d said goodbye to Staten, he hoped to play a similar character in the future. 

“I really loved playing that character. It was in my wheelhouse, because I remember when I first got the job, I was actually out of my cabin, which isn’t a ranch. But I’m always doing ranch-y type things,” he said. “I was already in that mindset and I kind of lived that life anyway. So there’s something about it, I just really felt comfortable in that role. So the answer is yes, I would love to do more stuff like that. There’s a couple of things in the works that I may do, but those are too far off to talk about yet.”

Ransom Canyon Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Netflix.

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