The Ranch was an American streaming television comedy-drama series, that debuted in 2016 on Netflix and ran for four seasons.
Let’s find out more about the series!
- The Ranch was an American streaming television comedy/drama series.
- It stars Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson, who previously co-starred on That ’70s Show as brothers Colt and Rooster Bennett, respectively
- It also stars Debra Winger as their mother Maggie, a local bar owner, and Elisha Cuthbert as Colt’s love interest Abby, a local school teacher.
- Other cast members from That 70s Show who have recurring roles include Wilmer Valderrama, Kurtwood Smith, and Debra Jo Rupp.
- It debuted in 2016 on Netflix.
- It ran for four seasons in eight parts.
- Each season consists of 20 episodes broken up into two parts, each containing 10 episodes, the episodes are approximately 30 minutes in length.
- All episodes are named after American country songs.
- The first ten episodes premiered on April 1, 2016, and the second batch of ten episodes premiered on October 7, 2016.
- In April 2016, Netflix renewed The Ranch for the second season of 20 episodes, the first half of which premiered on June 16, 2017, and the second half was released on December 15, 2017.[
- On July 4, 2017, Netflix announced through its official The Ranch Twitter account that the show had been renewed for a third season of 20 episodes, the first ten of which aired on June 15, 2018.
- In December 2017, it was announced that Masterson had been written out of the show following multiple sexual assault allegations made against him, and appeared in only the first 10 episodes of the third season.
- On October 31, 2018, Netflix renewed the series for a fourth and final season with the series to conclude in 2020.
- On August 21, 2019, it was announced that the first part of the final season (Part 7) was set to premiere on September 13, 2019
- On December 9, 2019, it was reported that the second part of the final season (part 8) was set to be released on January 24, 2020.
- The Ranch has earned mixed to positive reviews from critics.
- The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the series an average approval rating of 63% (60% for season 1, 67% for season 2) based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10.
- The site’s critical consensus reads, “A formulaic set-up and predictable plotting are elevated by The Ranch’s surprising sensitivity and strong performances.”
- Metacritic gave the series a score of 56 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews”.
- The Ranch was filmed on a sound stage in front of a live audience at Warner Brothers Studio stage 19 in Burbank, California.
- The opening sequence shows scenes from Norwood, and Ouray, Colorado, and the surrounding Ouray, and San Miguel Counties.
- Exterior shots of Maggie’s bar are the 141 Saloon (torn down) located in Naturita, Colorado, a former uranium mining town.
- The theme song is performed by Shooter Jennings (son of Waylon Jennings) and Lukas Nelson (son of Willie Nelson).
- All of the episodes are named after songs by country artists Kenny Chesney (part one), George Strait (part two), Tim McGraw (part three), and Garth Brooks (part four).
- In season two, episode twenty, “If Tomorrow Never Comes”, Mr. Peterson (Kurtwood Smith, who played Red Forman on That ’70s Show (1998) meets with Colt (Ashton Kutcher) and Rooster (Danny Masterson) to get the contract signed for the purchase of his ranch. Upon finalizing the deal and shaking hands, Mr. Peterson calls Rooster “dumbass”, a reference to his character Red Forman on That ’70s Show (1998).
- In an interview with E! News promoting the first season of the show, Danny Masterson described it as: “It’s usually Hollywood making fun of Middle America and we wanted to be Middle America making fun of Hollywood.”
- The opening credits image of Debra Winger in a cowboy hat is from her role in Urban Cowboy (1980).
- The buffalo in the back of the bar is wearing a different hat in each episode. It ranges from crowns to wizard hats to top hats.
- In season one, episode one, “Back Where I Come From,” when Colt (Ashton Kutcher) is helping to birth the calf, he tells Rooster (Danny Masterson) “you can’t see it, but I’m flipping you off!” He said the same thing on That ’70s Show (1998) season five, episode twelve, “Misty Mountain Hop,” when he had a vase stuck on his hand.
- The picture of the town in the opening credits is Ouray, Colorado.
- The picture of Danny Masterson on the motorcycle in the opening credits was taken when he did Beethoven’s 2nd (1993).
- The Part 5 episode titles are all songs that Dolly Parton recorded.
- Beau Bennett (Sam Elliott) drinks Coors beer; Sam Elliot does the voice over for Coors commercials.
- Season one episode eight, “Til It’s Gone,” reunited Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men (2003).
- The 291 whiskey seen in multiple episodes is made in a small batch distillery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
- The picture of the house with a large mountain in the background is Mt Hood in Oregon.
- It’s not the normal view most see looking from west to east but it’s from looking from east to west. Sam Elliot grew up in Portland Oregon.
- David Trainer directed every episode of both The Ranch and That 70’s Show. Both shows starred 6 of the same actors.
- The Ranch is filmed in front of a live studio audience.
- According to the loan application that Beau (Sam Elliott) filled out, the address of the ranch is 3712 County Road 145.
- In season two, episode eight, “I Didn’t Ask and She Didn’t Say”, Colt (Ashton Kutcher) gives Rooster (Danny Masterson) a six-pack with one beer missing. He did the same to Red (Kurtwood Smith) in That ’70s Show (1998).
- Ashton Kutcher and Ethan Suplee appeared in The Butterfly Effect (2004).
- In season one, episode five, “American Kids”, Rooster (Danny Masterson) said he has a hat that says “free mustache rides”. In Mask (1985), Sam Elliott wore a shirt that said “Mustache Rides”.
- The 141 Saloon in Naturita, Colorado, was used for all exterior shots of Maggie’s Saloon in fictional Garrison, Colorado.
- On multiple occasions, Colt (Ashton Kutcher) is wearing Spokane Shock shirts. An AFL team that folded after the 2015 season, and was replaced in 2016 by the IFL team The Spokane Empire.
- Coloradans have a very slight drawl, if not completely neutral, as opposed to the distinctive southern drawl in the show.
- Debra Winger and Barry Corbin appeared in Urban Cowboy (1980). The original version of the theme song was also featured prominently on the soundtrack for that movie.
- One of the recurring gags is that there is an obscenity about Colt painted on the water tower that Rooster put there. This is a reference to That 70’s Show, where many antics and episodes revolved around the gang painting their own water tower.
- There are several stars in the show who appeared in Two and a Half Men (2003): Ashton Kutcher, Jon Cryer, Conchata Ferrell, Martin Mull, Maggie Lawson, John Amos and Grady Lee Richmond. In addition, Jim Patterson, executive producer of the show, was also executive producer on Two and a Half Men (2003).
- The Ranch is the first sitcom series to be rating TV-MA.
- Bret Harrison and Megyn Price appeared on Grounded for Life (2001).
- In season one, episode one, “Back Where I Come From”, Colt (Ashton Kutcher) mentioned he was seventeen in 1999. So if he graduated in 2000 at eighteen, he would be thirty-six in the series.
- Debra Winger is credited in every episode, but she didn’t appear in several episodes.
- Beau Bennett (Sam Elliott) really hates California in this show. Ironically, Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California where he lived until the age of 13.
- The opening shot is of Ouray, Colorado. There is a burger joint in Ouray called Maggie’s, but it looks completely different than the bar in the show.
- Ashton Kutcher tweeted in June 2019 that the show had been canceled after four seasons.
- Throughout the series, Rooster (Danny Masterson) uses Kodiak Wintergreen’s smokeless tobacco. Colt (Ashton Kutcher) seems to prefer Skoal dips of varying flavors, including peach and straight. Beau (Sam Elliott), while never explicitly seen dipping or using tobacco, can sometimes be seen with the distinct outline of a tobacco can in his front left pocket. Colt uses Copenhagen
- In season two, Wilmer Valderrama appeared as Humberto. Wilmer also starred as Fez in That ’70s Show (1998), along with Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson.
- Luke Bennett (Dax Shepherd) states in episode 10 of Part 8 that he served 12 years in the United States Army.
- While Beau is devoted to Ford trucks and hates Chevy trucks, the actor Sam Elliot is well known for doing the voiceover for Dodge Ram truck commercials.
Got anything to add?