It was around perhaps the third episode of Ransom Canyon that I finally realized what Netflix’s new Western-themed romantic drama reminded me of: Varsity Valley. Which, to be clear, is not some cheesy primetime soap but a parody of one — specifically, the one that plays in the foreground of Saturday Night Live’s “Waffle House” sketch, while absolute mayhem reigns in the background. In other words, it’s a “show” made specifically to be ignored, generic enough to slide right off your brain but familiar enough that you get the basic idea anyway.
Ransom Canyon, though it is a real series, feels much the same. It is featureless and formulaic, happy to borrow just a fraction of your attention while you mostly focus on other things. This is not entirely a net negative, or at least not for everyone; background shows can have their place in an omnivorous TV diet.
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