# The Ranch (2016)

> A former pro athlete returns to his Colorado family ranch to help his father and brother keep it running while figuring out where he belongs.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/57844

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 80
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, western
- Created by: Jim Patterson, Don Reo
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Elisha Cuthbert, Danny Masterson, Sam Elliott, Debra Winger, Grady Lee Richmond, Kelli Goss, Bret Harrison
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4998212/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, sardonic, comforting, wistful, irreverent

## What critics say

Viewers broadly enjoyed the family sitcom's humor and the chemistry between Sam Elliott and Ashton Kutcher, with later seasons rated higher than the first.

## Synopsis

The Ranch (2016-2020) is a Netflix single-camera comedy created by Jim Patterson and Don Reo, a four-season sitcom with eighty half-hour episodes. Ashton Kutcher plays Colt, a washed-up pro athlete who comes home to help his aging father Beau (Sam Elliott) and his hard-drinking brother Rooster (Danny Masterson) keep the family ranch afloat. Elisha Cuthbert plays Abby, Colt's romantic counterpart and a grounded presence in the small Colorado town. Debra Winger plays Maggie, the matriarch whose presence shapes every family argument. The engine of the show is the constant friction of a family that bickers over feed bills, rodeo debts, and unspoken grievances while trying to hold together a struggling spread. Each episode follows a practical problem on the ranch that spills into a domestic dispute, resolved with sharp banter and warm reconciliations. Set in present-day rural Colorado, the series has a rough-edged, western comedy texture with a comforting, wistful undertone. Its tone is brash yet tender, with a steady current of sibling rivalry and quiet fatherly affection. Fans of Heartland and Yellowstone will find resonance in its rural family dynamics, while viewers of Married with Children will recognize its raucous domestic comedy.

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