After its first weekend of release on Netflix, new Western romantic drama series Ransom Canyon has already made quite the mark and could be lassoing up a successful run. On April 22, less than a week after the series made its premiere on April 17, Netflix shared its latest batch of viewership numbers, and there was some exciting news for the romantic drama, but less exciting news for Pulse.
Ransom Canyon debuted at No. 2 on Netflix's weekly top 10 most watched English shows ranking with 7.2 million views, which translates to 56.6 million hours viewed. The freshman drama came in behind Black Mirror, which easily took No. 1 with 10.6 million views, rising from 7 million views the previous week. Nothing on Netflix is beating Adolescence's numbers, though.
Still, the romantic drama series made a strong debut, an ever so slightly stronger one than medical drama series Pulse, which arrived earlier this month with 6.5 million viewers in its first frame and rose to 8.5 million views in its second frame. This week, instead of rising again, Pulse declined far past its initial ratings to 3.2 million views, which at least keeps the newbie in the top 10.
Ransom Canyon season 2 looks good after solid debut
After watching Ransom Canyon and seeing these numbers, fans are likely wondering what it all means about the potential for a second season. Well, these viewership figures are fairly solid considering the show's genre and likely less expensive price point compared to any of Netflix's much more big-budget original series. And the bigger upside is the numbers will surely increase next week.
Ransom Canyon's first season left the characters in a place where it's incredibly easy to pick up with season 2 and continue for many more seasons to come, thanks to Jodi Thomas' series of novels. The series' showrunner revealed in tandem with the show's premiere that the writers have already started working on stories for season 2 ahead of a formal renewal from Netflix. The streamer will likely be keeping a close watch on the ratings in the coming weeks before giving the green light.
Still, we can all hope for a renewal in less than a week like The Night Agent two years ago, or Nobody Wants This and Running Point more recently. The case for Pulse season 2 seems a bit more shaky with each passing week. Even though the medical drama has also been rumored have opened a writers' room for season 2, its popularity is more debatable when compared to other Netflix originals.
Who knows if Netflix will be holding Pulse and Ransom Canyon side by side when making renewal decisions? Currently, Ransom Canyon seems like the more likely of the two to become the fan-favorite hit. Personally, I have seen more people online talking about the Western romance than I have about the medical drama. (Maybe premiering in the shadow of The Pitt was a bad idea...)
While Netflix does place value on a show's opening weekend performance, it's also the staying power that's important. The streamer also looks at the show's completion rates within that opening frame and beyond, to see if viewers are finishing the season. That's a great reminder to finish the shows that you like! Hopefully, renewal decisions on Ransom Canyon and Pulse will be announced very soon and there will be exciting news to celebrate for both shows.
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