Ashton Kutcher plays Colt Bennett, a former pro athlete who never made it past the farm team. He now helps his father Beau run the family ranch near Garrison, Colorado, while trying to figure out where he belongs in the family. The Ranch is a Netflix sitcom that ran for four seasons, and it is mostly a pleasant, gentle comedy that never quite becomes a great one.
Trailer, via Netflix.
The Bennett Family
Kutcher and Danny Masterson play the Bennett brothers, with Sam Elliott as Beau and Debra Winger as Maggie. The show leans heavily on its cast’s history together: Masterson and Kutcher both appeared on That ’70s Show. The chemistry is real, and it carries the show through its weaker stretches.
Elisha Cuthbert plays Abby, a local schoolteacher who is Colt’s love interest. Her role is smaller than the men’s, but she gives the show a soft center when the humor turns cruder. Grady Lee Richmond and Kelli Goss round out the Bennett family as Hank and Heather, though they get less screen time.
Garrison, Colorado
The Ranch is set on Iron River Ranch, near the fictional town of Garrison, Colorado. The opening credits show a sign listing the population as 512. Dialogue places the town in southwestern Colorado, near the real city of Ouray, about a six-hour drive from Denver. This is a small, isolated world, and the show rarely leaves it.
The premise is simple: the Bennetts are a troubled family running a cattle ranch. The dysfunction comes from within, not from external threats. That simplicity is both the show’s strength and its weakness.
Episode Format
Each season is split into two parts, with ten episodes each. All episodes are named after American country music songs, which gives the show a consistent visual identity. The episodes themselves run about 30 minutes, making them quick to watch and easy to forget.
The humor is broad and physical, with Kutcher doing most of the heavy lifting. He plays Colt as a bumbling man-child who is constantly failing at life, and the show leans on that failure for its laughs. The jokes are predictable, and they repeat across seasons.
What the Show Gets Right
The Ranch is a nice show, but it is not a good show. It is pleasant without being memorable. The problems are structural. The Bennetts are a family of walking clichés, and the show never digs deep enough to make them feel real.
Beau is a gruff, wise rancher. Maggie is a bar owner who drinks too much and yells too loudly. Rooster is a lazy slob. Colt is a loser who can’t hold a job. These are not people; they are types.
Comparing the Seasons
| Season | Focus | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Establishing the family | Strong cast chemistry | Predictable setup |
| 2 | Introducing new conflicts | Better writing | Still relies on easy jokes |
| 3 | Dealing with loss | More emotional weight | Some episodes drag |
| 4 | Wrap-up | Attempts closure | Rushes to finish |
The Fourth Season
The fourth season ends the show abruptly, with the family moving forward without much resolution. It is a fair ending, but it feels rushed.
The Verdict
The Ranch is a solid sitcom that never reaches greatness. Its cast is strong, its setting is distinct, and its heart is in the right place. But the writing is weak, the jokes are thin, and the characters are shallow. It is a show you will enjoy watching, but you will not remember why afterward.
Key Facts Box
- Network: Netflix
- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 80
- First aired: 2016-04-01
- Last aired: 2020-01-24
- Length per episode: ~30 minutes
- Episodes per season: 20 (two parts of 10)
- Population of Garrison, Colorado: 512
The Ranch is a pleasant, gentle sitcom that never quite becomes a great one. It is worth watching for the cast alone, but it is a show you will forget the moment it ends.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
