When it comes to smoothing the way for a wide tale of land, some legacy, and long-suppressed secrets, only a few settings deliver like the rough heartlands of the American Southwest.
Though the series is rooted in the fictitious Texas Hill Country, the cameras spun a bit far from the Lone Star State.
So where exactly, then, was Ransom Canyon filmed? The answer lies in the visual deserts and momentous towns of New Mexico!
Behind the lens: Exploring the filming locations of Ransom Canyon
The noticeable tension and expansive ranch land, the most important to Ransom Canyon, might put forward the idea that the show might’ve been filmed in Texas, but Netflix takes on a different course of direction for the same.
The production team settled on the attractive settings of New Mexico—a decision that ties the knot with drama that is essentially visual along with logistical sense.
This change or rather decision let the crew to reconstruct the grimy plains and stiff silences of a Western story with notable realism.
Key amid the filming locations for Ransom Canyon was Santa Fe’s Bonanza Creek Ranch, an indispensable filmmaking location that’s no stranger to ye-haw cowboy boots with several other films like Silverado.
It is this ranch in particular that got on the resolute levelheadedness to the fictional world of the series.
Not too far off the bat, Blame Her Ranch, cushioned up in Ribera, New Mexico, lent the series its further added private and intimate backgrounds.
Its out-of-the-way allure and massive surroundings put forward perhaps the most picture-perfect canvas for emotionally stimulating scenes between characters.
This ranch converted itself into a battleground of family strains and betrayals.
Temporarily, Albuquerque and the town of Las Vegas, New Mexico, played a much noiseless yet essential role.
A historic nighttime scene was filmed at the Emmanuel Rosenwald Building, a place known for its architectural classiness and deep-rooted past.
Even though this building is located in Las Vegas, New Mexico—not to be muddled with Nevada—it added a touch of old-style charm to the Ransom Canyon.
Fascinatingly, while viewers will see Texas evenings and hear stories about Texas turf wars, none of the show’s scenes were filmed in this location.
Unpacking Ransom Canyon:
At a first overall glimpse, Ransom Canyon might seem like just another story of some ye-haw, cowboys, conflict, and some other stuff similar to lines of these—but…there’s a lot more underneath the surface seen above.
Set against the background of generational ranching families, this story is as much about unsaid promises and suppressed pain as much as it is about things like power and land.
Adapted from Jodi Thomas’ bestselling book series, the show brings to life the fictitious world of the Canyon, where families clash and alliances quarrel. At its core is Staten Kirkland, a rancher in a quandary between revenge and healing.
His budding relation with Quinn O’Grady, a dancehall owner carrying with her, her own cross, adds a subtle emotional beat to the story.
But when a mysterious cowboy arrives, the calm that once was begins to loosen —with secrets getting simmer, loyalties breaking, and the battle for the canyon increasing.
With themes like love, legacy, and loss intricately intermingled with each other, Ransom Canyon doesn’t simply resonate with Western tropes—it somehow attempts to reinvent them.
It is a modern Western where emotional backgrounds are just as huge and traitorous as the physical settings.
Though Ransom Canyon is a story depicted on screen in Texan soil, the series owes its visuals to New Mexico. From Santa Fe’s ranches to Albuquerque’s old-timey historic building, the state fashioned the look and feel of this new-aged Western drama.
Stream Ransom Canyon on Netflix from April 17, 2025.