In Netflix’s ‘Ransom Canyon,’ local crew brings a Western landscape to life

In Netflix’s television series “Ransom Canyon,” mantles made of stone are actually plastered foam, and weathered walls with faded paint and scratches are freshly built. But you wouldn’t know it simply by looking.

Behind the convincing illusions are entire teams of people — many of them New Mexican — sweating every little detail that makes the world of “Ransom Canyon” feel real.

Season one of the series — a modern Western drama filmed in New Mexico, featuring Josh Duhamel playing the character Staten Kirkland and Minka Kelly playing Quinn O’Grady — employed over 700 New Mexicans, including 380 crew members, 40 principal actors and 300 background actors.

“These are such good jobs for people who may not have a lot of other opportunities,” said Virginia Hopkins, a New Mexican who served as lead scenic artist for season one of “Ransom Canyon.” “It’s a good opportunity in an interesting craft that includes benefits, health care, retirement, decent wages — these jobs are hard to find. It’s really important.”

New Mexico’s film industry has been a major driver for the state, though it’s seen a slowdown in recent years, in part, due to SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 and productions opting to shoot overseas.

Still, New Mexico’s film industry directly and indirectly employed 8,418 people from April 2024 through March 2025, according to an economic impact report from the New Mexico Film Office. The median hourly wage for full-time New Mexico crew members was $35.22, the report said.

Hopkins has lived in Santa Fe for 25 years and has worked in the film industry and scenery painting for even longer.

Her role in “Ransom Canyon” was a physical one. The lead scenic artist acts as the hands of the production designer, establishing authenticity across the sets through painting, aging, and a wide range of techniques to transform the showrunner’s vision into something tangible and real, Hopkins said.

Hopkins and her crew showcase their work in episode six of season one, when a blue pickup truck is pulled out of a lake. The production did not own the truck, so Hopkins and her team had to create lake weeds and paint the truck to appear as if it had been in the water for months, when it was only partially dipped in and sprayed with water.

The story centers on the pickup truck, which connects to the death of Kirkland’s son. The show follows Kirkland’s investigation into the crash, as he fends off an energy company seeking to acquire his land to build a pipeline and navigates feelings for O’Grady, his late wife’s best friend and owner of the beloved local bar, Gracie’s Dance Hall.

While the story is set in Texas, it’s New Mexico’s sprawling skies and rolling hills at sites in Las Vegas, Buena Vista and Ribera — as well as sets built and designed by New Mexico crews at Netflix Studios Albuquerque — seen on screen.

The show’s production designer, Keith Neely, said he was “excited” when he learned the show was going to film in the state. Neely currently lives in San Francisco, but once lived in Santa Fe for five years, where he got married and his son was born.

“I’ve always wanted to come back here. I love working here; it’s beautiful,” Neely said. “(And) there’s a really good pool of talent to choose from.”

Hopkins’ work on the pickup truck lake scene stands out as one of the production design team’s “pretty impressive” achievements from the first season, Neely said.

Many layers, mediums, materials and steps exist in between point A and point B of Hopkins’ design tasks, she said, joking that a major part of her job is to “make sure the designer doesn’t panic” when they see the project in its earlier stages.

Hopkins said her understanding of how to create something from nothing comes from years of living and observing.

“I often say to young scenics, just stare at stuff. Stare at stuff in the world. Notice how things get old,” Hopkins said. “I started noticing 20 years ago that a lot of the public buildings and shopping malls started having this cruddy dirt layer right near the front doors, and then I realized, ‘Oh, it’s when smokers had to move 10 feet away from the front of the building.’ So it’s stuff like that.”

Although the intent is to make the set feel as real as possible to the eye, the larger goal is to make the set appear real to the camera, which can often be a craft of its own, said Marisa Frantz, the art director during the first season.

“It was really interesting to me when I first started working in film (was) how differently things read on camera. There’s a real art to learning what that difference is and how to make something feel real through the camera lens,” Frantz said. “When you’re standing in front of it, it can often feel very theatrical, but then when you look at it through the lens, it feels right and it’s really vivid and it works.”

Frantz also lives in New Mexico, residing in Cerillos for the past 21 years. She originally started in the theater world but decided to join a local film union upon moving to the state, hoping the skills would transfer. She’s been in the art department of film ever since.

As art director for “Ransom Canyon,” Frantz ensured that all departments understood the production designer’s vision for the project. The role meant constant communication and collaboration with the show’s construction team and set designers.

“It’s really fun to get to know all of them and learn what their unique skill sets are and what they bring to the table,” Frantz said.

Problem-solving is also a big part of the job, Frantz said, joking that the most frequent questions she asks are: “Can we solve this problem? How would you do it? ... How long is it going to take?”

For Neely, his role as production designer involved the bigger picture, conceptualizing the overall look and feel of the sets. In addition to helping scout outdoor locations, he was responsible for establishing believability and consistency across all of the characters’ environments to draw in both the actor and audience.

“I think this is probably the best-looking show that I’ve done,” Neely said. “Overall, I’m probably the proudest of this show for the whole look.”

“Ransom Canyon” has been renewed for a second season, which will be filmed at Netflix Studios Albuquerque.

Without giving away any spoilers, Neely said, “It’s been really fun” to read the scripts for season two.

“It’s pretty much been a dream job. It’s really hard, but I love the show; I love the storylines (and) the characters are great,” Neely said.

Neely will serve as production designer for the second season, while Hopkins and Frantz will be busy working on another production, Amazon’s “Joseph of Egypt,” which is being filmed at Netflix Studios Albuquerque.

While they won’t work on season two, representing their home state in “Ransom Canyon” felt natural and meaningful, Hopkins and Frantz said.

“I think New Mexico is really beautiful, and so it’s kind of a pleasure to tie in something that’s already really pretty. I’m here because it attracted me,” Hopkins said.

“For me, representing New Mexico is just making sure that we have as much local crew as possible,” Frantz added. “I’ve worked here for over 20 years and I know a lot of the local people, so when people come from out of town, come to me and ask me who I’d recommend, it’s like I have this huge pool.”

She estimates the local film union she belongs to had around 300 people when she first came to New Mexico in 2004, but now it has close to 2,000.

“We have a really thriving industry here,” Frantz said. “I used to have to work (at different locations) a lot, but lately, I haven’t had to because there’s work here at home. I really enjoy it.”

On the set of ‘Ransom Canyon’