The Ranch season 3 premiere date speculation; show’s complicated future
Usually with these sort of premiere / return-date articles (after a streaming show launches) we like to be celebratory and run through different scenarios on when the show could be coming back as well as what they could focus on (story-wise) for the next season. Unfortunately, it’s a little bit different with this show. The Ranch (over the past several weeks) has been completely overshadowed due to the alleged sexual assault actions of Danny Masterson and some of the response by Netflix. It took them a while to do their own internal investigations, but eventually the decision was made to write the actor off of the show.
Here’s where things get a little bit trickier — the episodes released today by Netflix are all episodes featuring Masterson in the cast. This is why you may not have seen too much in the wake of publicity around them. Ashton Kutcher announced on Twitter that the show was back, but that’s about it. Meanwhile, the show’s official account hasn’t shared anything since retweeting Netflix’s announcement that Masterson is departing the show ten days ago.
Almost every aspect of the show right now is controversial. While you don’t necessarily want to penalize an entire hard-working cast and crew for the allegations against one man, it’s also hard to watch and support the show when he’s onscreen. It’s also hard to support Netflix wholeheartedly with the show given that they opted not to make a move for a long time when it came to Masterson’s role on the show. Watching him in the second half of this season is a glaring reminder of the news that is out there. That’s why the best thing for The Ranch to do at this point is just fast-forward as much as they can to a time when Masterson will not be on the show anymore. Presumably in season 3 a new actor is going to be brought in as a replacement — personally we’d go with Topher Grace if he’s available, just because that is another form of That 70’s Show nostalgia that doesn’t have any controversy attached to it at.
For now, our feeling is that The Ranch season 3 will premiere in the summer, long enough for the show to make the changes they need to make. Once there’s more to report, we’ll have it for you here.
Are you still planning to watch The Ranch, or does the entire timing of the Masterson allegations and these episodes coming out taint the whole experience for you? Share in the comments below.
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