Heavy Woman watches TV
The stars of Hallmark‘s recently canceled series “Ride” are celebrating the news that their show will get a second chance at a new network.
The drama about a legendary family on the rodeo circuit, with Nancy Travis as the family matriarch, struggled to find its footing at Hallmark Channel. But executives at the CW want to give it a second shot, according to Deadline.
Here’s what you need to know:
‘Ride’ Stars Surprised & Thrilled About Series Pickup
Hallmark“Ride” stars (from l to r) Tyler Jacob Moore, Beau Mirchoff, Tiera Skovbye, Jake Foy and Sara Garcia attend the series premiere in March 2023
On December 19, 2023, the CW announced that it will air the 10-episode first season of “Ride,” which premiered on Hallmark Channel in March. The series chronicles a cash-strapped McMurray family who operate a Colorado ranch and have been heavily involved in the rodeo industry for decades.
According to Deadline, the CW will begin airing “Ride” on January 22. Though the network currently has no plans to shoot a second season, but the show’s stars and fans are hopeful that it will do well enough in the ratings to warrant the CW continuing the series.
Tyler Jacob Moore, who played Gus Booker, an oil baron initially interested in buying the McMurray ranch, tweeted the news and encouraged fans to get others to watch.
He wrote, “Tell your friends to tune in and catch up! (juuuuust in case the CW lets us continue to develop and pay off all the threads exposed in this first season, the way we planned to!)”
Moore and his co-stars seemed surprised, albeit excited, about the CW’s unexpected revival of the show.
Longtime Hallmark star Marcus Rosner, who played bull rider Austin McMurray, posted a screenshot of the Deadline article in his Instagram Stories and wrote, “Hm. Didn’t see that coming.”
Jake Foy, who played his younger brother Tuff McMurray, also shared the article in his Stories and wrote, “Cancelled shmancelled! LET’s RIDE!!!!”
Hallmark Never Made an Official Announcement About Canceling ‘Ride’
HallmarkBeau Mirchoff, Nancy Travis and Tiera Skovbye in Hallmark’s “Ride”
Fans found out about Hallmark’s cancelation of “Ride” in November, when an unnamed network executive confirmed to Vulture that the network had “quietly decided not to renew” the show. The final episode ended on a cliffhanger on May 28 and fans had been asking for months when and if the series would return.
Ratings for “Ride” were decent, with an average of 0.2 in the 18-49 demographic and 1.3 million viewers per episode, according to TV Series Finale. But though it started off strong, the show struggled to retain its viewers, per USTVDB.
By contrast, Hallmark’s other new series, “The Way Home,” steadily increased viewership during the course of its first season, from January to March. According to USTVDB’s tracking, it achieved its highest ratings of the season in its last episode, with over 1.7 million viewers.
Hallmark announced that it had renewed “The Way Home” for a second season before its first season finale even aired. That series will return on January 21.