Cowboy-core is the trend that just won't end. From Chappell Roan's recent country-inspired single 'The Giver', to Playboi Carti pulling up in a full neo-Western fit at Milan Fashion Week, to travel booking site Tripaneer reporting a 94 per cent increase in US ranch stays, it seems we can't stop saying 'howdy' to all things Western. And now the cowboys are coming for our TV screens too.
Undoubtedly, the interest in rodeo romances kicked off with Paramount+'s Yellowstone, a neo-Western drama revolving around the lives and conflicts of the fictional Dutton Family, the owners of one the largest cattle ranches in Montana, that ran for five seasons from 2018 to 2023. Since then, the show has had several spin-offs ordered - and other networks are getting a piece of wrangler action too. Prime Video ran Outer Range for two seasons, and earlier today Netflix dropped their answer to the trend - Ransom Canyon - a 10-part drama starring Josh Duhamel as a ranch owner struggling with the death of his wife.
From a studio perspective, it's easy to see why they'd want to saddle up. The opening episode of the final season of Yellowstone brought in a casual 15.7 million viewers, making it the most watched show in 2022 and the biggest cable-premiere since The Walking Dead in 2017.
But what is it about cowboy dramas that make 15 million people plus tune in? "We live in increasingly urban environments full of technology, and dramas set in Western times [and settings] offer a very different (but plausible) reality that offers this sense of escapism," explains psychologist Dr Katherine Hall.
Hall, who teaches at Coventry University, cites the often rugged landscapes and "very beautiful environmental imagery" as another reason why we're all switched on. These environments, she explains, also amp up any romance storylines going on, too.
"Any themes covered in these shows such as 'romance' might be particularly heightened in these fictional (but again plausible) settings, and this is very attractive - we can envisage ourselves there. I think modern period dramas like Bridgerton are another good example of this," she explains.
However, at a time when it seems many viewers pride themselves on wanting more diverse representation on screen, with complex and forward thinking storylines, what we're actually seeing (and enjoying) are shows which broadcast and play into very specific gender roles. As, despite the 2025 lens, the neo-Western TV shows we're consuming do still hold up these 'traditional' values and stereotypes associated with the genders of male and female.
In Ransom Canyon, all the female main characters have careers and hobbies we traditionally associate with women - Ellie was a nurse, Lauren is a cheerleader and Quinn runs a lavender farm. Meanwhile, on all the ranches seen in the series, there's not one female worker in site. As for the romances, they're all strictly heterosexual - no Brokeback action in sight. And sure, none of the women are silent subservient figures, but it's curious that in 2025 we're addicted to a series that so easily props up 'traditional' gender roles.
And yet, for Dr Hall, it actually makes a lot of sense. When I ask her over email if there's a link to the current political climate and the rise of these shows, she agrees there most definitely is a connection.
She cites Putnam's 2007 'Constrict Theory' as an explanation as to why this happens. "Whilst this [theory] was originally developed in relation to ethnic diversity, I think it very much applies to other demographic factors such as gender - and in particular gender diversity and gender equality (yesterdays's landmark judgement in the Supreme Court might also be a good example of this)" she explains. "Constrict Theory essentially says that the more diverse a society becomes, the less trusting people tend to become and the more they socially withdraw, which can lead to polarisation.
"The more polarisation, the more people feel the need to reaffirm their sense of identity or distance themselves from the opposite view, and you then tend to get an increase in people with views at the end of each spectrum or each debate."
And young people aren't exempt from this either. While Hall correctly points out we don't know the ages of the people enjoying these neo-Western dramas, we do know they can also be impacted by polarisation.
"Some people are choosing to demonstrate a preference for more traditional gender roles and actively seeking content that reinforces this. I think this probably also ties into things like the rise in popularity among young people of 'Andrew Tate' and the TV show Adolescence has been another good example of this," she said.
Of course, this is not to say that the majority of people who watch these Western dramas, nor their creators, intend to celebrate the rigid gender binaries displayed within the shows, but that the genre and worlds of Westerns inadvertently lend themselves to propping up these binaries. Many of us who watch these dramas do as form of light-hearted escapism, who enjoy the "dramatic" plotlines, funny scenes and fluffy romances.
And thankfully there are plenty of shows we can enjoy that not only interrogate these displays of gender norms, but bend then, hold a mirror up to and push our perception of gender and sexuality forward like The Last of Us, Adolescence, Sex Education, Heartstopper and many more.
Sure, we all like a cowboy, but not at the expense of our TVs being taken over by restrictive gender norm shows.
