Who doesn’t love a good rodeo? After all, Ransom Canyon is on our favorites list for a reason, right? So we’re totally in with the STARZ’s upcoming family drama set in the world of Black rodeo in Texas. We still don’t know the show’s title, and there are plenty of details being kept under wraps, but we know a few member of the cast and we’re really excited! If you want to know all the details, keep reading!
DeWanda Wise as Anaya Clarke-Reagan
If you’ve seen DeWanda Wise before, you already know she has a knack for playing confident women. That makes her feel like a perfect fit for Anaya Clarke-Reagan.
On paper, Anaya has it all. “She’s the Clarke family’s firstborn. Savvy, polished, and highly educated, Anaya is the eldest Clarke sibling and the mayor of Trinity City. A consummate chameleon, she has built a conservative public image alongside her husband, Gregg, a powerful judge—an image that conceals far darker desires.
Anaya works tirelessly for her city, but self-preservation and family come first, even when that means protecting them from their own father. She’ll do whatever it takes to secure her public image and political aspirations.”
Honestly? She already sounds like the kind of character we’ll love to hate and those are usually the most fun characters to watch.
Tian Richards as Rodney Clarke
Every family has one sibling who can’t help making things more complicated. Here, that seems to be Rodney Clarke.
Played by Tian Richards, Rodney is “the fire-starter. Sebastian and Anaya’s smart-ass, openly gay younger brother. Charming, impulsive, and incapable of leaving a wound alone, Rodney is the sibling most likely to turn a spark into an inferno.
He has little interest in the family rodeo, preferring to run Big Rod’s Likka Lounge, where it appears he’s finally put his troubled past behind him. He hasn’t. When his business is violently robbed and one of his own is killed, Rodney embarks on a reckless quest for revenge that threatens to engulf the entire Clarke family.”
Marcus Mitchell as Julius Calhoun
Unlike the Clarke siblings, Marcus Mitchell’s Julius Calhoun isn’t part of the family at the center of the story. He’s Sebastian’s best friend, Jojo’s older brother, and one of Trinity City’s biggest rodeo stars….and the hometown hero.
“He’s disciplined. Proud. Tall. Sexy. He’s also deeply spiritual. Bible verse etched into his riding jacket. Nonconfrontational but not afraid to stand up for himself. Julius is Trinity City’s main draw and most decorated bull rider since Sebastian.
For him, being a cowboy is a way of life. Bull riding is a way to a better life. And he’s looking to take his career beyond Trinity City. Julius’ ambitions put his body and friendship with Sebastian to the test. Still, Julius will go great lengths to stay on top.”
Shannon Wallace as Sebastian Clarke
Wallace will play Sebastian Clarke, the former bull-riding champion at the center of the family rodeo. He’s described as “a recently divorced former bull-riding champion, Sebastian’s career ended after an arena accident nearly took his life.
Handsome, charismatic, and relentlessly ambitious, he transformed the family rodeo into one of East Texas’ premier regional showcases. But what Sebastian builds with charm, he often undermines with impulse. A compulsive risk-taker in business, gambling, and love, he’s determined to take the family legacy to the next level – if his self-destructive instincts don’t destroy it first.”
So, yes, Sebastian sounds like trouble.
He’s clearly someone who can get things done, and turning the family rodeo into one of East Texas’ biggest regional showcases is no small accomplishment. But there’s a pretty big difference between being ambitious and constantly putting everything you’ve built at risk.
Add his divorce, his history in the arena, and his complicated relationship with his father, and we already have plenty to unpack.
Curtiss Cook as Elias Clarke
Then we have Elias Clarke, played by Cook, and he might be bringing even more baggage into the family. He’s a “handsome, charming, and quietly persuasive, Elias is the Clarke siblings’ estranged father and co-founder of the family rodeo with his late wife.
Never one to draw much distinction between what was right and what was legal, his past choices landed him in prison and left an indelible stain on the family legacy. Recently released, Elias returns determined to earn back his children’s trust; but, as he clashes with Sebastian over the future of the rodeo, it’s unclear whether he has changed…or if he’s simply recalibrating.”
Elias wants his children’s trust back after everything that happened, but trust isn’t exactly something you can demand. And if he’s already clashing with Sebastian over the future of the rodeo, it doesn’t sound like his return is going to be peaceful.
We’re definitely curious to see whether Elias really has changed or he’s simply gotten better at hiding the same old instincts.
Lauren E. Banks as Wynter
Banks will play Wynter, Sebastian’s ex-wife and the mother and coach of their son, Driver. According to her derscription, “after building her entire adult life around the Clarke family and the rodeo, newly-divorced Wynter is finally asking what she wants for herself. She’s ready to loosen her grip, explore life outside the arena, and maybe even a few new men.”
And honestly, we’re very interested in Wynter’s story. She’s spent years building her life around Sebastian, their son, and the rodeo. Now that her marriage is over, she’s finally giving herself permission to figure out what she actually wants. That could mean a completely different life for Wynter.
Liv Symone as Jojo Calhoun
Symone joins the cast as Jojo Calhoun, Julius’ younger sister. She’s “brazen and creative, Jojo is local bull riding star Julius’ younger sister and a talented barrel racer. While the boys focus on their rodeo careers, Jojo feels ostracized by the more traditional women riders and cowgirls. Good thing she’s an even better rapper than rider – and she’s determined to be the biggest artist to ever come out of Trinity City.”
We have to admit, the rapper part definitely caught our attention. Jojo already has a place in the rodeo world, but she clearly doesn’t want to be defined by it. She’s talented, ambitious, and looking for her own way forward, even if the people around her don’t quite understand it.
And with Julius already established as one of Trinity City’s biggest rodeo stars, it should be fun to see how the siblings support each other—and where their ambitions might clash.
Jason Dirden as Greg Reagan
Finally, Dirden will play Greg Reagan, Anaya’s husband. He’s “a respected District Court judge and Anaya’s husband, Greg is supportive, charming, and easygoing. But beneath the polish is real steel, along with a past he keeps carefully buried. Fiercely protective of his wife, Greg is not afraid to get his hands dirty when Anaya, or the life they’ve built together, is threatened.”
So much for the idea that Anaya’s marriage might be the one uncomplicated part of her life. Greg has the respectable career, the polished image, and the supportive-husband thing down. But there’s clearly something lurking underneath, and we can’t help wondering what that carefully buried past is.
Especially because he’s willing to get his hands dirty. So yeah, we’re going to be keeping an eye on him.
