Texas Ranch House (1867) is about to premier in the US on PBS on May 1st. It’s similar to several very popular series that have come out from the BBC and PBS over the past several years, where people (non-actors) are selected to live like our ancestors did at certain places and time periods (or at least pretend to like them) – Colonial House, Victorian House, 1940s House, etc.
Most have a lot of potential, but the problem is people let their modern attitudes creep into everything and sometimes overwhelm the shows or settings. It’s hard to put your modern attitudes aside, but at the same time some of the series seemed like they had one or two or three people cast deliberately to generate controversy or problems.
This one does look interesting, and on the surface, except for maybe one or two people, all who were selected seem like they will fit into it a bit better than in past series.
Here’s the official description:
The latest and most ambitious experiment in living history from the makers of COLONIAL HOUSE, this new series sends a group of modern-day people back to the year 1867. It is the era of western expansion, a time of rounding up and branding free-roaming cattle and taming wild horses.