What is Netflix’s Concrete Cowboy about?

Concrete Cowboy, a Netflix western drama set in Philadelphia, stars Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin as Harp and Cole, an estranged father and son duo brought together for the summer.

The film is based on the middle-grade novel Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri and bumps Cole’s age up to 15 instead of 12. It’s Cole’s behavior—his tendency to act out and his dangerous slide toward a life of crime—that lands him on his father’s doorstep.

Harp is a man Cole barely knows, whose lifestyle is nowhere near what Cole is used to, considering he arrives to find his dad keeping a horse in his home. In fact, Harp is a part of the  urban cowboy subculture: a collective of Black horsemen who maintain and care for horses in the city.

It’s hard, sometimes thankless work, as these urban cowboys fight to keep the life they’ve built and the tradition they’ve honored from being taken by the government. As Cole begins to build a bond with Harp and learn about a world he’d never been a part of, he becomes invested in the fight to keep Black horsemanship alive in North Philadelphia.

Concrete Cowboy release date

Alongside Elba and McLaughlin, the film stars Lorraine Toussaint (playing Nessie), Jharrel Jerome (as Smush), and Method Man (as Leroy).

Concrete Cowboy is also inspired by the Fletcher Street Cowboys, who run the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, a non-profit organization founded by Ellis Ferrell whose mission is to produce “an alternative to outdoor leisure activity to the community and engaging urban youth in equestrian sports while teaching life skills, instilling discipline and promoting academic excellence.”

Concrete Cowboy is set to land on Netflix at the top of the month on Friday, April 2. The western drama promises a look at little-known American history grounded in a father-son relationship challenged by city life and turbulent times.

Watch the trailer below: