Alan Ritchson's Deeply Emotional Drama Is Taking Over Netflix's Top Streaming Charts

Fans of Alan Ritchson punching and shooting bad guys as Jack Reacher might not initially be interested in watching him in a moving faith-based drama based on a true story. But not only is "Ordinary Angels" currently dominating the Netflix charts, but the role of struggling widower Ed Schmitt might also be Alan Ritchson's best non-"Reacher" role.

The actor shot to superstardom by playing the titular ex-military police officer in "Reacher," which has now been running for three seasons on Prime Video. Since then, Ritchson's career has continued to blossom, with roles in "Fast X" and the 2026 Netflix sci-fi action movie "War Machine." But despite earning great reviews, his 2024 drama "Ordinary Angels" remains a somewhat overlooked entry in the Ritchson oeuvre. That's a shame because it not only showcases the actor's range, but it's actually pretty good.

The genesis of this film apparently begins with musician Dave Matthews, but don't let that put you off. Matthews brought the real-life story to producer Jon Berg, who set about bringing it to fruition. Director Jon Gunn, whose filmography is almost exclusively Christian movies, was drafted in to realize a script from Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig. The result was a film that allowed Ritchson to embrace his more sensitive side opposite Hilary Swank in one of her best modern roles. Now the movie has arrived on Netflix, and subscribers are loving it.

As /Film's Joshua Meyer pointed out in 2018, the problem with faith-based movies is that most of them aren't very good. But "Ordinary Angels" works perfectly well as a straightforward drama. Set in 1994 Louisville, Kentucky, it centers on hairdresser and alcoholic Sharon Stevens (Hilary Swank). When Sharon learns of a local five-year-old girl, Michelle Schmit (Emily Mitchell), who lost her mother, she attends the funeral and meets Michelle, her older sister Ashley (Skywalker Hughes), and the girls' father, Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson), who's struggling to hold things together for the family. Turns out Michelle is also in need of a liver transplant, and Sharon makes it her mission to help the family as much as she can, finding renewed purpose in the process.

The film grossed $20.5 million on an estimated budget of $13 million, which doesn't exactly make it a commercial triumph. But it also has an 84% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 102 reviews. As Catherine Bray of The Guardian wrote in her positive review, "Taken on its own terms as an old-fashioned character drama and showcase for Ritchson as a dramatic actor (he's genuinely really good), it does the job it set out to do." 

With that in mind it's not surprising the film is faring so well on Netflix, though this is the same streaming platform that once allowed Kevin Hart's "Lift" to top the charts back. As per FlixPatrol, "Ordinary Angels" debuted at number one on the United States movie charts the day after it hit the service on July 21, 2026. So, if this one passed you by or you dismissed it due to the whole "faith-based" thing, now's the time to give it a go.