[3][4] The film stars Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Byron Bowers, Lorraine Toussaint, Jamil Prattis and Clifford "Method Man" Smith.

[5] Concrete Cowboy had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2020, and was digitally released on Netflix on April 2, 2021.

[6] Fifteen-year-old Cole is from Detroit and always getting in trouble at school, so his mom drives him to Philadelphia to live with his estranged father, Harp.

When Harp brings him in the house, Cole finds a horse standing in the living room, and the fridge and cupboards empty.

Cole refuses to accept Harp's rules, stalks off and asks various neighbors, including Nessie, whether he can stay at their house.

He spends the day learning how to efficiently shovel manure under the instructions of Paris, a rider who uses a wheelchair.

Harp tells Cole he named him after jazz musician John Coltrane, a fellow Philadelphian who grew up without a father, because he wanted his son to be able to succeed as well.

Smush used to be a rider, too, but began dealing drugs to save up money to buy a ranch out West.

At the stables, Animal Control has arrived to seize all the horses due to neighbor complaints.

In August 2019, it was announced that Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint, Byron Bowers and Method Man had joined the cast of the film, with Ricky Staub directing in his feature film directorial debut from a screenplay by himself and Dan Wasler based upon the novel Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri.

The website's critics consensus reads: "Well-acted and solidly directed, Concrete Cowboy lassos old-fashioned uplift with its story of a father and son in a little-seen corner of American culture.

"[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".