Netflix's New 'Virgin River Meets Yellowstone' Series Coming Sooner Than You Think
Looks like there's a chance to catch two high-profile Western shows at the same time this year!
Summary
- Netflix is prepping its own western show, Ransom Canyon, based on a series of novels by Jodi Thomas.
- While many speculate that it won't arrive until 2025, there's a chance that Ransom Canyon could arrive in late 2024.
- However, Yellowstone is coming out in the same release window, which could force Netflix to move the date.
In recent years, there has been virtually no television series in the Western genre that could rival the productions of Taylor Sheridan. But the release of the final episodes of Yellowstone, as well as the debut of 6666, is still a long way off, and therefore the niche of the media space dedicated to Westerns is actively occupied by Netflix (check out Song of the Bandits if you still haven't).
After the colossal success of Yellowstone, Netflix is set to introduce its new take on the genre, a live-action adaptation of the popular book series that combines the atmosphere of both Yellowstone and Netflix-owned romantic drama Virgin River. The new project is called Ransom Canyon and is already in active production. Speculation surrounding the series is that it may not be released until 2025, but there is still a possibility that it could be out as early as this year.
What's the New Netflix Western About?
Ransom Canyon will be based on the book series by Jodi Thomas and will feature a modern-day family Western story with romantic elements. The plot will follow the three families who own ranches in the vast Texas Hill Country.
Series writer Jinny Howe, who also worked on Virgin River, gave this description of the series in 2022:
'It's a contemporary Western romance show, just looking for more in this comfort romance space. It's a multi-generational family show set on a ranch, and we say it's Virgin River meets Yellowstone. We think that it's going to deliver on all the romance and again it will be a really beautiful vista and setting, very escapist.'
The series was created and executive produced by April Blair (All American, Wednesday ) and the first two episodes were directed by Amanda Marsalis (Ozark, The Umbrella Academy ). Ransom Canyon stars Josh Duhamel, Minka Kelly, James Brolin, Lizzy Greene, Eoin Macken, Jack Schumacher, Marianly Tejada and Garrett Wareing.
Ransom Canyon Could Be Released as Early as 2024
Upon hearing about the development of the upcoming series, many have reasonably assumed that Ransom Canyon will not see the light of day until early 2025 at the earliest. Fingers crossed, however, Western fans can hope for an earlier release, as the first season could potentially hit our screens as early as this year!
Filming was originally scheduled to begin on September 12, 2023, but was delayed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. As a result, filming did not begin until this year, January 30, 2024, and is scheduled to run through June 27, 2024.
Typically, post-production on a TV series takes about six months, but depending on the number of episodes, scheduling, editing, and visual and sound effects work, this can vary from as little as three or four months to as long as a year.
Ransom Canyon could theoretically not be an overly demanding seriesю The story doesn't require an incredibly large budget, as it focuses on a character-driven narrative. Also, considering that the series will debut with only 10 episodes, post-production should not take too long. So by October-December 2024, Netflix will be able to release the series!
However, it's too early to draw any conclusions as we still have to wait for official statements from the streaming service. Don't forget that on November 10, 2024, Paramount will release the first episode of the second half of Yellowstone Season 5, so it's unlikely that Netflix will want to release Ransom Canyon in the same timeframe, preferring to release it later, in 2025, to avoid stiff competition.
Source: Deadline.