Ransom Canyon star Jack Schumacher addresses the comparisons being made between his new series and shows like Yellowstone and Virgin River. Created by April Blair, the new Netflix show is a contemporary Western that chronicles the intersecting lives – and romances – of three ranching families in the hill country of Texas. In addition to Schumacher, the Ransom Canyon cast includes Josh Duhamel, Minka Kelly, Lizzy Greene, Philip Winchester, and Garrett Wareing, with all 10 episodes of the series landing on Netflix on April 17.
In a recent interview ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for Ransom Canyon‘s release on Netflix, Schumacher shares his thoughts about the show’s similarities to Yellowstone and Virgin River. While the star sees why these types of comparisons are being made, with all dealing with similar subject matter, he believes that Ransom Canyon charts its own course. The fact that it’s “not a knockoff” is part of what excited him about the project. Check out Schumacher’s full comment below:
That’s a great question, because I think with the success and the popularity of the modern Western, and all those shows that you mentioned — which are phenomenal, I watch them all — I think that part of the fear is like, “Okay, are we trying to imitate one of these?” I think, of course, people are gonna maybe make that guess that that’s what we’re trying to do. But the thing that walking away from Ransom Canyon that I’m really excited and proud of is that it doesn’t try to be Yellowstone. It doesn’t try to be Virgin River. I think it exists in its own world.
Of course, it has elements of those things – it’s about love, and other struggles, and fighting new ways of life coming in, all through this lens of the modern Western and the backdrop of the American frontier. But it’s not a knockoff, and that was very important to me because you don’t want to do that, you don’t want to just be like, “Oh, that’s that knockoff show.” So, yeah, this is a great new standalone thing that I’m really proud of, and I think everyone who’s worked on it is going to be very, very proud of.
What This Means For Ransom Canyon
Yellowstone & Virgin River’s Success Explained
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, a neo-Western, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and most important shows of the past decade, and its success on Paramount has led to two spinoffs, 1883 and 1923, with more on the way. The series chronicles one family’s attempts to hold onto their ranch in Montana, and all the violence, romance, and inter-family squabbling that comes with that. Virgin River, on the other hand, isn’t as much of a neo-Western, but the Netflix show does feature Western-like vistas, with a story that is more focused on the romantic endeavors of lead character Melinda Monroe (Alexandra Breckenridge).
The Ransom Canyon comparisons to Yellowstone and Virgin River are likely because the show has the neo-Western setting of the former with the romantic focus of the latter. It’s worth noting that both Yellowstone and Virgin River have been big hits with audiences. Sheridan’s show just wrapped up after five seasons, with spinoffs set to continue the story, and Virgin River season 7 is confirmed to be on the way. Though Schumacher makes clear that Ransom Canyon is blazing its own path, these comparisons could be an indication that the show will find success with viewers.
There isn’t a clear critical consensus on the show just yet, but ScreenRant‘s own Ransom Canyon review from Greg MacArthur is a promising sign with an eight out of 10 score. MacArthur writes that the show “finds ways to surprise you, make you laugh, and break your heart,” in addition to offering a compelling murder-mystery storyline to accompany the romance.
Though the Yellowstone and Virgin River comparisons may get viewers to check the series out, it’s the strong storyteling and performances that will get them to keep watching through to the end. It remains to be seen whether Ransom Canyon will catch on in the way those other two shows have, but audiences evidently shouldn’t expect a knockoff of what they’ve seen before
