Ransom Canyon

I just said like a week ago that Josh Duhamel should be in Yellowstone. He played a good part, but I’m spoiled by Yellowstone and so there were parts of this series that didn’t stick for me.

Ransom Canyon is based on a romance novel, Yellowstone was written by the writer that came up with Sicario and Hell and High Water most likely with many, many lines.

RC was about a man in mourning trying to figure out the future of his ranch and tackle a relationship that was decades in the making. Yellowstone is about killing anyone that tries to take your land.

Staton gets mad at his fellow land owners when they consider selling. His biggest nemesis was his brother-in-law. There was a lot of back and forth fighting, but nothing happened. John Dutton would have sent at least three bags to the train station by the first meeting.

Bridgerton is a successful series based on a historical romance series, but I think it works because the concentration was on the meet cute enemies-to-lovers trope. When I think of historical romance Western novels that work, I’m reminded of Brenda Joyce, Jude Devereaux, and Diana Gabaldon. I think what made these stories interesting were that the heroes had grail quests to accomplish.

With RC, Staton didn’t have much of that. It was more of a watered down Nicholas Sparks story with cowboy hats. Netflix had Josh Duhamel for months and they could have done anything with him, but the final product was a concentration on town ties that didn’t create much conflict.

1883 got me addicted to Yellowstone. A girl braved the Montana wild to find the perfect plot of land for her family and then she immediately died on it making herself the guardian. You know that family is bad ass. Every generation shows us that they don’t play and whether it’s love or revenge, it’s always epic.

When you watch a Yellowstone spin-off, you root for the girl because it’s Sheridan and she’s going to go through some rough times. With RC, the female lead owns a bar that doesn’t break even every month (like every other one across the country) but there’s nothing else for her to strive for.

If Netflix is getting into the habit of purchasing romance novels to turn into tv shows, they should really start with these:

• The Bragg series by Brenda Joyce

• The Montgomery series by Jude Devereux

• The Mallory series by Johanna Lindsey

These series rival Outlander and it’s because there are obstacles to overcome. I didn’t see that in RC, but maybe it will pick up in the second season.

Also, if you put Duhamel in the hat, let him use it.