Ransom Canyon: Major differences between the book and the show, explored

Ransom Canyon is the latest contemporary Western show on Netflix and blends elements of the classic Western with romance and drama. Ransom Canyon is created based on a screenplay adapted from the novel of the same name by author Jodi Thomas. In terms of the novel, Ransom Canyon is the first novel in the ten-part series and serves as a foundation for the characters and the conflicts that go on to assume significance in the nine other titles.

Despite being adapted from a literary source, Netflix's Ransom Canyon consists of several departures from its source material. Here's everything that we know.

What are the differences between the novel and Netflix's Ransom Canyon?

Among the several differences between the novel Ransom Canyon and the Netflix show, the primary one is the relationship shared between Staten and Quinn. In the novels, both of them end up sleeping with each other multiple times before finally realizing that they have developed feelings for each other.

The Netflix show, on the other hand, shows the two of them going back and forth before uniting in the seventh episode. The manner of their union is another point of difference, as the tornado that brings them together on the show is missing from the novel. Moreover, the novel has Quinn getting pregnant after a while, whereas the show has completely omitted this from its episodes.

Moving on, the ambitions of the bright student character of Lucas Reyes differ in the show from what is written in the novel. The book has Lucas make up his mind about studying at Texas Tech, whereas the show portrayed him as not yet having applied for college, despite having several letters of interest.

Another big difference between the novel and the show lies in the way the character of Yancy Grey has been portrayed. While the novel described him as an ex-criminal who was just looking to lay low for a while, the show has him working in conjunction with Davis Collins.

Showrunner speaks about the Netflix show

April Blair is the creator and showrunner of the Netflix show, and while speaking to Deadline recently, she shed some light on the reason why the first novel in the series was chosen for adaptation:

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"We only used the first book, and it’s really the foundation of the series, a very important one, and we have retained, a lot of easter eggs for fans of the book series, but we definitely made it our own. In Jodi’s series, each novel introduces a whole new cast of characters. It’s almost kind of anthology like, and some characters reappear from time to time, but it really is like a whole new group of people. That wasn’t really an achievable thing for us in series. We wanted to stick with one cast, so we stuck to the single book as this jumping off point."

Ransom Canyon is available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.

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