Now streaming on Netflix, the house of “Virgin River” (six seasons, seven on the best way), is “Ransom Canyon.” Like “Virgin River,” it adapts the work of a best-selling romance novelist — Jodi Thomas, who units her books in her residence state of Texas — placing fairly individuals towards an impressive panorama and complicating their lives with love, hate, calamity and a bit of intercourse. Appears like a certain wager, in different phrases.
As in most each such present, there may be at its middle a pair — quantum entangled, their spooky motion expressed typically at a distance, typically clinch-close. However wherever the story leads them, wherever else their consideration turns, nonetheless lengthy it takes them to get collectively within the first place, it’s a given they’ll discover their option to or again to one another, at the very least till considered one of them leaves the present. I’m not delivering a spoiler right here; it’s within the handbook.
In my thoughts “Ransom Canyon,” developed by April Blair (“Jane by Design”), retains popping out “Handsome Canyon,” and nobody right here is handsomer than Staten Kirkland (Josh Duhamel), a big-time rancher with moody hair and a peppery beard. His cosmically supposed accomplice, if he would solely admit it, is Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly), as soon as a classical pianist of nice be aware — “Leonard’s adamant about doing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and, you, my dear are the only pianist I’ve heard to do it justice,” says her supervisor (Kate Hudson), attempting to coax her again to Manhattan — although we’ll hear nothing extra from her than a number of pensive arpeggios.
Minka Kelly as Quinn in “Ransom Canyon” on Netflix.
(Anna Kooris / Netflix)
Strolling away from her keyboard profession like Jack Nicholson in “Five Easy Pieces,” Quinn hied residence from New York when Staten’s spouse, her greatest buddy, took in poor health; she caught round after she died, then caught round after Staten’s son died in a automotive crash. Ready for Staten to elevate his head from mourning and see her for the catch she is, she farms lavender and runs a bar — excuse me, a “dance hall” — with bartender Ellie (Marianly Tejada). As can occur in fiction and in life, Staten’s brother-in-law, Davis (Eoin Macken), has been carrying his personal torch for Quinn; although a person of ulterior motives, he does appear honest on this, which makes hassle all of the extra seemingly, and unhappy.
Davis’ bellicose soccer hero son, Reid (Andrew Liner), has simply been dumped by sad-eyed cheerleader Lauren (Lizzy Greene), daughter of the sheriff Dan Brigman (Philip Winchester) and sometimes recovering alcoholic mom Margaret (Sarah Minnich). Her new squeeze is Lucas (Garrett Wareing), delicate and blonde and primarily an orphan — dad has gone off — and tied to his troublesome brother, Package (Casey W. Johnson).
That is all simply setting the stage. You have got guessed by now that this can be a present stuffed with confrontation and secrets and techniques and characters usually out of types; any pleased interlude is liable to result in an argument, any gathering to a fistfight or somebody who ought to know higher capturing their mouth off. I needed to maintain writing down names and connections to maintain everybody straight — who was whose son or grandson, and so forth. It appeared at instances all of them have been one household. For some time I believed that one character and her sister have been the identical individual.
Eoin Macken as Davis, left, James Brolin as Cap and Jack Schumacher as Yancy in “Ransom Canyon” on Netflix.
(Anna Kooris / Netflix)
In the meantime, an organization known as Austin Water & Energy needs to run a pipeline into Ransom Canyon’s ginormous aquifer. It has been tossing cash round like confetti however has stumble upon a pair of immovable objects within the individuals of cantankerous previous rancher Cap Fuller (James Brolin), to whom the factor simply smells unhealthy (he has a useless son too), and Staten, who needs nothing to return between him and his “60,000 acres of unspoiled Texas grassland” and the 30,000 head of cattle that graze upon it. (We’re proven a consultant few.)
“The world’s drying up,” Staten says. “That aquifer feeds wells, our crops and our cattle, and I’m not going to let them run it dry.”
Into this cozy group comes darkly good-looking Yancy Gray (Jack Schumacher), probably harmful Yancy Gray — it’s a harmful title, anyway — who reads poetry and slides right into a job with Cap and a flirtation with Ellie. Finally, after she sows up his minimize hand — she was a nurse earlier than she labored a bar, and aren’t they form of the identical factor? — he’ll clarify his scars, like Indy to Marion on the finish of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” There’s a sure kind of character in such tales whom love will enhance, and you’ll see in his eyes he is perhaps one.
There is no such thing as a motive on Earth to not take pleasure in this well-made, properly acted, soapy, soap-bubble present, whose 10 episodes have been laid out complete so that you can binge. Come for the messy lives, the promise of affection, the old style values. Come for the hats, the boots, the horses, the ruggedness as soon as used to promote cigarettes. Keep for the nation music cameo. It’s not in all places you’ll hear a line like “Tell the boys to saddle up.” However you’ll hear it right here.
