Before Ransom Canyon‘s shocking cancellation, showrunner April Blair exclusively revealed what would have happened in season 3 — including which couples were going to be endgame and which might not have made it.
News broke on Thursday, September 10, that Ransom Canyon would not return, just two months after season 2 premiered on Netflix. Blair previously spoke to Us about the vision for the show after Staten (Josh Duhamel) and Quinn (Minka Kelly) found their way back together.
“For me, Staten and Quinn are meant to be together and that is the true north of our series. I don’t foresee continuing to split them up and put them together and split them up and put them together,” she told Us. “I think moving forward from season 2, Yancy’s whole drive is to win back his family and the lengths he goes to do that aren’t always the smartest or the wisest.”
Blair hinted that she didn’t know whether Ellie (Marianly Tejada) and Yancy (Jack Schumacher) were meant to be.
“I don’t know if, romantically, Ellie and Yancy have to end up together. They might very well not. Just because you have a baby together doesn’t mean that’s your forever person and maybe they find a way to coparent moving forward,” she continued. “Or maybe they do find their way back together. That one is still very much a work in progress.”
As for Lucas (Garrett Wareing) and Lauren (Lizzy Greene), Blair referred to them as “very endgame.”
“But I don’t know if we ever even get there in the series. That could be in a future that’s like Quinn and Staten 20 years from now,” she concluded. “And I think they do need to have lots of other fun and [other] loves and complications and they both need to figure out who they are before they can figure out who they want. So we’re playing with that moving forward, too.”
Blair hinted at the time that the “possibilities are endless” for season 3. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of every story line the writers had planned before the show was canceled:
Surprise Obstacles for Quinn and Staten
Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly. Anna Kooris/Netflix
“Being halfway through the season 3 writers’ room, I can tell you there are many, many more obstacles to come because I think we pitched it to Netflix as season 1 and season 2 are about their journey to choose each other. But once you choose someone and you really begin a relationship, that’s where the real work begins,” Blair teased to Us. “That’s where you uncover people’s dirty little secrets and people’s things they don’t tell. All of the challenges, even the silly stuff.”
Blair suggested “survivor’s guilt” on Staten’s part — and even a few secrets on Quinn’s side.
“I think it’s definitely more challenging and more conflict to come, just in a different way,” she continued. “It’s not about, ‘Will we be together? Can we survive this?’”
Ellie and Yancy’s Evolving Love Triangle
In season 2, Ellie ended her relationship with Yancy after welcoming their first baby. Blair noted that Ellie would continue to be caught between her head and her heart — with Kai (Justin Johnson Cortez) further complicating things.
“One is her head and one is her heart. That’s the battle. Even though this one makes me weak in the knees, this one makes me feel like I’m safe and protected and stable. That’s where we’re headed with that,” Blair shared. “Justin came up with this backstory of, ‘I think I was Ellie’s first bad boyfriend. Then when I reformed and got my s*** together and went to the police academy, she lost interest. But we’ve stayed friends and I’ve always held a candle for her.’”
Lauren and Lucas Finding Their Way Back Together
Blair, Wareing and even Casey W. Johnson, who played Kit, were all on the same page that Lucas and Lauren were the likely endgame couple of the show.
“I don’t know when that endgame is and if it even exists in the life of our series. But they’re the Quinn and Staten, except back in high school,” the screenwriter teased. “When Lucas is saying goodbye to her and tells her about Kit, he says, ‘One day we’ll be OK.’ I think they just need to have other lives and other loves and other experiences.”
According to Wareing, the fictional couple had to part ways in order to hopefully find their way back to each other.
“At the end of the day, she is still the love of his life,” he noted to Us. “When you love something, you have to let it go. So Lucas does because he loves her so much and just wants to see her happy. Whether that is with him, or without.”
He concluded: “If Lucas and Lauren aren’t endgame, I’m never believing in love again. They resemble, to me, the idealistic kind of youthful love and longing. I’d love to see that fantasy for them fully realized.”
New Cast Members
Season 2 surprised audiences by writing off Davis (Eoin Macken) and Reid (Andrew Liner). While previewing season 3, Blair told Us there were plans for more potential cast shakeups.
“[There will] definitely [be] new faces,” she teased. “I definitely want to learn more about Lucas and Kit’s parents. I feel like we’ve never really talked about that.”
Blair also wanted to check in on existing characters, saying, “We’re constantly trying to build out the worlds and the people who exist in it. Who is Staten’s mom? Lucas and Kit’s dad has been missing in action for a year and is a point of contention between them, so having that character come back [would be interesting].”
Investing More Time in Lucas
After the younger Russell had a rough go in season 2, Blair promised audiences would spend more time with him, adding, “I really want to bring someone new to the canvas so that Lucas can have his own new experience and new love and just someone fun to shake things up.”
Wareing had similar thoughts about Lucas’ love life.
“Wouldn’t that be something! I think this is going to be another moment where the writers are going to listen to the fans,” he hinted to Us. “Who do you want to be Lucas with next? I think as Lucas matures, maybe his romance does, too.”
More Musical Acts
“Maybe we bring another version of a musical element to our story. Season 1, we had Charley Crockett performing in Gracie’s. And in season 2, we do this big blowout with the festival and Jordan Davis and Thomas Rhett,” Blair noted to Us. “And what is a different version of bringing music to our show? Because I think it’s really integral.”
She continued: “Is it bringing someone who is a musician and is a character in the show? Quinn is building this musical mecca basically. She’s got Gracie’s and now she’s going to open the old theater. What does that bring to town and the new elements there?”
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