Inside ‘Ransom Canyon’ Season 2’s Major Storyline Change

Plot twist! Ransom Canyon showrunner April Blair had the Netflix show’s second season mapped out ahead of filming, but off-screen news changed the course of Yancy (Jack Schumacher) and Ellie’s (Marianly Tejada) entire storyline. (Warning: Ransom Canyon Season 2 spoilers ahead!) 

At the end of Season 1, Yancy is ready to start his new life with Ellie. After years of grifting and scamming, he’s turned over a new leaf in Ransom. He’s waiting to marry Ellie at the Fuller ranch, but she never shows because she winds up meeting Yancy’s secret wife, Sidney (Heidi Grace Engerman), unexpectedly at Gracie’s Dance Hall.

Season 2 begins several months after Sidney’s arrival, and Ellie is pregnant. Turns out, Ellie’s pregnancy was only written into the second season’s plot because Tejada was expecting in real life.

“I think a few months before we started shooting, she let me know that she was pregnant, which is great news and fun, but it was not the story we had planned for Season 2,” Blair told TV Insider. “Because of how pregnant Mar was when we were going to start filming — I think her due date was actually the week we wrapped — it would be very difficult to hide it. We had a different story for Ellie and Yancy and his long-lost wife that was a little bit more love triangle-y also, but once we realized we weren’t going to be able to hide the pregnancy, we needed to write it in. We had to make some story shifts. It was a scramble at the beginning of the season to make that happen, but I think it turned out great.”

Netflix

Looking back, Blair is “so happy” the storyline had to change course because of Tejada’s pregnancy. “I think it created all these amazing stakes and this fresh new story,” she noted. “And, instead of another love triangle, we had to think fast on our feet and get creative with, like, ‘Well, what is the story going to be now?’ And I think it turned out better for it, and the timing worked out perfectly.”

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Tejada was able to wrap filming by Christmas, while the rest of the cast was in production until mid-January. “I think she gave birth like a week after we wrapped her,” Blair said.

Like her character, Ellie gave birth at the end of Season 2. After a scary confrontation, Sidney pushed Ellie off the front porch, which sent Ellie into labor. Thankfully, Ellie and baby Isabella were OK. After everything with Sidney and all the danger surrounding him, Ellie ended her relationship with Yancy and pushed him away to protect their daughter. Could a potential Season 3 bring these two back together? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Ransom Canyon, Season 2, Streaming Now, Netflix