''Ransom'' is an internationally co-produced drama television series created by
David Vainola and produced by
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Charles Spotnitz (born 1960) is an American television writer and film producer, producer. He is best known for his work on the series ''The X-Files'' (1995-2002) and its spin-off The Lone Gunmen (TV series), ''The Lone Gunmen'' (2001), an ...
, starring
Luke Roberts, that began airing on
CBS. Ordered straight-to-series with 13 episodes on June 6, 2016, the series is a co-production between Canada's
Global
Global may refer to:
General
*Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies
*Earth, the third planet from the Sun
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...
, France's
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is part ...
, the United States'
CBS, and Germany's
RTL, while the latter is airing the series on its sister network
VOX. The series premiered on Global and CBS on January 1, 2017.
On May 17, 2017, CBS announced that ''Ransom'' was cancelled in the United States. A day later, RTLGroup also reported that they left the project after low ratings in Germany. It was reported on the same day that the other broadcasters behind the series were attempting to fund a second season. In late June, various sources reported that Global and TF1 ordered a second season, to be produced without the former partners. Production was set to start in late July 2017. On October 10, 2017, CBS and Global officially announced that ''Ransom'' had been renewed for a 13-episode second season, which premiered on April 7, 2018, on CBS in the United States. On July 16, 2018, CBS and Global announced that the series has been renewed for a 13-episode third season, which premiered on February 16, 2019.
On July 3, 2019, CBS announced that the series had been cancelled after three seasons.
''Ransom'' was the first newly U.S. scripted series that debuted on its Saturday night schedule since ''
The District
''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department.
P ...
'' cancelled in 2004.
Premise
The series follows Eric Beaumont, an experienced crisis and hostage negotiator, and his team, who solve kidnap and ransom cases involving the most dangerous criminals in the world.
The series is inspired by the real life negotiators Laurent Combalbert and Marwan Mery.
Cast
Main
*
Luke Roberts as Eric Beaumont, an experienced crisis and hostage negotiator. He grew up in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, where his mother, a surgeon, still lives
*
Nazneen Contractor as Zara Hallam, the team's lead investigator
*
Brandon Jay McLaren as Oliver Yates, a psychological profiler
*
Sarah Greene as Maxine Carlson (season 1–2), a crisis and hostage negotiator who acts as Beaumont's
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
. She takes leave from the team during the second season after being forced to use lethal force against a perpetrator to save Oliver.
*
Karen LeBlanc as Cynthia Walker (season 2–3), a crisis and hostage negotiator who works with Eric on a case during the second season, and eventually joins the team as Maxine's replacement as Beaumont's new
second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...
.
Recurring
*
Emma de Caunes as Nathalie Denard, Eric's ex-wife and the CEO of an insurance company
*
Carlo Rota
Carlo Dante Rota (born 17 April 1961) is a British-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in '' Little Mosque on the Prairie'' and as systems analyst Morris O'Brian on the Fox series '' 24''. He also co-starred as Emilio Solano in '' Jane the ...
as Damian Delaine, an enemy from Eric Beaumont's past
*
Natalie Brown as Kate Barrett (season 3), an FBI agent and Eric's girlfriend
*
Emmanuel Kabongo as Tyler LeFebure (season 3)
Filming
The first season was filmed in Toronto, Canada and Nice, France. Toronto stood in for locations in North America. Eight episodes were shot in Toronto and five were shot in Nice.
The second season began shooting in Toronto and Budapest, Hungary in November 2017, with production expected to finish in May 2018.
The third season was filmed in Budapest, Hungary.
Episodes
Season 1 (2017)
Season 2 (2018)
Season 3 (2019)
Home media
In Australia (Region 4), Via Vision Entertainment will release "The Complete Series" boxset on October 21, 2020.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
season 1 has an approval rating of 47% based on reviews from 15 critics. The website's consensus states: "Ransom is a typical network procedural that lacks any originality or excitement."
References
External links
*
*
{{Frank Spotnitz
2010s American crime drama television series
2010s Canadian crime drama television series
2017 American television series debuts
2017 Canadian television series debuts
2017 German television series debuts
2017 French television series debuts
2019 American television series endings
2019 Canadian television series endings
2019 German television series endings
2019 French television series endings
American action television series
Canadian action television series
German action television series
French action television series
American English-language television shows
CBS original programming
Global Television Network original programming
Television series about missing people
Television series by Corus Entertainment
Television series by Lionsgate Canada
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television shows filmed in France
Television shows filmed in Hungary
TF1 original programming
VOX (German TV channel) original programming
CBS television dramas