Ransom (TV series)
Ransom is an internationally co-produced drama television series created by David Vainola and produced by Frank Spotnitz, 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, France's TF1, 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" 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. 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. Home media. In Australia (Region 4), Via Vision Entertainment will release "The Complete Series" boxset on October 21, 2020. Reception. On Rotten Tomatoes 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."