Netflix and Prime Video will duke it out as they prepare to bring two major Western romance adaptations to the small screen. As romance in all its forms continues to dominate publishing, Hollywood’s biggest streamers and studios are battling for the rights to the most popular romance hits.
When Prime Video scored big with The Summer I Turned Pretty, Netflix turned up the heat with My Life with the Walter Boys. Netflix is producing its own college-hockey romance saga based on Hannah Grace’s first Maple Hills novel, Icebreaker, to compete with Prime Video’s Off Campus. Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s biggest romance success stories; Prime’s attempt to produce its own historical (fantasy) romance, My Lady Jane, is one of Amazon’s best book adaptations, even though it didn’t score a season 2 renewal.
Those rivalries don’t compare to what awaits audiences with the studios’ highly anticipated contemporary Western romance adaptations, though. Both Netflix and Prime have scored the rights to produce a show based on bestselling author Elsie Silver’s Canadian small-town stories. Netflix is developing a TV show based on Silver’s five-book Chestnut Springs series, while Prime is adapting the four-book Rose Hill saga; its show is currently in production.
Of course, this isn’t the first time different studios have bought the rights to separate works by the same author. Prime and Netflix have each adapted Jenny’s Han’s novels, for instance. Emily Henry’s work is spread between Netflix and Disney’s 20th Century Studios. Silver’s work is different, however. While Han’s and Henry’s adaptations come from completely independent novels and trilogies, Silver’s books are all intertwined — in more ways than one.
Netflix & Prime Video’s Elsie Silver Adaptations Share An Important Connection
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Elsie Silver’s series are made up of interconnected standalone books. This means each of the four books in the Rose Hill series and each of the five books in the Chestnut Springs series can be read individually, in any order, each introducing a new romantic pairing and story. That said, readers will benefit from reading the books in publication order. Characters from previous stories often appear in other novels after their own happily-ever-afters.
Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus and Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series are similar. Their TV adaptations are ensemble dramas, with each season spotlighting a new relationship while setting up the next (Off Campus has been renewed for season 2, while Bridgerton is confirmed to return for seasons 5 and 6).
Prime Video will seemingly take a similar approach with its Rose Hill adaptation. According to the streamer’s official synopsis, Ford Grant and West Belmont will both be important in the first season. The first book, Wild Love, is Ford’s romance with West’s sister, Rosie Belmont. Meanwhile, Ford’s new recording studio will blow a country-pop superstar to town and into West’s carefully constructed, single-dad life, as chronicled in the second Rose Hill novel, Wild Eyes. There’s a catch, though.
In the books, Ford Grant has a younger sister: wild child Willa Grant. Avid romance readers will know that Willa is the female lead in the second book in Silver’s Chestnut Springs series, Heartless. Heartless takes place before Wild Love; Willa, firmly settled down with cowboy rancher Cade Eaton, visits her brother in Rose Hill after learning that he’s been hiding a major secret.
Silver currently has four Western romance series published. The first, Gold Rush Ranch, features a similar connection as the one between Chestnut Springs and Rose Hill. Violet Eaton is the female lead in the second book, A Photo Finish, while her brothers star in four of Chestnut Springs’ five novels. Likewise, the younger sister of Theo Silva, the main male lead in Chestnut Springs’ fourth book, Reckless, is the female lead in the first book of Silver’s latest Emerald Lake series, Fever Dream.
Despite this familial book connection, Willa Grant won’t exist in Prime’s Rose Hill adaptation. As Silver confirmed on Instagram (via Swooon), “All the worlds are separate for TV, so there’s no Willa in Rose Hill.” This is not a simple case of different studios adapting unrelated novels by the same author. It means Prime and Netflix are genuinely competing in the same book “universe” and changing the characters’ backstories to do so.
Elsie Silver’s Books Will Be The Biggest Romance Adaptation Challenge Yet For Both Streamers
Romance is already a tough genre to get right on the small screen. It’s purely character-driven. The story’s characters, their development, their relationships, and, of course, their chemistry matter more than the plot; these are often based on pre-existing tropes and structures. Romance readers enjoy the genre because they fall in love with the characters and their love. When adaptations mess too much with their backstory and dynamic, or the casting isn’t right, it’s glaringly obvious. Bridgerton, Off Campus, and Crave’s queer hockey romance sensation Heated Rivalry have thrived for a reason.
Prime Video and Netflix will also have to capture the right Canadian, small-town Western atmosphere. Small-town romances offer comfort; a familiar, safe setting for the characters to find themselves. Netflix has slightly more experience in this subgenre, with the enduringly popular Virgin River, the recently canceled Ransom Canyon, and YA hit My Life with the Walter Boys. Will Rose Hill or Chestnut Springs become the next Stars Hollow?
The toughest challenge, though, will be the inevitable comparisons between Netflix’s Chestnut Springs and Prime Video’s Rose Hill series. It’s not just that it’s the same author; it’s that it’s essentially the same world. How the adaptations approach Silver’s characters, narrative structures, romance tropes, the books’ sex scenes, and more will all affect the audience’s appreciation for and interest in each show. Prime Video may have the upper hand for now, as filming has already begun on Rose Hill, but that could all change as soon as the first trailer drops or Netflix makes its move.
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Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming service that began as Amazon Unbox back in September 2006. The streaming service has gone through many rebrandings over the year but has managed to successfully compete with other streamers such as Netflix, Max, and Disney+. Some of their most notable titles include The Boys, Carnival Row, and Sound of Metal.Expand
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Netflix is a global streaming service offering on-demand access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content. Founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service, it transitioned to streaming in 2007 and now operates in over 190 countries.
Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming service that began as Amazon Unbox back in September 2006. The streaming service has gone through many rebrandings over the year but has managed to successfully compete with other streamers such as Netflix, Max, and Disney+. Some of their most notable titles include The Boys, Carnival Row, and Sound of Metal.
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