Forget ‘Yellowstone,’ Paramount+ Has a Perfect Neo-Western Adaptation Waiting in the Wings

As all fans of Westerns know, the best place to find them in recent years has been Paramount+, the current streaming home of Taylor Sheridan‘s shows, both in the Yellowstone universe and beyond. Last fall, however, Sheridan signed a deal with NBCUniversal, which will take effect after his television partnership with Paramount ends in 2028. With Sheridan set to move on and Paramount+ set to lose its most prolific creator, it would be wise for the streamer to start acquiring other Westerns in the meantime.

One novel that would make the perfect TV show is House of Leaves author Mark Z. Danielewski‘s 2025 neo-Western horror epic, Tom’s Crossing. While Danielewski has previously expressed hesitation about the possibility of his book ever being adapted, “because it’s more vivid than anything you could put onscreen,” he clarified that the right creative team might be able to pull it off. Tom’s Crossing would make a phenomenal television series in the right hands, and it would be smart for Paramount+ to kick off a new, post-Sheridan Western lineup with an adaptation of such a great work.

What Is ‘Tom’s Crossing’ About?

Tom’s Crossing jumps around through time to tell the story of several days in 1982 that change everything for a small town. It all starts when a teenage boy named Kalin March moves to Orvop, Utah, with his mother. Kalin is an outcast who gets picked on for being different, but he has a way with horses that nobody else does, and soon befriends a universally liked classmate named Tom Gatestone.

Tom and Kalin make a habit of sneaking onto the ranch of the Gatestones’ rivals, the Porches, to ride two of the family’s neglected horses. The horses (named Navidad and Mouse by the boys) aren’t important to the family patriarch, Old Porch, and will eventually be put up for slaughter, anyway. Tom and Kalin’s friendship is cut short, though, when Tom is diagnosed with terminal cancer. On his deathbed, Tom makes Kalin promise that as soon as Navidad and Mouse are put up for slaughter, he will steal them and set them free through Isatch Canyon.

As soon as Navidad and Mouse are moved to the paddock designated for slaughter, Kalin honors his word, stealing them and taking them into the canyon for what is supposed to be an impossible journey, hoping to lead the horses to an idyllic crossing where they will finally be free. Kalin is soon accompanied on his journey by two surprising individuals — first by Tom’s little sister, Landry, who wants to help, and then by his classmate, Russel Porch, who wants to prove himself to his family by getting the horses back.

When unspeakable tragedy strikes, a bounty is quickly put out on Kalin and Landry, with the very powerful Porch family vowing not to rest until both are dead. The teens have to race through the dangerous canyon, determined to do what it takes to save the horses, while trying to stay one step ahead of the Porches. Meanwhile, Kalin starts to see Tom’s ghost and is unsure what it means.

‘Tom’s Crossing’ Would Make a Phenomenal TV Series If Adapted Correctly

Image via Pantheon

While Tom’s Crossing primarily focuses on the events of Kalin and Landry’s quest through Isatch Canyon, the book weaves in the perspectives of various townspeople who either witnessed or heard about core events, and its narrator carefully pieces together all of these details to depict the impact of the story and its lasting legacy. The Porches’ vendetta against Kalin and Landry is primarily what makes Tom’s Crossing a captivating Western, with Old Porch the epitome of a classic villain who will do anything to maintain his power. Horror elements emerge the further that Kalin and Landry venture into the canyon, but the story remains grounded in the central characters’ desire to honor Tom’s dying wish.

As Paramount+ prepares to say goodbye to Taylor Sheridan, an adaptation of Tom’s Crossing would make a great replacement. It’s a deeply suspenseful and emotional story that follows an overarching battle between good and evil, as well as a straightforward coming-of-age tale about honoring the memory of a close friend. Danielewski is right that Tom’s Crossing would be difficult to faithfully adapt, but if done carefully and accurately, it would be perfect for television.