Paramount+ faces a strategic challenge as Taylor Sheridan, the architect of its Western programming dominance, transitions to NBCUniversal in 2028. An entertainment writer proposes that the platform should develop new Western adaptations to fill this gap, specifically recommending Mark Z. Danielewski's recent novel 'Tom's Crossing' as an exemplary candidate despite the author's previous scepticism about screen adaptation.

The novel follows Kalin March, a teenage outsider living in rural Utah, who befriends a classmate named Tom and bonds with him over caring for two neglected horses. After Tom's terminal cancer diagnosis, Kalin pledges to rescue the horses from slaughter and lead them to freedom through Isatch Canyon. Accompanied by Tom's sister and complicated by the intervention of a rival family member, Kalin navigates both the physical dangers of the canyon and supernatural encounters with Tom's spirit, whilst the powerful Porch family pursues them relentlessly.