Big Sky (American TV series)

Big Sky is an American crime drama thriller series created by David E. Kelley and based on The Highway series of books by C. J. Box. The series premiered on ABC as a fall entry in the 2020–21 television season on November 17, 2020. In May 2021, the series was renewed for a second season which is scheduled to premiere on September 30, 2021.

= Premise = "Private detectives Cassie Dewell and Cody Hoyt join forces with his estranged wife and ex-cop, Jenny Hoyt, to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken."

Following the resolution of the kidnappings, Jenny joins forces with Cassie to continue the search for the missing truck driver while also dealing with a new mystery.

= Cast and characters =
 * Katheryn Winnick as Jenny Hoyt, an ex-cop who, despite being separated from her husband, still does freelance work for his agency
 * Kylie Bunbury as Cassie Dewell, a private detective who co-owns a private investigation agency called Dewell & Hoyt and was romantically involved with her partner
 * Brian Geraghty as Ronald Pergman, a long-haul trucker involved in several unsolved kidnappings
 * Valerie Mahaffey as Helen Pergman (season 1), Ronald's mother
 * Dedee Pfeiffer as Denise Brisbane, receptionist for the Dewell & Hoyt agency
 * Natalie Alyn Lind as Danielle Sullivan (season 1), Grace's older sister and one of Ronald Pergman's kidnapping victims
 * Jesse James Keitel as Jerrie Kennedy (recurring season 2; main season 1), a transfeminine former sex worker and aspiring singer, who later works for Dewell & Hoyt detective agency, and was one of Ronald's victims. (This role made Keitel one of the first nonbinary actors to play a nonbinary series regular on primetime television.)
 * Jade Pettyjohn as Grace Sullivan (season 1), Danielle's younger sister, also kidnapped by Ronald
 * John Carroll Lynch as Rick Legarski (season 1), a Montana Highway Patrol officer with a shady past, who is revealed to be Ronald's accomplice
 * Ryan Phillippe as Cody Hoyt (season 1), a troubled former cop who runs a private detective agency with his partner Cassie
 * Ted Levine as Horst Kleinsasser (season 1), a ruthless rancher who must pass the torch to his estranged children after suffering a stroke
 * Omar Metwally as Mark Lindor (season 2; special guest star season 1), a Deputy US Marshal
 * Anja Savcic as Scarlet Leyendecker (season 2; recurring season 1), girlfriend of Ronald Pergman after he changes his persona and takes the name "Arthur"
 * Janina Gavankar as Ren (season 2)

Recurring

 * Brooke Smith as Merrilee Legarski, Rick's wife
 * Gage Marsh as Justin Hoyt, Cody's and Jenny's son, whom Danielle and Grace were coming to visit when they were abducted
 * Jeffrey Joseph as Joseph Dewell, Cassie's father and Kai's grandfather
 * Gabriel Jacob-Cross as Kai Dewell, Cassie's son and Joseph's grandson
 * Patrick Gallagher as Sheriff Walter Tubb, the sheriff of Lewis and Clark County
 * Camille Sullivan as Joanie Sullivan, Danielle's and Grace's mother
 * Chad Willett as Robert Sullivan, Danielle's and Grace's father
 * Sharon Taylor as Commander Elena Sosa, twenty-year veteran of the Montana Highway Patrol and Rick Legarski's supervisor
 * Zoë Noelle Baker as Phoebe Leyendecker, Scarlet's daughter
 * Michael Raymond-James as Blake Kleinsasser, Horst's oldest son
 * Britt Robertson as Cheyenne Kleinsasser (season 1), Horst's daughter
 * Kyle Schmid as John Wayne "JW" Kleinsasser (season 1), Horst's second-born son
 * Ryan Dorsey as Rand Kleinsasser (season 1), Horst's youngest son
 * Michelle Forbes as Margaret Kleinsasser (season 1), Horst's wife
 * Carlos Gómez as Gil Amaya, the Kleinsassers' former ranch manager
 * Michelle Veintimilla as Rosie Amaya, Gil's daughter
 * Sebastian Roché as Sheriff Wagy, the corrupt sheriff of Lochsa County
 * Rachel Colwell as Angela, receptionist at the Lochsa County sheriff's office

Development
The series, based on C. J. Box's novel The Highway and developed by David E. Kelley, was announced as The Big Sky in January 2020 and given a straight-to-series order by ABC. The series is produced by David E. Kelley Productions, A+E Studios and 20th Television. Kelley and Ross Fineman serve as executive producers, along with Box, Matthew Gross and Paul McGuigan. On June 17, 2020, it was announced that the series would air on Tuesdays at 10:00/9:00c. On December 7, 2020, ABC gave the series a six-episode back order, bringing the total number of first-season episodes ordered to 16. On May 4, 2021, ABC renewed the series for a second season. It was also reported that Elwood Reid who was added as an executive producer for the second half of the first season is set to take over as showrunner for the second season from Kelley. However, Kelley will be still be involved with the series and remain as an executive producer.

Casting
John Carroll Lynch, Dedee Pfeiffer, Ryan Phillippe, and Katheryn Winnick were the first cast additions announced through February 2020. In March 2020, Brian Geraghty, Kylie Bunbury, Natalie Alyn Lind and Jesse James Keitel were added, with Bunbury in the co-lead role. On June 24, 2020, it was announced that Jade Pettyjohn joined the cast in a starring role. On August 6, 2020, Valerie Mahaffey joined the main cast. On October 8, 2020, Brooke Smith, Jeffery Joseph, Gage Marsh, and Gabriel Jacob-Cross were cast in recurring roles. in December 2020, Camille Sullivan, Chad Willett, Patrick Gallagher, and Sharon Taylor joined the cast in recurring capacities. In January 2021, Ted Levine was cast as a new series regular while Kyle Schmid, Michelle Forbes, Britt Robertson, Michael Raymond-James, Ryan Dorsey and Omar Metwally were cast in recurring roles. On April 12, 2021, Carlos Gómez, Anja Savcic, and Zoë Noelle Baker joined the cast in recurring roles. On July 20, 2021, Metwally was promoted as a series regular for the second season. On August 17, 2021, Janina Gavankar was cast as new series regular while Savcic was promoted as a series regular and Keitel was demoted to recurring for the second season.

Filming
Filming on the series' first season began on August 27, 2020, and concluded on April 24, 2021, in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia. Filming was originally set to take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada, but the series was moved to Vancouver in July 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The series was one of many American television productions in Vancouver that briefly halted filming in late September 2020, due to delays in receiving cast and crew COVID-19 test results. On August 12, 2021, it was reported that the second season is scheduled to film in Rio Rancho, New Mexico from August 2021 through April 2022.

Marketing
On September 9, 2020, ABC released the first teaser for the series.

Broadcast
The series premiered on November 17, 2020 on ABC. Big Sky airs in Canada on CTV, simulcast with ABC in the United States. In India, the series was streamed on Disney+ Hotstar along with ABC. Internationally, the series premiered on Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star as an original series, on February 23, 2021.

The second season is set to premiere on September 30, 2021 on ABC.

Critical response
For the series, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 59% based on 27 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.91/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Big Sky shaky setup doesn't do it many favors, but viewers who can push through may find its fast-paced, twisty mystery compelling enough." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Controversy
After the pilot aired, members of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Global Indigenous Council, Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association, and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), among others, addressed a letter to ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke and series creator David E. Kelley, accusing the show of “at best, cultural insensitivity, and at worst, appropriation” due to being set in area with a disproportionately high rate of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG), yet not having any tribal representation in the show."