2 l November
15 - 21, 2020
Northeast Oregon TV Weekly
‘Big Sky’ opens for ABC with
premiere of serialized mystery
BY JAY BOBBIN
Television-producing veteran David E. Kelley has had
successes in the worlds of cable and streaming, but he still
has a soft spot for broadcast television.
Following “Big Little Lies,” “Mr. Mercedes” and HBO’s
current “The Undoing,” the “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice”
and “Picket Fences” alum is taking his latest project to ABC.
Premiering Tuesday, Nov. 17, “Big Sky” adapts several related
novels by C.J. Box by following the search for two sisters
(played by Natalie Alyn Lind and Jade Pettyjohn) kidnapped
from a Montana highway. Among the many other characters
is a detective (Ryan Phillippe) who crosses paths with his ex-
cop ex-wife (Katheryn Winnick, “Vikings”) while working
the case.
Also a writer of many “Big Sky” episodes, Kelley says
that in adapting Box’s “The Highway” into the show’s
main premise, “The biggest challenge for me was to be
able to deliver what the book did ... and that is the tension,
the thrill, the drama and the relational equations of the
characters, which were rich and profound at times. It was a
great ride, a great journey. And I’m hoping that particularly
given the times, when (viewers) throw on the television at
the end of the day, we will be able to deliver that sense of
fun, drama, and escapism to them.”
John Carroll Lynch stars
in “Big Sky,“ premiering
Tuesday on ABC.
“Big Sky’s” ensemble cast also includes Kylie Bunbury
(“Pitch”), Brian Geraghty (“Chicago P.D.”), Dedee Pfeiffer,
Jesse James Keitel, Valerie Mahaffey and John Carroll Lynch
(“American Horror Story”). Co-star Winnick vows that with
all of the characters, “You’ll see different layers of them as the
series unfolds. The things that you least expect in a character
end up shocking you, in a lot of different ways.”
Playing a state trooper in “Big Sky,” Lynch has been a
series star for Kelley before (“The Brotherhood of Poland,
New Hampshire”), and he maintains that he’s been a fan ever
since he visited friend Don Cheadle on the “Picket Fences”
set. “Every single time I watch a David Kelley show, it is its
own universe and it tackles its own question,” Lynch reasons.
“There’s always humor. There’s always heart. There’s always
an essential sense of humanity about each and every single
universe that’s created.”
While there’s never a guarantee that a serialized drama
won’t be canceled before it can play out fully, Kelley has
built a safeguard into “Big Sky.” He explains, “The structure
of this show is that we will do four- or five-episode arcs,
so if someone could only watch the first half of the season,
there will be closure on one storyline. We kind of like that
format as storytellers, because we cultivate and introduce an
underlying story while we’re going full guns on our ‘A’ story.”
Contact us at:
541-663-6404
peaklifestylestudio.com
PeakLifestyleStudio@gmail.com
BACK TO SCHOOL?
A LIBRARY CARD is a must-have
for students. Access our online
resources for research and
homework help!
FREE eBooks
and audiobooks
Thousands of titles
Are your
FEET
AVAILABLE DAILY
Noon to midnight
Ready for
Fall?
New Name.
Same Great Team.
Same Exceptional
Service.
Unlimited # of sessions at NO CHARGE!
It’s PRE-PAID with your taxes.
Access with
your Baker County Library Card
from www.bakerlib.org/kids-teens
Explore the ONLINE LIBRARY at www.bakerlib.org
541.523.6419
info@bakerlib.org
541-963-0265
888-843-9090
www.GVfoot.com
Travis T. Hampton, D.P.M.
Foot and Ankle Surgeon
La Grande
1408 N Hall Street
Enterprise
601 Medical Parkway
Baker
3175 Pocahontas Rd.