The BIG SKY Team Teases ABC’s New Unexpected Mystery Series

David E. Kelley is returning to network television with the new ABC thriller BIG SKY.

In the drama, inspired by C.J. Box’s book series, two sisters go missing while on a road trip. To try and solve the case, private detectives Cody Hoyt (Ryan Phillippe) and Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) work with Cody’s (maybe) estranged wife, Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) to figure out what’s going on.

“At the end of each episode, I think the audience should be leaning in and say, ‘What’s going to happen next?'” Kelley told reporters during a recent press conference. “And that is a prevalent question throughout the series. Where this one may differ from other shows that I’ve done where the central questions have been socially or politically topical—and we’ll have some of those too—the fundamental question that’s going to be asked in this series, and we want our audience asking it, is what’s going to happen next?”

For the trio investigating the disappearances, it’s, well, a complicated dynamic.

“There’s a triangle, absolutely, and that’s where we find these characters at the beginning,” Phillippe said. “They are, sort of, dealing with or figuring out what the dynamics of that triangle are or what they will be. It’s exciting.”

“There’s a crazy love triangle, and you will see it unfold as the series goes on, and it’s pretty unexpected, what happens,” added Winnick.

But one of the key draws of the show for Winnick was working with Bunbury. “I know this show is really based on two strong female leads, and there’s nothing like that, really, on TV,” Winnick said. “It’s rare to find two women characters that follow through different cases as the series progresses, and she’s an amazing talent, an incredible costar, and a lovely person.”

“Thank you, Katheryn; I feel the same about you,” Bunbury replied. “But that’s also what David does. I feel like, when I first saw BIG LITTLE LIES, I felt, ‘Whoa, I’ve never seen women at the forefront told in this way. Their story is told in this complex and rich way.’ And, for me, I feel like this entire show—I mean, it’s mainly women.”

Bunbury, who had a busy summer on television between TWILIGHT ZONE and BRAVE NEW WORLD, admitted another show played a part in taking a chance on BIG SKY. “PITCH, for me, was a very magical and rare experience,” she said. “I definitely think that it has informed my choices moving forward. I don’t think that I’ll ever really get to experience something like that; it was so niche and different…I wasn’t really looking to do anything network‑related after that, but I really feel like…I’m experiencing such an amazing opportunity being cast on this show and exploring the dynamics of being a biracial woman in a relatively white town.
..And it’s interesting because ‑‑ I grew up in Minnesota, and so I really do understand what it’s like to be in very white spaces, and I wanted to explore that here because it’s something that I actually understand.”

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this, and I’m also thrilled that David is not shying away from the topics of race, the topic of even COVID or what’s going on in terms of the state of our country right now,” she continued. “I think it’s important, but it’s also not…what drives the story. People are going to come back for the characters, but we are not shying away from it, and I think that’s important that we don’t.”

And while some viewers might be gun-shy about committing to a new, deeply serialized show, Kelley has found a way to keep the BIG SKY story quasi-contained.

“The structure of this show is we will do four‑ or five‑episode arcs,” he explained. “So, the first season, for example, is ten episodes. That will probably be two five‑episode arcs. They bleed into each other and overlap, but they’re primarily two different arcs. So, if, for example, someone could only watch the first half of the season and that’s it, 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. And by the time that we get closure on that first story, the other story’s already planted roots, so our audience will be in success invested in that as well.”

BIG SKY, Series Premiere, Tuesday, November 17, 10/9c, ABC

RELATED:

• BIG SKY: ABC Releases a New Teaser, Poster for David E. Kelley Thriller
• ABC Renews THE ROOKIE, A MILLION LITTLE THINGS, STUMPTOWN, MIXED-ISH, and More

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.