ABC has had to make some tough calls with its primetime lineup in recent years, and Big Sky remains one of the network’s more frustrating cancellations. This joins the likes of The Company You Keep and Alaska Daily as some of the more surprising cancellations, as these shows offered something unique in their concept. With Big Sky, a show that debuted in 2020, there was a lot that it offered, which allowed it to differentiate itself from the prototypical crime dramas. There also was a wealth of untapped stories, given that it was based on The Highway books created by C.J. Box. The show’s two leads, KatherynWinnick and KylieBunbury, also added a new dimension to the series as they led the female-driven cast.
Unfortunately for Big Sky, the numbers clearly weren’t there for ABC to continue with Season 4. It’s a shame because Season 3 felt like a turning-point type of season that reinvigorated some of the best qualities from its debut run. In fact, Season 3, titled “Deadly Trails,” made the strongest case for why Big Sky deserved a second chance. The third chapter stood out compared to its predecessor, as it brought in Reba McEntire to head up Sunny Day Excursions, a retreat that was brimming with secrets. Big Sky was heading in a strong direction, and that makes its cancellation sting even more.
‘Big Sky’ Utilized a New Story and Cast Each Season
reba-big-skyImage via ABC
What helped to make Big Sky stand out is its new plot each season. This also brought in a rotating cast that joined the mainstays at the top in Winnick and Bunbury. There have been some recognizable faces that have shown up along the way in Big Sky, including Ryan Phillipe, John Carroll Lynch, Jensen Ackles, and the aforementioned McEntire. With so many faces coming in and coming out, it gave Big Sky fans something to always be on the lookout for.
While the growing list of characters was a nice touch for Big Sky, what ultimately made it so distinct was its changing plots. There was always a small through line through the three seasons, but each chapter felt exactly like that: a chapter in a book. While not an anthology series, there was a sense of each season being totally different with its crime, its supporting cast, and even the tone. The first season focused on Ronald (Brian Geraghty) as he was a serial kidnapper in a truck driver.
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🚀Star Wars
💍Lord of the Rings
🧙Harry Potter
👑Game of Thrones
🖖Star Trek
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
05
What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
06
How does your universe treat good and evil? A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
07
What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
You’d find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Middle-earth
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
The Wizarding World
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Westeros · The Known World
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
The United Federation of Planets
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.
The second installment had a lot going on (maybe too much, to its own fault) with a drug ring and Travis (Logan Marshall-Green) portraying one of the more complicated characters in the series. There were even seasons, particularly Season 1, where the first and second halves felt entirely like different seasons because of the new stories and cast that would come in and out. All of this made Big Sky a show that always felt like it had a lot to offer, and if something wasn’t clicking with the audience, a new story and actors would be waiting around the corner anyway.
‘Big Sky’ Felt Out of Place on Network Television
John Carroll Lynch in Big SkyImage via ABC
There’s clearly a difference in what fans can expect when tuning into a show on ABC versus HBO or Netflix. Big Sky probably would have been best served with a premium network or a streaming service because of its tone. This isn’t even to say that giving it a TV-MA rating is what would have made all the difference, but there was enough here that this show would have likely reached its next level if allowed to go one step further than ABC would allow it to. That being said, the series went as far as it could at times with what was shown (looking at you, Rick Legarski).
The show’s creator, David E. Kelley, has had tremendous success across all spectrums of cable, which is why Big Sky always felt bigger than its counterparts. HBO property Big Little Lies is one of his most successful shows and serves as a reminder of what Kelley could have been able to do if Big Sky was elsewhere.
‘Big Sky’s Main Characters Had More to Explore
big-sky-katheryn-winnick-socialImage via ABC
The way Season 3 ended really left the door open for Ackles’ Beau and Winnick’s Jenny. The two had a working relationship, but there always was something more there. Beau’s ex-wife and daughter were leaving town in the finale, and while he considered following, what kept him around was his partner. The parting shot of them together at Jenny’s house served as a reminder of what could have been with a Season 4.
Cassie’s story had so much to dig into, as well. She had just sparked a fling with Cormac (Luke Mitchell), and she and Jenny were really coming into their own in solving crimes. There remains hope that some other network will salvage this series, but until then, it’s unfortunate to see a show with this much promise get chopped down before it could end on its own terms.
