I watched the first season of Big Sky and like many other viewers, lapsed as the story seemed to falter.
So I was excited to see the series pull a soft reboot with season three, especially when I saw the additions of Jensen Ackles, then Reba McEntire.
Both are solid personality actors with plenty of well-worn, practiced tools in their tool kit to pull out as demanded. Both, too, will act as "stunt casting" since they have fans attached and ready to watch no matter the project. Reba is internationally known and I'm only assuming they backed the Brinks truck up to her door to get her this year.
Meanwhile, does infusing their stock and trade into the show help bring life back to it? Yes.
The writers are shifting into what seems to be a more procedural formula along with an extended seasonal arc. The new characters are a shot in the arm for this.
There are bumps to iron out in the transition, of course: while some cast (Dedee Pfeiffer, Kylie Bunbury) are a lot of fun to watch as they develop the new relationships, others (Katheryn Winnick) seem to be taking a little longer to find the groove.
As to writing, I have no hold back to praise in the transition. The jokes landed, the Easter eggs were funny, the characters grew. We even got lines embedded to bring us up to speed on past seasons' stories (Lindor and Jerri)
Production, directing, editing were never at fault in Big Sky. And they continue to excel.
So now it's just to keep doing so as we hit the "deadly trails"