Joe Pickett (TV series) explained

Joe Pickett is an American neo-Western crime drama television series based on characters created by novelist C.J. Box. The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios and was initially released on Spectrum Originals in 2021, and then on Paramount+.^[1] The series stars Michael Dorman, Julianna Guill, Sharon Lawrence, Paul Sparks, Mustafa Speaks, and David Alan Grier.^{[2] [3]}

The first season premiered on December 6, 2021, and consisted of ten episodes. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a second season^[4] which premiered on June 4, 2023, on Paramount+.^[5] In October 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.^[6]

Synopsis

The series follows the life of Joe Pickett, a Wyoming-based game warden, and his family in the small town of Saddlestring and the surrounding wilderness of Yellowstone National Park.

Cast

Main

• Michael Dorman as Joe Pickett, a dedicated game warden who moves with his family to Saddlestring, Wyoming
  • Zebastin Borjeau (recurring season 1) and Azriel Dalman (guest season 2) as young Joe Pickett
• Julianna Guill as Marybeth Pickett, Joe's wife, the mother of their daughters Sheridan and Lucy, and a former lawyer
• Sharon Lawrence as Missy Vankeuren, Marybeth's materialistic mother who moves in with the Picketts after her fiancé is incarcerated
• Paul Sparks as Wacey Hedeman (season 1), a game warden in the adjacent district to Twelve Sleep County who seeks to run for Sheriff
• Mustafa Speaks as Nate Romanowski, a skilled survivalist and falconer who is accused of murder
• Skywalker Hughes as Sheridan Pickett, Joe and Marybeth's elder daughter
• Kamryn Pliva as Lucy Pickett, Joe and Marybeth's younger daughter
• David Alan Grier as Vern Dunnegan, a well-respected former game warden and the unofficial mayor of Saddlestring
• Chad Rook as Deputy McLanahan (season 2; recurring season 1), an arrogant and ignorant deputy for the Twelve Sleep County Sheriff's Department
• Aadila Dosani as Deputy Cricket Ludlow (season 2; recurring season 1), an intelligent but inexperienced deputy for the Twelve Sleep County Sheriff's Department
• Keean Johnson as Luke Brueggeman (season 2), a trainee game warden working under Joe
• Vivienne Guynn as April Keeley (season 2; recurring season 1), Ote and Jeannie's daughter

Recurring

• Leah Gibson as Jeannie Keeley (season 1; guest season 2), Ote's pregnant wife and April's mother
• Cassie Dzienny as Sadie Pickett (season 1; guest season 2), Joe and Victor's mother
• Kyle Mac as George Pickett (season 1), Joe and Victor's abusive father
• Oliver Mandelcorn as Victor Pickett (season 1), Joe's younger brother
  • Joshua Morettin as young Victor Pickett (guest season 1)
• Jacqueline and Joyce Robbins as Violet and Vivan Bouvier (season 1), a pair of elderly twin sisters who run an emu ranch
• Patrick Gallagher as Sheriff Bud Barnum, the head of the Twelve Sleep County Sheriff's department, who is inexperienced with investigating violent crime
• Judith Buchan as Opal Scarlett (season 1; guest season 2), the matriarch of the Scarlett family and a wealthy rancher who is willing to go to extreme lengths to become richer
• Evie Marsten as Julie Scarlett (season 1; guest season 2), Arlen's daughter, Opal's granddaughter and the local school bully
• Brendan Fletcher as Arlen Scarlett (season 1; guest season 2), Opal's elder son and Julie's father
• Roger LeBlanc as Hank Scarlett, Opal's younger son and an experienced hunter
• Rachel Colwell as Taylor Maldonado (season 1), a wildlife biologist from a local reservation, who owns an animal rescue centre
• Alex Breaux as Caleb and Camish Grimmengruber (season 2), a pair of twin poachers known as the Grim Brothers who illegally hunt together on "Bermuda Mountain"
• John Ralston as Derek Longbrake (season 2), a regular at the bar where Missy works
• Julianne Christie as Blaire Urman (season 2), Marybeth's boss and the wife of a well-known hunter from Saddlestring, Frank Urman, who goes missing on Bermuda Mountain
• Cheryl De Luca as Alisha Whiteplume (season 2), the school guidance counselor at Sheridan and Lucy's school
• Sean Wei Mah as Charlie Left Hand (season 2), a desperate father from the local reservation searching for his missing daughter Marissa
• T'áncháy Redvers as Marissa Left Hand (season 2), Charlie's missing daughter
• Chris Gauthier as Randy Pope (season 2), Joe's new boss at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Aaron Dean Eisenberg as Klamath Moore (season 2), the violent leader of the "Stop the Slaughter" animal rights movement
• Emily Alabi as Shenandoah Yellowcalf/ Shannon Moore (season 2), Klamath's wife, who is concerned at the lengths he is willing to go to grow their movement

Guest

• Ben Hollingworth as Ote Keeley (season 1), a troublesome poacher whose murder leads to a series of investigations in Saddlestring
• Malik Elassal as Calvin Mendes (season 1), one of Ote's fellow hunters
• Owen Crow Shoe as Kyle Lensegrav (season 1), another of Ote's hunting friends
• David Haysom as Clyde Lidgard (season 1), the local "town creep" who lives isolated outside Saddlestring
• Mark Bellamy as Mitch (season 1), a Saddlestring resident who keeps abreast of everyone in town
• Diego Diablo Del Mar as Oliver Lopez, a taxidermist in Saddlestring
• David Cubitt as Jerry Kelmeckis (season 1), a hitman hired to kill Nate Romanowski who poses as a U.S. Marshal
• Blair Young as Les Etbauer (season 1), Joe's former boss and supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• Lochlyn Munro as Governor Budd, the Governor of Wyoming who was previously busted by Joe for fishing without a license
• Jessica Zhang as Wendy (season 2), the receptionist at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
• David Trimble as Terry Boulden (season 2), a celebrated hunter that was targeted by Klamath Moore's activists
• Josh Collins as Chris Urman (season 2), Blaire's nephew and the last person to see his uncle alive
• Patrick Garrow as Buck Lothar (season 2), the host of the Buck Talk radio show and a self-proclaimed "master tracker"
• Joel Jackshaw as Wally Conway (season 2), a hunter who claims to be the "best shot in Wyoming"
• Noah Dalton Danby as "Big" Merle Connor (season 2), a former Special Operative and an associate of Nate's, who is also on the run
• Ryan Robbins as Robbie Jax (season 2), a former Special Operative in hiding in South Dakota

Episodes

Season 2 (2023)

Production

Cast

In April 2021, it was announced that Michael Dorman would star in the title role whilst David Alan Grier, Julianna Guill, Sharon Lawrence, Mustafa Speaks, Paul Sparks, Skywalker Hughes and Kamryn Pilva joined the cast as series regulars.^[7]

In June 2022, Vivienne Guynn, Chad Rook and Aadila Dosani were promoted to series regulars for the second season. Keean Johnson also joined the cast as a series regular whilst Alex Breaux, Sean Wei Mah, John Ralston, Cheryl De Luca, Chris Gauthier, Emily Alabi, T’áncháy Redvers and Aaron Dean Eisenberg were set to recur.^[8]

Development

In March 2021, Spectrum Originals ordered Joe Pickett straight to series and would be based on C.J. Box's series of novels of the same name.^[9] The first season was an adaption of the first and third Joe Pickett novels, Open Season and Winterkill respectively.^[10] On October 31, 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.^[6]

Filming

Although the series' setting is the rural town of Saddlestring, Wyoming, the series was filmed on location around Calgary,^[11] specifically the Cochrane area.^[12]

In July 2022, the second season started production in Okotoks, Alberta and High River, Alberta.^[13]

Themes

Joe Pickett is part of a resurgence in the Western genre.^{[14] [15]}

Release

The series was initially a streaming exclusive for Spectrum, having launched in December 2021, during which time it became the most-watched series on the network. The first season was later added to Paramount+.

Reception

Joe Keller, writing a review for Decider.com, says "Joe Pickett has some unexpected humor among the darkness, and a title character that shows his weaknesses and baggage on his face, even to the people he’s trying to help or arrest. It’s a show that has a more realistic feel and flows a lot better than some of the shows we’ve seen in the Western genre of late."^[16]

TV Guide's Matt Roush writes, "I mean it as the highest compliment when I suggest that anyone who followed Longmire from cable to Netflix will find a kindred spirit here. From the early episodes, this also appears to be following the outlines of Box’s disciplined storytelling more faithfully than the bizarrely baroque Big Sky."^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wyoming game warden 'Joe Pickett' hunts for new adventures. 2022-02-09. spectrumnews1.com. en.
2. Web site: Zorrilla . Mónica Marie . 2021-04-19 . David Alan Grier, Sharon Lawrence Among Five to Join Cast of Spectrum Originals Drama 'Joe Pickett' . 2022-07-01 . Variety . en-US.
3. Web site: Petski . Denise . 2021-07-07 . 'Joe Pickett': Virgin River's Benjamin Hollingsworth Joins Spectrum Originals Drama As Recurring . 2023-01-20 . Deadline . en-US.
4. Web site: White. Peter. 2022-02-09. 'Joe Pickett' Renewed For Season 2 At Spectrum; Michael Dorman Drama Becomes Network's Most Watched Series As Paramount+ Set To Stream. 2022-02-09. Deadline. en-US.
5. Web site: Rice. Lynette. 'Joe Pickett': Paramount+ Drops New Trailer, Reveals Season 2 Return Of Neo-Western Drama. Deadline Hollywood. April 11, 2023. April 11, 2023.
6. Web site: Mitovich. Matt Webb. Joe Pickett Not Returning for Season 3. TVLine. October 31, 2023. October 31, 2023.
7. Web site: Petski . Denise. 'Joe Pickett': David Alan Grier, Julianna Guill, Sharon Lawrence, Mustafa Speaks, Paul Sparks, Among 7 Cast In Spectrum Originals Drama. Deadline Hollywood. April 19, 2021. February 11, 2023.
8. Web site: White. Peter. 'Joe Pickett': Keean Johnson Joins Season 2 Of Spectrum Series As Trio Upped To Regulars . Deadline Hollywood. June 22, 2022. February 11, 2023.
9. Web site: Petski . Nellie Andreeva,Denise . Andreeva . Nellie . Petski . Denise . 2021-03-18 . Michael Dorman To Headline 'Joe Pickett' Drama Series Ordered By Spectrum Originals . 2022-07-01 . Deadline . en-US.
10. Web site: 2021-12-27 . Mustafa Speaks Interview: Joe Pickett . 2022-07-02 . ScreenRant . en-US.
11. Web site: New Zealand actor Michael Dorman, David Alan Grier to star in Calgary-shot series Joe Pickett . 2022-07-01 . calgaryherald . en-CA.
12. Web site: Filming about to begin for Joe Pickett series in Cochrane . 2022-07-02 . CochraneNow.
13. Web site: Joe Pickett back in the Foothills for season two . 2022-07-02 . HighRiverOnline.
14. Web site: Ingram . Hunter . 2022-06-21 . Inside the Resurgence of the Wild, Wild West on TV — and Why It's Happening Now . 2022-07-02 . Variety . en-US.
15. Web site: Petty . Michael John . 2024-01-27 . Don't Sleep on This Neo-Western Murder Mystery Series . 2024-02-17 . Collider . en.
16. Web site: 'Joe Pickett' Paramount Plus Review: Stream It Or Skip It? . 2022-07-03 . en-US.
17. Web site: Roush . Matt . Roush Review: Don't Underestimate Spectrum's 'Joe Pickett' . 2022-07-03 . TV Insider . 6 December 2021 . en-US.