EXCLUSIVE: David E. Kelley’s hit freshman ABC drama series Big Sky continues to bulk up its cast with the addition of five high profile recurring guest stars, Michelle Forbes, Britt Robertson, Michael Raymond-James, Ryan Dorsey and Omar Metwally.
They join recently cast new series regular Ted Levine, who plays powerful ranch owner Horst Kleinsasse, and Kyle Schmid, who will recur as his second-born son John Wayne Kleinsasse.
Forbes (The Killing) will play the mother, Margaret. She seems to be the picture-perfect ranch wife who knows her place, likes to bake and loves all of her children equally, but scratch the surface and there’s real steel beneath.
Robertson (For the People) will play the daughter Cheyenne Kleinsasser. Used to be Daddy’s (Levine) girl, but that ended when she grew up, ran off and made some poor life choices. Her brothers don’t weigh her opinion at all, brushing aside her ideas for the ranch as feminine nonsense. Schmid plays one of her brothers.
Raymond-James (Tell Me a Story) will play first-born son Blake Kleinsasser who turned his back on the ranch and went to the city to make his own way. He’s smart but a black-out drunk, and gets pulled back into the family dysfunction when he comes home to deal with the ranch.
Dorsey (Stumptown) will play younger son Rand Kleinsasser. Rand’s wiry, smart and quiet with a coiled intensity. He loves his mother and hates her in equal parts. Tormented by buried secrets.
Metwally (The Affair) will play Deputy US Marshal Frank Lindor. Or as he puts it; “a bounty-hunter with a pension.” Frank is brash, unbuttoned, and believes life’s too short to wear closed-toed shoes. He uses biting humor and brazenness as armor.
The crime thriller series, created by Kelley based on C.J Box’s book, follows private detective Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) who join forces to search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken.
After a winter break, Big Sky returned with new episodes this week. Following a strong ratings start for the freshman drama, ABC in December ordered six additional episodes, bringing the first season to a total of 16 episodes, with a Season 2 renewal also looking promising if the ratings performance remains solid.
Produced by 20th Television in association with A+E Studios, Big Sky is exec produced by Kelley, Ross Fineman, Matthew Gross, Box and Gwyneth Horder-Payton.
Forbes was nominated for an Emmy for her role in the AMC/Netflix series The Killing. She recently appeared on Epix’s Berlin Station. Her series credits also include HBO’s True Blood and In Treatment. She is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion.
Robertson was recently seen in the Lionsgate feature, I Still Believe opposite KJ Apa, on the Shondaland ABC drama, For the People and playing the title role in Netflix’s, Girlboss. She is repped by Innovative Artists.
Raymond-James can soon be seen opposite Jason Momoa in the upcoming Netflix film Sweet Girl and starred in Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me a Story on CBS All Access. Other recent series credits include Showtimes’ Billions and Fox’s Prodigal Son. He is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment LA and Peikoff Mahan.
Dorsey, whose recent credits include Stumptown, Yellowstone, Bosch and Runaways, is repped by D2 Management and Defining Artists.
Metwally, known for his role on Showtime’s The Affair as Dr. Vik Ullah and as Agent Santiago on USA’s Mr. Robot, also appeared on Ramy and Treadstone. He is repped by MGMT Entertainment, Innovative, and attorney Bruce Gellman.