A new ABC show, Big Sky, was released in mid-November by David E. Kelley, a very successful producer. It is based on the 2013 novel The Highway by C.J. Box, and although it has a calm start, it soon turns into a thriller and mystery series. This intriguing first season contains a riveting plot and important information about human trafficking. Season 1 just ended, and there’s talk about a possible season 2, although ABC has not yet confirmed the rumors. The show is currently available on Hulu.
Big Sky is a scary series that brings light to the worldwide issue and crime of human trafficking. My eyes were opened while watching this gripping show as two young girls in high school are abducted.
I definitely recommend this show, as I am someone who isn’t a huge fan of thrillers but found this show to be enlightening and riveting. The acting is very realistic and effective by the detectives, young girls, and kidnappers. The show has gotten an extensive number of good reviews, which led ABC to add six additional episodes to the originally planned ten episodes.
Big Sky has many plot twists, leaving viewers on the edges of their seats and each episode with a suspenseful ending. The first few episodes portray the scenery of Montana–hence the show’s title–and the rural environment along with the long quiet roads.
The kidnapper is a trucker, driving on a long road after he abducted a girl who was working at a truck stop as a sex worker. Two young girls have been on a road trip on the same road, almost getting crashed into by the trucker; the older sister, Danielle, dangerously speeds ahead of him to teach him a lesson and yells at him as she passes him. Soon thereafter, Danielle and her sister run out of gas and are stopped on the road in the middle of the night. Praying that somebody will drive by to help them, they are hopeful as they see lights down the road behind them. However, they then realize it is the truck that they passed, and moments later their car windows are shattered.
The show was suggested to me by family members, who said, “It gives out the message to not engage in road rage and similar things, considering you never know who is in the other car and what kind of person they are or what they are doing.”
As the show goes on, people start to realize the sisters are missing; parents and detectives are soon involved in investigating the situation. Each character’s perspective and point of views is portrayed throughout the story, so the viewer sees both the kidnappers and their plans, as well as the girls and the adults involved.
The show enlightens viewers about the danger kidnappers hold, but more importantly the worldwide issue of how often people are kidnapped and human trafficked every day. Already in 2021, there have been cases of human trafficking in every state, most with over one hundred, and some with over a thousand. In Massachusetts there have been 107 this year, which may seem small compared to California which has had more than 1,500. The World Population Review website tracks human trafficking statistics by state and is worth reviewing.
Big Sky does an excellent job at both being an entertaining and engrossing show while enlightening viewers about real dangers in our world.
