| Joe Pickett | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Based on | Joe Pickett by C. J. Box |
| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Composer | The Newton Brothers |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Linda Rogers-Ambury |
| Production location | Canada |
| Running time | 42–59 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network |
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| Release | December 6, 2021 – July 30, 2023 |
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]
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.[1]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| 1 | 10 | December 6, 2021 | December 27, 2021 | Spectrum Originals | |
| 2 | 10 | June 4, 2023 | July 30, 2023 | Paramount+ | |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Monster at the Gate" | John Erick Dowdle | John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle | December 6, 2021 |
| 2 | 2 | "Circling Vultures" | John Erick Dowdle | John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle | December 6, 2021 |
| 3 | 3 | "Joey, Get Your Gun" | Everardo Gout | Samir Mehta | December 6, 2021 |
| 4 | 4 | "A Conspiracy of Ravens" | Everardo Gout | Stacy Chbosky | December 13, 2021 |
| 5 | 5 | "Live and Look Like a Million" | Drew Dowdle | Samir Mehta | December 13, 2021 |
| 6 | 6 | "Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up" | Jennifer Morrison | Sarah Marie Masson | December 20, 2021 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Most Hated Man in 12 Sleeps" | Jennifer Morrison | John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle | December 20, 2021 |
| 8 | 8 | "The Killing Fields" | Drew Dowdle | Stacy Chbosky | December 27, 2021 |
| 9 | 9 | "Endangered" | Drew Dowdle | Jada Nation | December 27, 2021 |
| 10 | 10 | "Open Season" | Drew Dowdle | John Erick Dowdle & Drew Dowdle | December 27, 2021 |
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Teleplay by [8] | Original release date [9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "The Missing and the Dead" | Stephen Woolfenden | John Erick Dowdle | June 4, 2023 |
| 12 | 2 | "The Question Why" | Stephen Woolfenden | Stacy Chbosky | June 4, 2023 |
| 13 | 3 | "Stop the Slaughter!" | Blackhorse Lowe | Isaac Gomez | June 11, 2023 |
| 14 | 4 | "Buck Wild" | Blackhorse Lowe | Nelson Greaves | June 18, 2023 |
| 15 | 5 | "Heads Will Roll" | Drew Dowdle | Sarah Marie Masson | June 25, 2023 |
| 16 | 6 | "Ducks and Falcons" | Drew Dowdle | Diego D. Moreno | July 2, 2023 |
| 17 | 7 | "Fair Chase" | Janice Cooke | Alice Dennard | July 9, 2023 |
| 18 | 8 | "A Call For Help" | Janice Cooke | Stacy Chbosky | July 16, 2023 |
| 19 | 9 | "If This Is Goodbye" | Shana Stein | Nelson Greaves | July 23, 2023 |
| 20 | 10 | "The Third Way" | Shana Stein | John Erick Dowdle | July 30, 2023 |
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.[10]
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.[7]
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.[11] The first season was an adaption of the first and third Joe Pickett novels, Open Season and Winterkill respectively.[1][12] On October 31, 2023, the series was canceled after two seasons.[6]
Although the series' setting is the rural town of Saddlestring, Wyoming, the series was filmed on location around Calgary,[13] specifically the Cochrane area.[14]
In July 2022, the second season started production in Okotoks, Alberta and High River, Alberta.[15]
Joe Pickett is part of a resurgence in the Western genre.[1][16]
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.[4] The first season was later added to Paramount+.
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."[17]
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."[18]
