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, agame warden who moves with his wife Marybeth and their daughters to Saddlestring,Wyoming, to oversee the wilderness surroundingYellowstone National Park, taking over for Vern Dunnegan. Joe soon discovers the body of poacher Ote Keeley in his backyard, uncovering a conspiracy involving the influential Scarlett family, Vern, and his friend Wacey Hedeman, who has invested in land for a profitable pipeline deal. Sightings of a supposedly extinct species (a fictional version ofblack-footed ferret) jeopardize their scheme, leading them to drastic measures, forcing Joe to protect both his family and the wildlife he's sworn to preserve.[1][7]
Zebastin Borjeau (recurring season 1) and Azriel Dalman (guest season 2) as young Joe Pickett
Julianna Guill as Marybeth Pickett, Joe's former-lawyer wife, the mother of their daughters Sheridan and Lucy
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 older 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[8]
Aadila Dosani as Deputy Cricket Ludlow (season 2; recurring season 1), an intelligent but inexperienced deputy for the Twelve Sleep County Sheriff's Department[8]
Keean Johnson as Luke Brueggeman (season 2), a trainee game warden working under Joe[8]
Vivienne Guynn as April Keeley (season 2; recurring season 1), Ote and Jeannie's daughter[8]
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 older 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), awildlife biologist from a localreservation, who owns an animal rescue centre
Alex Breaux as Caleb and Camish Grimmengruber (season 2), a pair of twin poachers known as theGrim Brothers who illegally hunt together on"Bermuda Mountain"[8]
John Ralston as Derek Longbrake (season 2), a regular at the bar where Missy works[8]
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 guidance counselor at Sheridan and Lucy's school[8]
Sean Wei Mah as Charlie Left Hand (season 2), a desperate father from the local reservation searching for his missing daughter Marissa[8]
T'áncháy Redvers as Marissa Left Hand (season 2), Charlie's missing daughter[8]
Chris Gauthier as Randy Pope (season 2), Joe's new boss at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department[8]
Aaron Dean Eisenberg as Klamath Moore (season 2), the violent leader of the "Stop the Slaughter" animal rights movement[8]
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[8]
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]
In March 2021,Spectrum Originals orderedJoe Pickett straight to series and would be based onC.J. Box's series of novels of the same name.[12] The first season was an adaptation of the first and thirdJoe Pickett novels,Open Season andWinterkill respectively.[1][13] 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,[14] specifically theCochrane area.[15]
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 forDecider.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 theWestern genre of late."[19]
TV Guide's Matt Roush writes, "I mean it as the highest compliment when I suggest that anyone who followedLongmire from cable toNetflix 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 baroqueBig Sky."[20]
