ABC's drama Big Sky is returning for a third season on the network with a brand-new mystery for Kylie Bunbury and Katheryn Winnick to unravel. They'll be joined by one new series regular as well, with Supernatural star Jensen Ackles earning the right to stick around as the new sheriff in town even before appearing on-screen. Season 2 wraps up its current investigation on May 19.
Ackles isn't entirely new to Big Sky. He was already set to step into the shoes of good ol' Texas boy Beau Arlen for the finale of the show's second season, though only as a guest star. With Sheriff Tubb down for the count, Arlen will saddle up to help Cassie (Bunbury) and Jenny (Winnick), though the synopsis for the finale already sort of gave away that this wasn't a mere one-and-done affair. For Season 3, he'll continue his role as the acting sheriff at the behest of his good friend, Tubb, assuring his ten-gallon hat and thick accent will be sticking around for the time being. According to Deadline, he's on a one-year deal for the series.
He won't be the only promotion in Montana, as Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who plays Tonya in Season 2, is getting bumped up to a regular for the third season. Tonya goes through quite the journey through her time on the show, starting off as a waitress who needs help from the PIs to find her missing boyfriend. By the end, she's become a powerful and steadfast associate for the local crime family. It's safe to say she'll have a bigger role to play in the next mystery that comes across Cassie and Jenny's desks.
Big Sky has remained a success for ABC after a solid Season 2 debut with 3.13 million and impressive online engagement to the tune of an average digital gain of 9 million viewers per new episode. It's an adaptation of C.J. Box's The Highway books with Season 2 seeing private investigators Cassie and Jenny joining forces once again to investigate a car accident outside of Helena, Montana. As they search for answers though, it's clear this was no ordinary wreck and the mystery runs through a band of unsuspecting teens, a flirtatious face from Jenny's past, and an outsider desperate for some sort of explanation.
Compared to its competitors, ABC has been rather light on the cancelations for this season, opting instead to run it back with a lot of its original programming. Joining Big Sky in returning for another round is fellow drama A Million Little Things and a slew of comedies including The Wonder Years, The Conners, and Home Economics. Only Queens, Promised Land, and Black-ish got the axe this time around, though the latter barely even counts given that the sentiments were mutual about its end.
Big Sky concludes its second season on ABC on May 19.