‘Alaska Daily’: Alaskans React to the Authenticity of the ABC Show
ABC’s new hit television show Alaska Daily has two stars — Hilary Swank and Alaska. Swank’s character Eileen Fitzgerald is a fish out of water in the biggest state in the U.S., and the production does a great job of highlighting both puzzle pieces that make up Alaska Daily. However, is the ABC drama an accurate depiction of Alaska?
What is ‘Alaska Daily’ about?
Alaska Daily begins with Eileen Fitzgerald’s life crashing down around her due to a published story with an unreliable source.
Eileen is a prestigious journalist who wants to expose the next Secretary of Defense for allegedly selling weapons to enemies of the state. She receives information from a source and goes forward with her story. Unfortunately, after it’s published, the source goes M.I.A., and the public “cancels” Eileen for possibly printing a made-up story about a high-ranking U.S. official.
Eileen quits her job and begins writing a book about the now Secretary of State. However, her former boss from years ago, Stanley Cornik, played by Jeff Perry, tracks Eileen down in New York City and offers her a job at the Daily Alaskan in Anchorage, Alaska. At first, she turns him down. But after Stanley tells Eileen about the story he wants her to investigate — missing and murdered indigenous women in Alaska — she agrees.
Despite its canonical location, the cast and crew of Alaska Daily don’t film the show in Alaska. Production is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. However, many believe exterior shots are filmed in Anchorage and other parts of Alaska.
Alaskans share their thoughts on the show
Following Alaska Daily‘s premiere, Alaska viewers took to Reddit to discuss the show. And the reviews are mostly positive.
“I didn’t want the first episode to end, and I’ll definitely keep tuning in,” one Reddit user wrote. “ABC is kind of notorious for yanking shows off the air if they think they aren’t doing well immediately. I hope this doesn’t happen this time. They need to give this a chance to find its audience.”
A fan added, “I watched it. It was good to see some of it being shot in Alaska. Interested to see how they portray village life.”
“It’s fun to see shots of Anchorage,” someone commented. “And I am super jealous of the poet-pilot’s ‘Turnagain Arm’ house, hahaha. I thought she got really drunk and woke up in Seward.”
A different Reddit user said, “Really fun to see our city featured in a show. Cars look too clean in it, though, lol.” And another fan criticized, “I liked watching the shots of ’empty streets’ downtown with the road closure signs and stopped traffic clearly visible in the background. Kinda dumb to portray Anchorage as an empty place, unless they are shooting on 4th of July weekend.”
‘Alaska Daily’ is based on a true story
Although it’s a fictional show, Alaska Daily is inspired by “Lawless,” a series of articles from the Anchorage Daily News. These pieces shined a spotlight on the concerning uptick of missing and murdered indigenous women in Alaska in recent years.
All of the characters in Alaska Daily are entirely fictional and not based on real-life journalists, though.
Alaska Daily airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
