Skip to main content

In the midst of numerous new series on streaming services, ABC is debuting its own show called Alaska Daily, which stars Hilary Swank in the lead role. The series will premiere soon on the network, and we have everything you need to know about Alaska Daily, including where it’s filmed.

Hilary Swank, in character as Eileen in the show 'Alaska Daily' on ABC, wears a blue and white striped button-up shirt over a light gray shirt.
Hilary Swank | ABC/Sergei Bachlakov

Hilary Swank stars in ‘Alaska Daily’ on ABC

Tom McCarthy created Alaska Daily, which stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a New York journalist. Other cast members include Jeff Perry as Stanley Cornik (Eileen’s boss), Matt Malloy as Bob Young, Meredith Holzman as Claire Muncy, Grace Dove as Rosalind “Roz” Friendly, Pablo Castelblanco as Gabriel Martin, Ami Park as Jieun Park, and Craig Frank as Austin Greene.

The pilot’s synopsis reads, “After a fall from grace, fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist Eileen Fitzgerald leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage. Her journey to find both personal and professional redemption begins.”

Eileen’s “fall from grace” refers to a controversial story she published about the new Secretary of State, leading to her losing her job and her reputation. So she accepts a job from her former boss in Alaska, where he assigns her a story about the disappearance and suspected murder of an indigenous woman that was ignored years ago.

Does the show film in Alaska?

Although the show takes place in Alaska, Alaska Daily is not filmed there.

According to the Director’s Guild of Canada, Alaska Daily films in Burnaby, British Columbia. They began shooting the series on Aug. 8, 2022, and filming will finish on January 13, 2023.

Alaska Daily will consist of 10 hour-long episodes.

Related

‘This Is Us’ Producers Wanted a ‘Vague’ Season 6 Timeline

Hilary Swank reveals why she agreed to be a part of the series

During an interview with Newsweek, Hilary Swank discussed Alaska Daily and why she signed up to be a part of the show. And it all circles back to the real-world issue of ignored missing and murdered indigenous women.

“Absolutely, that is 100 percent [why]. It’s the reason why I stepped onto the show,” Swank explained. “Tom McCarthy, I’m a huge fan of, and I’ve been a fan of [his film] Spotlight, actually since The Station Agent. And when he said that this was based on a story called ‘Lawless,’ I read the article. I knew about the missing, murdered indigenous women. I knew about that. But the story was just [shocking].”

She continued, “To me, I knew about that. And yet so many people don’t know about it, and it’s happening right now, right this second. And no one’s doing anything about it. It is horrific, and something needs to be done. So, yes, that was a big part of me being in the show. And then there’s other things that the article tackles that I had no idea about. And it just blew my mind.”

As Swank mentioned, Alaska Daily is a show inspired by a series of articles titled “Lawless” by the Anchorage Daily News. These articles highlight the increasing rate of sexual violence in Alaska.

Alaska Daily premieres on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

Best in Entertainment