‘Big Sky’ Season 2 Ratings Signal a Renewal Is Likely for Season 3
ABC’s Big Sky Season 2 continues to shock fans with twists and turns as Jenny Hoyt (Katheryn Winnick) and Cassie Dewell (Kylie Bunbury) take on a drug cartel and finally track down Ronald Pergman (Brian Geraghty). Although many viewers worry that ABC might cancel Big Sky after the season 2 return in 2021, the ratings look to be heading toward a season 3 renewal of the highway drama.
What is ‘Big Sky’ about on ABC?
Big Sky is an ABC series created by David E. Kelley based on The Highway series of books by C. J. Box. The drama began in 2020 with a storyline featuring Ryan Phillippe; however, the writers killed off his character in the season 1 premiere. Instead, his estranged wife and ex-cop Jenny Hoyt joins forces with private detective Cassie Dewell to solve the case Phillippe’s character, Cody, was working on when he died.
Throughout Big Sky Season 1, Cassie and Jenny search for two missing sisters who Ed Gein-like serial killer Ronald Pergman kidnaped. As they dive deeper into the case, they realize other women are also missing. Along the way, Cassie and Jenny join forces repeatedly to solve other cases, realizing that most are related to the missing girls and the mystery trucker.
The second season follows a new storyline with over 18 new Big Sky Season 2 cast members. However, Ronald is still at large. Although he’s not a priority at the beginning of the season, his storyline comes back to the forefront midway through. The drama has twists and turns that kill off characters left and right. Viewers never know who might turn up dead next.
‘Big Sky’ Season 2 ratings surge with the addition of streaming
In November 2021, news outlets began reporting a surge in delayed viewing of ABC’s Thursday night shows — Big Sky, Grey’s Anatomy, and Station 19. The Hollywood Reporter found that roughly one-third of the three dramas’ total viewers came from streaming services. When the outlet narrowed the viewership to only adults under 50, over half of the ratings came from digital sources.
In that same report, the publication found that Big Sky had over 11 million viewers and a 2.16 demo rating after 35 days across all platforms. Those are massive numbers for season 2, although down from season 1, with 14.7 million viewers across all platforms. The current Big Sky Season 2 ratings show a 40% dip in the demo, averaging 2.8 million viewers live (TV Fanatic). However, the audience jumps to 6.17 million viewers with a 0.7 rating after only one week of digital viewership. With ratings that high, a renewal is likely for Big Sky Season 3.
Is ‘Big Sky’ canceled?
Although many viewers worry that ABC might cancel Big Sky, they did not renew Big Sky for season 2 until May 2021. So, Big Sky did not get canceled yet, and fans will likely hear of a renewal in May 2022, because of the solid ratings. The main two cast members most likely to return for Big Sky Season 3 are Katheryn Winnick and Kylie Bunbury. Beyond that, there’s no guarantee that any other cast members could return since characters die so often.
Big Sky Season 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Hulu. Big Sky Season 2 airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
