Jesse James Keitel, the breakout star of ‘Big Sky’, has thrown some hints at us about what we can expect in the upcoming episodes of the ABC drama.
‘Big Sky’, on ABC, is pretty much everything everyone has been talking about for the last few weeks. For a series that began its television journey on the slower side, with each passing episode, ‘Big Sky’ is redefining what a crime thriller could look like. Featuring a cast of strong actors such as Katheryn Winnick and Kylie Bunbury, there is a horde of relatively unknown actors that have been slowly making their way into more American televisions via ABC. One such actor, for whom ‘Big Sky‘ is the breakout television project, is Jesse James Keitel, a real-life non-binary individual, playing a non-binary role in a regular prime-time television series. Her casting not only indicates the changing perceptions of American people towards the LGBT Community, her performance as a sex worker with ambitions of becoming a singer is also winning hearts.
Highlights —
- ‘Big Sky’ review
- How the casting of Jesse James Keitel worked in the show’s favour?
- What big changes on ‘Big Sky’ is Jesse hinting at?
‘Big Sky’ premiered on the ABC network in November 2020, to a slow response. Based on C.J. Box’s highly celebrated crime thriller novel titled “The Highway“, the series follows the story of two detectives as they investigate a chain of kidnappings that have been happening in a Montana suburb. The plot looks quite simple, which it is to a great extent, but the devil is in the details.
The two private investigators, who are brought together to investigate the case of kidnapped girls, are in no happy place in their personal lives as well. The kidnapping investigation seems like just a trope to take the story forward as the characters fight their inner demons and stumble on their way to carry out a successful investigation job that they were hired to do. Created by David E. Kelly, the star creator of shows such as ‘Doogie Houser‘ and ‘Boston Legal‘, the series has taken a ruthless and dark turn and it hard to say which character survives and which one becomes a victim of the dark world of ‘Big Sky’.
What ‘big changes’ on ‘Big Sky’ is Jesse James hinting at?
One of the breakout stars of the series, Jesse James Keitel, recently gave an interview where she gave the audience a glimpse into what to expect from the second half of the first season that has already premiered on January 26. Keitel, a distant relative of the Hollywood veteran Harvey Keitel, mentioned in a recent interview that some big changes are coming to ‘Big Sky’ and the series will take a completely new route in the coming episodes. She further added that it will look like a completely different show. Keitel also hinted at the arrival of some cast additions, mostly some new villains, some high octane action scenes along with some addition to what has become the show’s key delight, some heavy emotional moments.
In the series, Keitel appears as Jessie Kennedy, one of the victims of Ronald, the main villain, played sinisterly by Brian Geraghty. Jesse is a trans-feminine, disgraced by society and living as a prostitute, who aims to become a singer. The unexpected kidnapping has taken a toll on her life and Jesse will hopefully emerge as a true winner and a stronger person than ever. A person who could survive that, standing up to the society will hopefully feel like a cakewalk.
The casting of Jesse James Keitel on ‘Big Sky’
In the pilot episode, Jerrie was not given much importance and seemed like just another recurring character. But in the second episode, when Jerrie’s true identity gets revealed, when their captor asked her to disrobe in front of her, it was a sudden shock to the audience. It was unexpected and yet, a stroke of brilliant casting. From then on, Jerrie’s story has become one of the biggest plot points in the development of the story. By the end of the third episode, we begin to empathize with her when we are introduced to her as a person. Her back-story, involving the conflict with the parents and her decision to become a sex worker for survival has been beautifully portrayed.
While the series has only managed to get mixed-reviews so far, the progressive step the creators have taken to actually cast a real trans-feminine to portray Jerrie is highly commendable. We shall wait and see how the character fares in the series in the coming episodes.
Tell us in the comments what would be the fate of the kidnapped girls in the coming episodes and whether Jerrie’s casting decision is a masterstroke or just a ploy to get more eyeballs? What do you think?
