This article contains spoilers for the first season of Joe Pickett and the first seven episodes of season two.As season two of Joe Pickett draws to a close, MovieWeb sat down with series stars Michael Dorman and Julianna Guill to discuss what’s been going on with the hit Paramount+ show. Dorman plays the titular Pickett, a game warden who becomes embroiled with the various criminal goings-on in his Wyoming town; Guill plays Joe’s wife Marybeth, a former lawyer.
Though it takes place in the modern day, Joe Pickett takes several cues from the Westerns of old. It’s also not the only show to do that of late, as evidenced by Yellowstone and its numerous spin-offs. When asked about what could be behind this sudden influx of shows in recent years, Guill responded that the Western has perhaps always been popular, or at least its core themes have:
Well, I would look for a time when it wasn’t popular, really. I mean, the idea of the American dream, for better or worse, is something that has drawn audiences since the beginning of storytelling.
“So I think our show, in particular, combines genres that people are always drawn to,” continued Guill. “The nucleus, the heart of family, the pull of a murder mystery, and the exciting action component of a Western come together to be television that people are interested in. And, as Michael has said many times, our show also has that characteristic of being kind of the Sunday night film you go watch with your family, plus an element of brutality that is enticing in this day and age.”
Serious Subjects in Season 2
The end of season one sees the couple go through the emotional wringer. They and their daughter Sheridan (Skywalker Hughes) nearly lose their lives to the criminal forces in town. Marybeth loses the child that she was pregnant with. Though physically fine, the psychological damage still remains, which is evident from the first episode of the season.
“Yes, I agree. It was a pretty rough headspace,” admitted Guill. She continued:
“We had a lot of conversations about it throughout season one, the storyline that we were shaping. I feel like we had been through the wringer, and we had done that work. And we came into season two with a pretty intense familiarity with that headspace. Michael’s right here, and he’ll speak to it as well, but it was like dropping into where we left off, it felt familiar, it felt very sad. And it was certainly challenging for sure.”
“There was a physical element that I decided to put in place for Joe, at the outset of the second season,” added Dorman, who noted the emotional difficulties of elaborating on an already troubled character. “And that was coupled with, you know, the demons that were in his mind. And then the way that we’re starting to manifest, as I say, the physical element, he’s starting to do things to hurt himself. As a way of, you know, feeling the pain that he’s feeling inside.”
While season one of the show certainly wasn’t lacking in dark moments, the plot of the second season takes it up a notch. The narrative broadens to poignantly explore the plights of Indigenous groups and Native Americans, such as serial sexual assaults that go back years and the lack of a robust law enforcement response. According to Dorman, there was an Indigenous writer among the show’s staff who brought forward some of their own stories and experiences:
What I will say is, I believe our storyline shines a light on an epidemic, and I’m glad that this is what our writers chose to base this season around. I was grateful to be a part of the story. And it’s a horrifying reality, some of these topics we touch on, the current state of affairs and things that have been going on for hundreds of years at this point.
Joe Pickett Finale and Beyond
Both Dorman and Guill were asked to provide a teaser for the rest of season two (without getting too deep into spoilers, of course.) Guill, who also didn’t want to give anything away, said that the last three episodes of the season are “a really wild ride.” Dorman added to that, hinting that there’d be some singing, some shooting, and some more of just about everything, but bigger:
“You’re going to see some horses, you’re going to see Joe riding around on them with people, there’s going to be some standoffs, there’s going to be some more standoffs. And then, when those standoffs have been stood off, there might be some more standoffs. It’s a lot of fun,” explained Dorman. He continued:
You can expect all the bells and whistles. You know, when you go and watch a fireworks display, and they start off and there’s pretty colors up there in the sky, and then for the finale, it’s just things going off left, right, and center? That’s what I imagined the last three episodes of Joe Pickett to be, is the finale in a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, when it’s a really big one.
At the time of writing, Joe Pickett has neither been canceled nor renewed for a third season. Assuming that the show does get renewed, what Guill would like to see is that Joe and Marybeth are able to find a new normal that “inspires strength.” She also hopes to explore the further family dynamic between the Pickett family and their new adopted daughter, April Keeley (Vivienne Guynn). Dorman added:
“I feel like if there was a third, what we do know is that there will always be something hiding behind the corner. And then it’s how the family unit navigate that […] Like Julianna said, I hope that they find their way back to center, because I really admire the love that these two characters share. It’s one of those connections that I am thankful that I have in my life. But I know that it’s rare.”
New episodes of Joe Pickette air Sunday on Paramount+.
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