Even Reba McEntire Joining ‘Big Sky’ Couldn’t Save the Show

ABC canceled three series recently. Unfortunately, crime drama Big Sky was one of them, meaning that not even country superstar Reba McEntire could save the series. The newly-minted joined for Season 3, subtitled Big Sky: Deadly Trails, as Sunny Barnes, who owns a luxury campsite and runs Sunny Day Excursions with her husband Buck and their son Cormack. The family, unfortunately, wasn’t what they made themselves look to be.

Throughout the season, hikers were getting killed, and even some campers from Sunny Day Excursions, plus more over the years. It was revealed that Buck, played by McEntire’s real-life boyfriend, Rex Linn, was the serial killer supposedly behind the murders. Sunny even helped her family cover up some of the murders, making it look like everything at Sunny Day Excursions was as sunny as can be, even though it definitely wasn’t.

News of Reba McEntire joining  came not long after the show’s renewal for a third season. It was hard to predict what kind of role the country star would have, but she did not disappoint. Although the season ended with her being hauled off to jail, and we’ll never be able to see the aftermath, Sunny Barnes was quite an eccentric character. Only McEntire would be able to bring such life to her and make fans both hate and love her at the same time.

For a while, Big Sky, and with the finale being back in January, fans were waiting for a pretty long time. Even though it’s not the news that they had been hoping for, especially since McEntire and Jensen Ackles, who played new sheriff, Beau, were such great additions, at least fans no longer have to wait in agony. 

Perhaps the only good news to come out of the Big Sky cancellation is that McEntire has more time to focus on other projects. Along with the upcoming season of The Voice, she has three additional projects in the works, not to mention her music. So, she is still going to be pretty busy, even if she won’t continue playing Sunny Barnes. All three seasons of Big Sky are streaming on Hulu, so if fans ever want to relive the mysteries and cases of the show, they’re able to rewatch it as much as they can and see McEntire kill it in the third season.