Featuring Australian actor Robert Taylor (The Matrix), as the stoic Sheriff Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, Wyoming, the series promises breathtaking western vistas, solid mysteries, pulse-pounding action, and a host of colorful characters causing mischief. Not the least of which are Walt’s new volatile deputy Victoria “Vic” Moretti (played by Battlestar Galactica’s, Katee Sackhoff), and his best friend Henry Standing Bear (film, TV actor, and amateur chef Lou Diamond Phillips).
Walt is a man in “psychic repair” according to the show’s press materials, and the pilot script finds him still actively mourning his wife, deceased nearly a year ago, and finally taking interest in his job again when a stranger turns up dead on his normally quiet turf. As he starts investigating, the case twists in darker and deeper ways, with connections to a shocking crime from the past.
Other familiar TV faces fill out the cast including Louanne Stephens (Friday Night Lights) as Ruby, the sheriff’s office manager; Cassidy Freeman (Smallville) as Cady, Walt’s lawyer daughter; and Bailey Chase (Damages) as Branch Connally, a young deputy who runs for sherriff against Walt.
The pilot script neatly encapsulates the plot of Johnson’s first book, The Cold Dish, but casting news and episode titles (they’re currently filming episode five in Santa Fe, New Mexico) hint that future episodes (Amish teens! Strip clubs! Oh my!) will likely deviate from Johnson’s novels considerably. One of the regular characters, Chase’s Branch, seems to be a slight variation on a minor deputy who only shows up in the first novel, reconfigured here to be a foil and adversary for Walt. No doubt the show will also develop other continuing storylines featuring the secondary characters, expanding the novels’ Walt-centric perspectives.
It’ll be interesting to see how the series evolves throughout the first season’s ten episodes, but the trailer already offers a lot to be excited about. There’s a coolness, an intangible sense of style on display here already. The big question for A&E is whether Longmire can wrangle some of the viewers who regularly tune in to FX’s Justified. Walt aims to give Raylan a run for his spurs, but is cable TV big enough for the both of them? Guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I wouldn’t bet my boots against Walt & Co. (Vic would probably beat me up if I tried it!)
Tara Gelsomino is a reader, writer, pop culture junkie, and Internet addict. You can tweet her at @taragel
Read all of Tara Gelsomino’s posts on Criminal Element.
So cool that you got to read the pilot’s script, Tara! Very excited about this series, and it hits during a part of summer while so many othe fave series are napping. Hello cable’s crime season!
Looks like A&E is really putting some promo muscle behind this too. I know the trailer aired before the Avengers in many or all the AMC theatres this past weekend. Lots of folks on twitter were buzzing about it.
I discovered Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mysteries just a few years ago and it quickly became my favorite series. It looks like A&E is going to do it justice, even with some of the changes from the books. Looking forward to seeing it.
BLB – I think they’ve done an impressive job getting the feel of it down! Can’t wait till the premiere!
It’s better to say “pard” than “partner”, even in Wyoming.
The only thing “western” about Longmire is the stereotypical tin star on his jacket. It’s just another boring crime drama show.
How to find the song title of the current commercial playing on A&E??
Also song titles on the show.