Hilary Swank's 'Alaska Daily' garners mixed reviews from critics, but scores well with fans
Rotten Tomatoes released the critic's and audience scores for Hilary Swank's latest ABC crime thriller, 'Alaska Daily'. While the reviews from the press have been fairly decent (64%), the audience score of 92% suggests that the show scored a win with the viewers right after the season opener last week. The critic consensus for the series on the rating site is yet to be released, but the numbers suggest that the show is worth tuning into.
For those yet to watch the first episode, the official synopsis reads, "From the mind of Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), Alaska Daily stars Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a fiercely talented and award-winning investigative journalist who leaves her high-profile New York life behind after a fall from grace to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption. Tom McCarthy is the creator and executive producer. Hilary Swank, Melissa Wells, Bert Salke, Kyle Hopkins (Anchorage Daily News), Ryan Binkley (Anchorage Daily News), and Peter Elkoff, who will also serve as showrunner, are executive producers on the series. The pilot episode is written and directed by Tom McCarthy."
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Chicago-Sun Times gave the show a thumbs-up saying, "Swank and the supporting players are terrific together." This was seconded by LA Times: "Like “The West Wing,” another product of network television, it is a tract in the form of a drama, making the case for the dedicated maintenance of a pillar of a democratic society. I can’t argue with that."
The rave reviews continued with Newsday calling it "A true rarity — a sharply drawn portrait of local journalism," while Pittsburgh Tribune wrote, "There’s enough potential in Alaska Daily, to easily be fall broadcast TV’s best drama pilot that it’s worth rooting for this series that’s earnest without being cloying, sincere without getting sappy. And it’s accurate."
The splatters came from Rolling Stone. "Alaska Daily is basically three different shows lurking under the same title. One is good, one is fine, and one is terrible. Guess which one Alaska Daily spends the least amount of time on?" the site wrote. The Playlist provided a mixed review as well: "Swank and Dove are well worth watching, however, despite its good intentions, the first two episodes reveal “Alaska Daily” to be yet another run-of-the-mill drama." The season opener was pacy and drama-filled, giving valuable insight into the life of a journalist. How it cements itself after a solid debut remains to be seen.
'Alaska Daily' Episode 2 releases in the US on Thursday, October 13, at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.