Disney Plus is launching a new entertainment brand, Star, on 23 February, and one of the centrepieces will be twisty new crime thriller Big Sky starring Ryan Phillippe and created by award-winning writer and producer David E. Kelley, whose recent hits include Big Little Lies and The Undoing.
Here’s everything you need to know about the compelling new drama.
What is 'Big Sky' about?
The series, based on CJ Box’s 2013 novel, The Highway, follows a trio of investigators — private detectives Cody Hoyt and Cassie Dewell and Hoyt’s estranged wife and ex cop Jenny — as they look into a disturbing case. During the hunt for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote Montana highway, they soon realise that other girls have also vanished in the local area. But can they find the missing siblings before danger strikes?
Who stars in 'Big Sky'?
Ryan Phillippe stars as Cody, alongside Vikings’ Katheryn Winnick as Jenny and Brave New World’s Kylie Bunbury as Cassie. Briarpatch’s Brian Geraghty is trucker Ronald Pergman, Kelley’s sister-in-law Dedee Pfeiffer is Cody’s secretary Denise Brisbane, The Gifted’s Natalie Alyn Lind and Little Fires Everywhere’s Jade Pettyjohn are abducted sisters Danielle and Grace Sullivan, Forever Alone’s Jesse James Keitel is Jerrie, a non-binary sex worker who also faces jeopardy, and American Horror Story’s John Carroll Lynch is enigmatic highway patrol officer Rick Legarski.
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How to watch ‘Big Sky’ on Star in the US
Big Sky, which has already aired on ABC and streaming services Hulu and Amazon Prime in the US, will also be shown on Star from February 23. Customers can currently subscribe to Disney Plus for $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year. Full details are available on Disneyplus.com. Any new customers signing up after 23rd February will see a price increase to $7.99 a month, or $79.99 for a year. If you are signed up to the US bundle with Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, the cost will also be increasing to $13.99 a month.
Also available from 23rd February is a new Disney Plus parental control, which will separate out kids' content from more mature content on the entire platform. Viewers can set limits on access to content for specific profiles based on content ratings and add a PIN to lock profiles.
How to watch 'Big Sky' on Star in the UK
In the UK Big Sky will only be available on Star, but you can tune in to the Disney Plus sub brand from February 23 just like in the US. Customers can currently subscribe to Disney Plus for £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year and you can find out more details on Disneyplus.com. Also like in the US, all customers who don’t have an active subscription until after 23rd February will see a price increase. The new subscription costs will be £7.99 a month or £79.90 for the year.
What else will be available to watch on Star?
Star will focus on entertainment including original drama as well as classic series and films from the likes of Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios and 20th Television.
Among the original shows available are Helstrom, which follows a brother and sister (Tom Austen and Sydney Lemmon) who are the children of a serial killer. Meanwhile, Love, Victor is a spin-off from 2018 film Love, Simon, and centres on Victor (Michael Cimino), who has recently started at Creekwood High School and reaches out to the more experienced Simon (Nick Robinson) to help him survive student life.
There will also be a chance to rewatch much-loved shows including 24, Lost, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Prison Break, The X Files, Atlanta and Black-ish, while films including a selection of the Die Hard series will also be available from launch.
