Alaska Daily: Season 1
Inspired by: Lawless, a series collaboration between ADN (the real "Alaska Daily") & ProPublica that focuses on exposing sexual violence across Alaska
Created by: Tom McCarthy
This show was both vastly entertaining and an incredibly important story to tell.
Not gonna lie-- it also kinda let me feel like I was back in Alaska. As I finish up my MA program in Arizona (where I am currently as I write this), I miss that state, which is one of the places where I felt the most at home.
I also feel something of a passion for the issues of human trafficking and sexual assault, and Alaska is a hotspot for both. Being located in a convenient geographical location between Russia, Japan, and the United States makes it a prime trafficking hub (though I don't have real stats on that). Alaska Daily's entire plot focuses on the latter issue, which is equally important to address and equally weighty on my mind.
The series opens with Eileen, a major NYC reporter, being unexpectedly fired for backlash on a story she wrote. Seeing her tight spot, one of her colleagues, Stanley, offers her a new job at a small paper in Anchorage, where he entices her with the story of a missing Indigenous woman. When Eileen's outspoken and determined investigative skills are partnered with Roz's local knowledge and connections, the two begin to unearth real evidence on what they already knew: an endemic of unreported missing and murdered Indigenous woman around Alaska-- an issue that's all too real.
The only downside about this series is that it doesn't give enough depth and characterization to its supporting cast, not even Roz or Stanley. A few supporting characters do get a fun focus in some episodes, like when Gabriel discovers dangerous activities at the State Fair or Claire digs up a deeper truth behind a local restaurant closing, but neither of these episodes actually went toward showing us who Gabriel or Claire are as characters. We never saw their home lives or personal motivations. This is the most true and unfortunate with regard to Roz, whose personal familial connections are actually driving the series plot forward. Every one of these characters is a reporter with the Daily Alaskan and each of them cares deeply about Anchorage and about each other, and this personal motivation is effective in driving the episodes forward and making me care. So I don't think this took anything away from the show, necessarily. But I do think it could have had potential in adding much more depth and emotion, most especially for Roz.
Even so, this show touched me and made me tear up on a regular basis. It really drove home the fact that Eileen, Roz, and their team were striving to make a real difference. Their stories pertained to real people, exposing real fraud or abuse that was hurting people in real time, and the show made sure to show the results of their reporting on-screen. Victims cried their thanks, perpetrators were imprisoned, and families were able to achieve peace. It also depicted the corruption that occurs at every level of the government, from racist local cops to state officials who just want to have a smooth day at the office and maintain a clean public image. Few moments felt better than when Eileen would successfully dig up evidence to put a bump in their day or put away the blatantly corrupt ones. Even more satisfying was when officials came to realize the significance of the crimes they were turning a blind eye to, and then come around to give Eileen the evidence she needed.
Alaska Daily had some flaws, and I fear that the show overall may have been a bit too niche for the broad internet. Yet it also made for great entertainment, a powerfully emotional story, and gave a much-needed platform to an underrepresented issue that Alaska Indigenous women face every day.
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