‘She’s a Truth Seeker,’ Says Two-Time OSCAR® Winner Hilary Swank, Describing Her Tenacious Lead Character in ALASKA DAILY

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Early in the new drama ALASKA DAILY, Hilary Swank’s character, Eileen Fitzgerald, scoffs at the idea of trying to revive her journalism career in Alaska, dismissing it as “the minor leagues.” But with Eileen currently unemployed in New York, a former colleague from many years ago – Stanley Kornik, played by Jeff Perry (GREY’S ANATOMY, SCANDAL) – has nonetheless offered her a job at The Daily Alaskan. “For what it’s worth,” Stanley says, “we need good reporting in the minor leagues, too.” They sure do. And snarky comments about the minor leagues aside, Eileen recognizes a major-league story – the alarming number of missing and murdered Indigenous women across the state – when she sees one. That’s the setup of ALASKA DAILY, which debuts Thursday, Oct. 6 at 10 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app. “Eileen Fitzgerald is a truth seeker,” said Swank, who is a two-time OSCAR® winner for Best Actress (Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby). “You know, she’s an investigative truth seeker. And she wants to make sure that justice is done, and that people see the truth in situations where people are corrupt. I feel that alliance with what people in the world want right now. People don’t want to be lied to anymore. I mean, all the systemic stuff that we’re seeing come out, it’s horrifying. But it’s also a blessing, because we’re able to start doing something about it.” That’s the hope, anyway. But as Eileen knows all too well, truth-telling can be a rocky road. When viewers first meet Eileen, she’s working for a major publication, hot on the trail of a corrupt military general who is in line for a massive government promotion. Eileen’s story is published, but the general and his allies push back, threatening lawsuits and delegitimizing her source. Much to Eileen’s chagrin, her publication buckles under the pressure. When her bosses say they’re going to make changes to the story, Eileen threatens to quit … thus, she’s jobless, angry, and holed up in her apartment trying to write a book about the general when Stanley comes knocking. Stanley eventually sparks Eileen’s interest because he needs somebody with her tenacity and skill to investigate a string of missing and murdered Indigenous women, as well as how the police are handling – or not handling – those cases. Stanley’s existing reporters are doing the best they can, but the state is wide, and resources are thin. “One of the reasons I decided to set the show in Anchorage was a piece of reporting by Kyle Hopkins, who wrote a series (titled Lawless) in conjunction with The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica, that took a hard look at the missing and murdered persons crisis,” said ALASKA DAILY creator and executive producer Tom McCarthy (OSCAR® winning Director for Spotlight). “I just felt like to set a journalism show in Alaska and not take time to examine that would be almost negligent, that it was a terrific opportunity to put such an important topic on to mainstream TV. It just hasn’t received nearly enough attention, and maybe with the show, we could make something that was not only compelling, but raised some interesting questions.” On a personal level, Swank was hooked by the story right away. “Tom mentioned the show and what he wanted to create, and after reading the pilot he told me about this article, Lawless – I read it, and I was all consumed,” she said. “It’s the material that matters. To me, it doesn’t really matter the medium where it’s told. I like all mediums, I watch all mediums, and I’m not opposed to being a part of all mediums, as long as they’re telling the right messages, and entertaining people along the way. So yeah, this seemed like a great opportunity to really dig deep into the characters, all the journalists and their backgrounds, and those stories from that article that matter.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv