When actress Katheryn Winnick approached David E. Kelley about joining the cast of Big Sky, he gave him some wise advice. He praised the proposed concept, describing fresh performers joining the ensemble on a regular basis and storylines expanding as the show progressed. He wasn't entirely wrong. Big Sky, which was marketed as a Ryan Phillippe project, murdered him off at the end of the first episode. That left Winnick and her co-star Kylie Bunbury as the series' new female leads. Winnick benefited greatly from Kelley's early admonition to "expect the unexpected."