Alaska Daily review – this astonishingly basic drama would

Like a Hallmark version of True Detective: Night Country, this small-town investigative drama will do nothing for Swank’s career

Whatever happened to Hilary Swank? Her Oscars for Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby were 20 years ago but, although she’s worked fairly steadily since, you can award yourself a quiz point for naming more than two of her more recent roles, and a bonus if you can think of something that was a hit. Alaska Daily, a homely, heartfelt drama about a local newspaper with Swank as its Hollywood wildcard, was cancelled a year ago in the US after one season, so we already know it’s not the show to break the actor’s long run of bad luck.

At first we’re standing, awestruck, in the lavish offices of a New York news outlet. Manhattan sparkles outside the building’s wide windows; a big screen above the journos’ heads, constantly updating which stories are going viral, tallies numbers that end with several zeros. This is the big time. Eileen Fitzgerald (Swank), crack reporter, chugs coffee and is rude to an underling: she’s on a deadline, dammit, and the scandal she’s about to unleash is going to bring a corrupt politician down. As she types, it’s a wonder her keyboard does not catch fire.

Alaska Daily aired on Alibi and is available on Now