Once upon a time, Hollywood stars rarely stepped away from the silver screen. Nowadays, though, you can find them all over our TV to-watch lists – whether it’s Kate Winslet in The Regime, Nicole Kidman in Expats, or Colin Farrell in Sugar.

Now, it’s the turn of Million Dollar Baby’s Hilary Swank, who has turned her Academy Award-winning hand to the world of televised crime dramas. Specifically, Alaska Daily, which is finally coming to the UK this June.

Watch the trailer for Alaska Daily below:

Intrigued? Here’s what you need to know about the series.

What’s Alaska Daily about?

Eileen Fitzgerald is the kind of tenacious journalist who can’t stop, won’t stop when it comes to getting that all-important scoop. When she inadvertently publishes dubious evidence from an unreliable source, however, she’s fired from her job in New York City and forced to take up a job in the middle of nowhere. Alaska, to be exact.

Eileen assumes she’ll be reduced to reporting local gossip at the Daily Alaskan newspaper, until she learns that indigenous women are going missing, and the police and the local government aren’t interested in doing anything about it.

Cue her (reluctantly) joining forces with fellow reporter Roz Friendly in a bid to solve the case. But as the two women set their differences aside and forge a cautious camaraderie, truths are unexpectedly revealed. And not just about the missing women.

Who stars in Alaska Daily?

Swank, as you’ve likely guessed, takes the lead in this one as Eileen, while The Revenant’s Grace Dove stars opposite her as Roz.

Scandal’s Jeff Perry, meanwhile, takes on the role of their editor, Stanley Kornik. Meredith Holzman, Matt Malloy, Ami Park, Craig Frank and Pablo Castelblanco round out the rest of the cast nicely.

Is Alaska Daily based on a true story?

Created by Spotlight’s director and co-writer Tom McCarthy, the case in Alaska Daily isn’t a real one – although it’s worth noting that the series is based on an Pulitzer prize-winning series of investigative journalism about sexual violence in Alaska. 

In an interview with Newsweek, Swank said she had been a fan of McCarthy since his 2003 film The Station Agent. When he told her that the story in Alaska Daily was based on real journalism, she went and did her reading. “I knew about the missing, murdered indigenous women, I knew about that. But the story was just [shocking],” Swank said. 

“To me, I knew about that, and yet so many people don’t know about it and it’s happening right now, right this second, and no one’s doing anything about it, it is horrific and something needs to be done… We get the opportunity to shine a bright light on these stories that matter and, in doing so, help give voice to them and start a conversation, and hopefully ignite change.”

When does Alaska Daily start on TV?

Alaska Daily begins on Wednesday 5 June at 9pm on Alibi HD.

For those who prefer a binge watch, all 11 episodes will be available in On Demand from that same date, too.

Images: ABC/Alibi