_Alaska Daily_ is a (possibly) great show that's trapped on - and has been dumbed down for - broadcast network TV. Had it been on Netflix, HBO, or Showtime maybe it would have been given the quality control that it deserved. Instead, it's a waste of the talent & ambition of everyone involved in making it. The complex themes at its center have been smoothed over, and the vocabulary simplified. The scenes have no room to breathe, and the background characters in positions of power have zero depth. There's barely any acting on display, as Hilary Swank's choice for Eileen Fitzgerald is to play her as emotionally vacant, which results in flat line reads and dim eyes. She's supposed to be intimidating, but the only thing she ever says with any kind of urgency or energy is, "What if we write a story about..." whenever a source is stonewalling her. After the third time that gets pretty boring. (Michael Keaton in _Spotlight_ she is not.) And the supporting cast is no better. They could all be as talented as Swank, but they get little to work with. They're forced to plow through stilted dialogue within too-short or too-corny scenes. On the plus side the production is lovely; Burnaby and its environs are a gorgeous stand-in for Alaska. The team behind the cameras obviously wants to capture The Last Frontier in all of its glory and griminess. In that, it showcases the breathtaking landscape and the rugged individualism of its people, but it doesn't shy away from the poverty or the plight of the indigenous. And the mission statement of the show is a powerful one. I just wish that all of this had a better vehicle to be carried in. The worst thing about shows that have all the right ingredients but are stuck on the wrong platform is that watching their mediocrity is more infuriating than watching something that is just plain bad. In the end, _Alaska Daily_ is a tragedy of unrealized potential.