User reviews

For some reason I've been putting off watching Joe Pickett ever since it came out. Now that I've actually seen it I'm mad at myself for waiting so long. It was so much better than I expected it to be. I'm not sure why I waited so long because I'm a big fan of westerns. Michael Dorman is terrific as Joe Pickett. I remember Dorman from one of the most underrated shows of all-time in Patriot. This is another underrated show that he's terrific in. It's not the best show I've seen but it's definitely worth watching. It may start a little slow for some but stick with because after an episode or two it becomes addicting and the next thing you know you're going to want to binge it as fast as you can.

Joe Pickett is a must watch for any western fan. It seems most people who've watched it seem to really like it. The only people who seem not to like it are fans of the book that are mad that it isn't exactly like the book. They don't understand that it's based off the book and has to be adapted for television. Try not to compare it to the book and just take it for what it is and that's a very good show. This started off as a Spectrum original but gained a much bigger audience when it went to Paramount Plus. I have to say I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I'm really looking forward to more seasons in the coming years.

As a huge fan of the books I had reservations. Especially after Big Sky turned out to be such a disappointment. I was won over quickly by the actors. They brought the world of the novels to life for me. Joes commitment to his family,job,and sense of right and wrong is a breath of fresh air in our troubled times. One quibble would be the casting of Nate as a softer guy than I would have liked but future seasons could correct that. Please make more seasons!

Joe Pickett is my choice for best Neo-western. I am a big Yellowstone fan, but I have never felt like the characters capture the essence of the old western protagonist. Unlike Yellowstone, Joe Pickett has the same great character qualities of characters like Ben Cartwright and Marshall Dillon. I like that Joe is a underestimated hero throughout the show. I also love his smart and level headed wife, Mary Beth. They make a lovable couple and team. I like that they both grew up in bad situations and the show often shows them overcoming past trauma. I like that Joe is clearly the good guy of this story and I really rooted for him the whole time. The only complaint I have is the CGI elk. Why do they look like that?

Been so tired of the trash being put out that it was refreshing to watch this show.. It's back to basics... Other than a few scenes that could have been shot better, the story plot, suspense, and acting all support ne another. A very cohesive thriller that relies on all three. A real art... and no fake.action scenes used as fillers. I.m hoping and looking forward for more to come.

Series one: well done production, good story details and character motivation. The cast is excellent and acting overall good. This is a soft thriller, not overly violent and fairly realistic. The first episode is representative, but the story becomes complex and interrelated as it continues...

The TV series makes Joe out to be a fumbling "Barney Fife" of a game warden and not true to the character of the books. The plot lines and suspense are well structured but the dialogue is rough and predictable. It will entertain and engage you but the series could have been so much more. Does not do justice to the books, characters or franchise.

My main complaint is the series short changes the lead character of Joe Pickett. In the books, he is an intelligent, resourceful investigator with a sixth sense about criminal investigations but in the series, he is a stumbling, bumbling idiot that is a magnet for bad luck and only solves the crimes by falling into the situation/solution often as the last one to figure it out.

Having read some of the books it is a little different as usual. Over all, I loved it. Very entertaining and enjoyable. The actors are pretty good and their parts were pretty believable. I would highly recommend it. I will probably watch it again.

Wasn't sure about the show for the first few minutes-seemed like it might be hokey but I'm glad we persevered and watched it further. Really great storyline, loved the characters and the comedic relief throughout and it had great scenery to boot. Really enjoyed this.

I have lived in Wyoming all of my life and we do not have southern accents, it's like they were trying to make the characters stereotypical country hicks.

I really hope this gets renewed. Very well done. A really great show. It was more than I expected. I am so glad that I gave it a shot. Now I want to see more.

The CJ Box book series that this is based on is a fantastic action, adventure, drama written with wit and grace and exceptional character portrayals. It's really disappointing then that this series showed little respect for the books. The characters have all been stripped of their personality and looks and replaced with empty shells who lack any chemistry or realism and the fake accents some of them are using are just annoying and distracting. The 2nd rate cgi animals too are just bizarre. The author laid it all out, all they had to do was follow his lead and translate it for the screen. Opportunity lost. We'll always have the books though and maybe some day a worthy remake will appear.

I never read the books, so I'm coming at this based solely on the series, but where Picket was a damaged man in the first series, in this second season he's becoming a pathetic pushover. And just when I thought the writers couldn't tear him down any further, he's now apparently impotent. Picket's character is being so badly written, that it's getting harder to even like or root for him this season. I don't know if this is how Joe is portrayed in the books, but I'm guessing they wouldn't have been popular enough to become a series if he was. The same is happening to Nate, to a lesser degree, with the absolutely annoying character of Cricket, a person who seems utterly oblivious to the danger around her or Nate's repeated efforts to keep her safe, her constant whining notwithstanding.

Aside from these two characters, plot holes abound, along with people making silly decisions that really stretch credulity. And then there are the repeated assaults against Picket, physical beatings, guns in the face, all the way up to attempted murder, with zero repercussions or consequences. It's all treated like nothing more than an insult, which is exactly what it is to the audience. There's a lot more, but I don't care enough to waste anymore time on this show. I'll finish the season with two episodes left, mainly because I'm a completionist, but I'm not excited about it. At all.

After watching the first episode I was astounded that they'd changed the character of Nate, a 6'2" blonde white American is now an Afro American, weren't there any actors that matched the description in the books?

Lee Child did it first selling his soul to the dollar with a 5'2" Tom Cruise cast as 6'4" 245lb Jack Reacher.

Why can't film Makers for TV or the Studio have the cast as portrayed in the book. Did they feel that they had to tick all of the right PC boxes.

Really enjoyed the plot twists and turns, a refreshing change to the same old, hope it continues. Found myself wanting just one more week. Spectrum has a winner here.

I found this show and binged it very quickly as it is an amazing show with great actors and fast moving action. I haven't read the books as yet but I have added them to my list. I'm very very disappointed to find when o looked to see when season 3 was going to be out that it had been cancelled due to Paramount dropping original content! What! How rediculous is this. Surely original content is definitely what they or any production company or streaming service should be aiming for. With so many books in this series there are so many many stories left to tell. Michael Dorman is amazingly in his role of Joe Pickett. All the cast is wonderful and I really hope they reconsider this decision or some other streaming service decide to pick it up. Truly disappointed.

Many TV shows will, in the end, not be perfect with things like poor cgi, editing, writing and acting. For the most part, Picket was pretty darn good for the first 6 episodes before any major issue surfaced.

By episodes 7-9 the needed information or thing just started to fall into the lap of the good guys and the bad guys seemed to get dumber or suddenly acted out of character. Episode 8 went on way too long and episode 9 wrapped up halfway through.

There is a little environmental preaching in here and what little there is fits into the overall story and I don't feel like I have been clubbed.

Even with that the show was entertaining and I found myself liking the main characters. All of the actors did an excellent job, even the children.

I have never read the books but want to and I will be clicking on season 2 here shortly.

Honestly, I appreciate the effort to stay close to the characters & storyline - this production has done it much bettter than most book to film adaptations but I was shocked to see Nate. The actor is giving it his best shot but casting a big beefy African American to play the part of a tall, wiry, white ex special forces guy is jarring when you know the books. Kind of like casting Tom Cruise as 6'5" Jack Reacher, it just doesn't really work. Someone like Eric Christian Olsen would have been a much closer physical fit. And Missy really needs to be more of a snobby bitch, but all in all, i'm hoping that there wil be more than 10 episodes. It's a good start.

Generally good overall but why make Nate R black, smaller and a less important component of tbe story. , it makes no sense. NR is supposed to be an imposing fellow, very tall, blond hair, pony tall and with a temper and known as the viking. If the characteris going to disappear, both in essence and actuality why keep tbe name? The girl playing Sheldon has a most annoying voice but maybe that's just me, also too much cgi for me. Otherwise character development was decent, as was most of the acting. I would recommend that anyone that hasn't done so that they read the books, there is more depth to them.

The first season of Joe Pickett, based on C. J. Box's novels, gets off to a strong start with lead Michael Dorman turning in an earnest performance as the titular game warden.

However, the show struggles to maintain momentum, with uneven pacing and tonal shifts between gritty drama and lighthearted humor. While the procedural mystery at the core of the season starts out intriguing, it loses steam by the finale.

Side stories exploring Joe's family dynamics fare better, thanks to solid work from Julianna Guill as his wife Marybeth. But questionable plot choices in the last two episodes, including illogical character actions and over-the-top confrontations, leave the season feeling dramatically unsatisfying. With tighter writing, Joe Pickett could live up to its potential. For now, it's a mixed bag saved by Dorman's committed performance.

Rating: 6/10.

I discovered the Joe Pickett books about a year ago and I read up to number nine when I found out they had made this show. I was very excited, although I think Joe Pickett's character is kind of an idiot. I do enjoy the books. But love Nate Romanowski. He is a very interesting character. I do enjoy the books. I hope for a series of books on his adventures. And I was hoping that they would cast somebody like Will Patten, Sam, Elliott, or Stephan Lang as the character. Because these guys are who I picture him as looking like. When I'm watching the first episode and I see Nate Romanowski is black, I said out loud NO!. I shut the TV show off. They ruined it. This character is not black and he can't be transformed into a black, make one of the sheriffs black one of the poachers black, not Nate Romanowski. It's right there in the name, he's Polish.

I'm hooked. Believable characters in the great outdoors, with a good storyline and the occasional heartwarming or comical relief. It's easy to look past minor flaws, when the acting is as good as the writing. (Not that there were flaws to gloat about.). I watch a fair amount of fantasy-sci-fi, which have much more visible flaws.

I absolutely love the books have read and listened to them multiple times. I couldn't even finish the first episode. Just because they live in the back country of Wyoming doesn't mean they are dumb. Everytime Joe was on screen he had this vacant expression on his face. Nate is a tall handsome white guy, I get it that the world thinks that all things need to be shared with all races so as not to be deemed racist but come on.

Paramount+ Has done it again. They've added a solid western drama series to their lineup.

New Zealander Michael Dorman (of "For all Mankind) gets his star turn as the title character and turns in a solid performance as the honest game warden in a corrupt county.

Pickett, transfers into his new job and begins to shake things up by enforcing the law and looking into things.

And we people and animals begin dying under suspicious circumstances... Pickett finds he must not only enforcing the rules, he needs to keep his family out of harm's way.