High Desert (TV series)

The series follows Peggy (Arquette), an addict, who decides to make a fresh start after the death of her beloved mother with whom she lived in the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California. She makes a life-changing decision to become a private investigator.

Matt Dillon plays Denny, Peggy’s ex, and an undeniably charming parolee and a relentless operator. Friend plays Guru Bob, a local ex-anchorman, who, after a trauma, rebrands himself as a mystic desert personality. Opia stars as Carol, Peggy’s closest friend — the bored fiancé of an ER doctor, and a permissive new stepmother — who has a secret of her own. Garrett plays Bruce, a private investigator whose business is circling the drain, and who becomes Peggy’s reluctant employer. Peters has a recurring role as Rosalyn, Peggy’s complicated mother. Taylor has a recurring role as Dianne, Peggy’s buttoned-up sister, who tries to make order of Peggy’s chaos

The series, created by Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford and Jennifer Hoppe-House, was given a greenlight in September 2020 by Apple TV+, with Patricia Arquette set to star in the series as well as executive produce along with Ben Stiller, who was set to direct the first episode.[4]

In November 2021, Matt Dillon, Rupert Friend, Weruche Opia and Brad Garrett were added to the main cast of the series, with Bernadette Peters and Christine Taylor cast in recurring roles. Stiller would no longer be directing the first episode, as Jay Roach had joined the series to direct all eight episodes.[2]

Filming began by November 2021 in Long Beach, California.[5]

High Desert is scheduled to premiere on May 17, 2023, with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.[3]

• High Desert at IMDb