The Big D Features Major Stars, Familiar Faces

(Photo above courtesy of Josh Henderson @joshhenderson)

 

Arkansas and Texas rarely have many nice things to say about one another, let alone play well together. Sat side by side like rival cousins at the kids’ table, the two states have never missed an opportunity to elbow the other, exploit each other’s deficiencies or outfox the other for the last piece of pie.

 

The rivalry should not even be close, given Texas’ overwhelming size and population, but something about those sidewinders brings out the best in Arkies. Texas wins the U.S. Presidential Derby, 2-1 (born in New England, the Yankee Bushes do not count). Arkansas invented cheese dip and then defended its honor against Texas queso in a U.S. Senate taste-off Arkansas won in a landslide a few years ago.

 

Each side has had its moments in athletic competition, and while Texas has had more of them, especially of late, the ones Arkansas does get usually cost UT more. Arkansas boasts Billy Bob Thornton; Texas offers Matthew McConaughey. Texas bets ZZ Top; Arkansas raises Johnny Cash. Hook ‘Em Horns. Wooo Pig Sooie.

 

Neither side cares to admit it, but there is much more that connects them than a state line, from red political leanings broken up by sporadic splashes of blue to the proud, independent makeup of the citizenry. Walk through any student parking lot of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and Texas plates abound. Look at the backstories of some of each states’ biggest homegrown success stories, and there are likely chapters of both Hog and ‘Horn.

 

To that list of commonality, add The Big D, the latest effort by Arkansas-raised producer Greg Carney. The project tells the story of a Texas-born foster kid raised in Arkansas who is an unknowing heir to an oil fortune back in Dallas (or Big D, as it has been frequently called).

 

The intertwining of the two states extends beyond the storyline, since Carney is shooting it in both locales, including much of it on location in Hot Springs, and incorporating local talent, giving native viewers a lot they will recognize.

 

 

Carney said in pursuing The Big D, the first series effort by he and business partner Evan Ross’ Film Mafia Entertainment production house, he saw the states as natural bookends to a complex story of family, loss, morality and redemption. Carney and Ross serve as co-showrunners and executive producers for the project.

 

 

“America’s kind of entering a new chapter, and there are few places that are, from my experience, writing the story faster than Texas and Arkansas,” he said. “Dallas has emerged as one of the world’s great centers of business, finance, technology. I believe they have the largest concentration of billionaires in the country. The energy there is insane.

 

 

“Hot Springs is just a few hours away, and it’s experiencing its own renaissance, you know? I feel like what happened a hundred years ago is happening again in Hot Springs, where there’s a new generation really seeing Arkansas and this area for its natural beauty. There’s a historic charm and a vibe that you can’t fake. It’s super cool, and it’s growing the recognition of our town.”

 

Stranger in a Strange Land

 

Just like Spa City is being rediscovered by new fans, The Big D plows fertile subject matter. The story opens with the suspect death of King Oil, powerful head of a Texas family, which puts an investigation in motion. The tentacles of the mystery soon reach all the way to Garland County, where foster kid Jax, who has spent his formative years guided by loving foster parents, learns he is the dead tycoon’s blood son and heir to a fortune.

 

Jax moves to Dallas, where he is plunged into a world he does not understand full of dangers and temptations he does not recognize. The requisite family intrigue, business machinations, betrayals and redemptions follow, all while authorities are trying to untangle the mystery of King Oil’s untimely demise.

 

“The story begins in Arkansas, where the characters are forged, and it follows Jax, this foster kid, this unexpected heir, to Dallas, where he is forced into a world of immense power, where he has influence, and where he gets enemies immediately and his ambition is tested,” Carney said. “The series has got this vibe where every episode moves the central mystery forward. The one question that unites every character and every audience member — ‘Who shot King Oil?’

 

“At the same time, The Big D’s not just about death and violence and a murder. The heart behind the story, really, is how this single act of violence forces every character to confront who they truly are, what they value, what they’ve sacrificed. Beneath the mystery story, it’s about family and legacy.”

 

Parts of that description — from the fabulously wealthy family in Dallas to the ruthless gunned-down oilman — may sound eerily familiar to viewers of a certain age. To that point, Carney was explicit: The Big D is not connected to nor is it the latest incarnation of the Dallas franchise that ruled television from 1978 to 1991, the sequel for which ran on TNT between 2012 and 2014.

 

However, there is no denying the series wrote a certain hymnal for success that producers and networks have been humming along to ever since. Carney’s ambition for the project is to give audiences of all eras an entry point by which to access the unique tale of The Big D and let the characters and quality of storyline do the rest.

 

“The Big D is this modern murder mystery set in present-day Dallas that blends high-stakes family dynasties with the power, the wealth, the business and crime elements from a distinctively Southern point of view,” he said. “The mystery launches the story, but what audiences will discover that’s really cool is that the series is super accessible.

 

“What we’ve been studying is how, in long-form series, a lot of shows get confusing, and you have to really explain what’s going on, but you have to do it in clever ways. The Big D, whether someone watches every week or jumps in after missing an episode or two, they’ll immediately understand the stakes. They’ll be able to reconnect with the characters and continue to follow the mystery without feeling lost.”

 

Set locations play a big role in that effort. The Big D utilizes recognizable, even famous locales in both Hot Springs and Dallas to let the viewer get their visual bearings and lend a certain atmospheric context.

 

“Every location has a reason,” he said. “In Hot Springs, we’re filming at the Park Hotel, showing the development of that. It’s in the storyline. We’re showing West Island. We’re showing the Angler Motel. We shot one of the most famous ranches in all of Texas. We shot at the most expensive house in Texas. People are going to see these landmarks and destinations featured in the show, woven into the narrative with intention in a way that’s really authentic.”

 

Faces Famous and Fresh

 

The project is cast with a number of recognizable actors, promising up-and-comers, and a bevy of local talent that, not unlike the local physical landmarks, may be familiar to viewers in their respective states.

 

Josh Henderson, who plays Jax, began his career in music, winning a reality competition in 2001. Over the next 25 years, the Texas-born, Tulsa-raised actor landed a string of guest spots on various series before making his big splash with the Steven Bochco television war drama series Over There. From that, he landed a recurring role on Desperate Housewives from 2006 to 2007, and after that was cast as John Ross Ewing III, son of the scene chewing J.R. Ewing, in the aforementioned return of Dallas.

 

Henderson said while the series taught him a lot about his craft overall, working alongside TV stalwarts Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy and the late Larry Hagman, he does not see a lot of similarities between characters John Ross and Jax.

 

 

“I think the difference is Jax didn’t sign up for this; he’s cast into this world that’s a little scary. He knows he’s a good dude and a strong guy mentally, but he’s in over his head a little bit in this crazy, competitive, dark, fast-paced world,” he said.

 

“John Ross was brought up with the silver spoon, brought up to be a carbon copy of Daddy, watching Mom and Dad fight, and wanting to be the guy that made his dad proud. He was very sure of himself, getting into messes and getting himself out of them because he was charming and smart but also a little dangerous and fiery.”

 

 

Other actors who have signed on to the project include Ross (The Hunger Games, Turnbuckle), Tammin Sursok (Pretty Little Liars), CT Tamburello (The Real World: Paris) and Tyler Clinton (Zero Hour, The Stranger in My Home), nephew of former President Bill Clinton.

 

 

Carney said other major names, heavyweights of Academy Award-winning and -nominated pedigree, were also weighing the project, but he declined to name names, saying only that more cast members will be announced soon.

 

 

He said while the forthcoming Hollywood actors will lend widespread name recognition, local talent is what gives The Big D its authenticity and depth. Foremost among them are AY Media Group President and Publisher Heather Baker and her husband, Ryan Parker, who are cast as themselves and Jax’s foster parents.

 

 

“I met them through a developer friend at a location I was scouting for the show,” Carney said. “Ryan and Heather are this couple that have an aura and an energy about them that made them the perfect fit for what I was looking for.”

 

Baker said the experience of being in a television series was far beyond anything the couple had ever aspired to, let alone anything they had ever done.

 

 

“Neither one of us grew up seriously pursuing acting careers, but entertainment and movies have always been part of Ryan’s personality. Ryan was made for this more than anyone realizes,” Baker said. “Anyone who really knows him knows that. He can imitate people, do voices and completely transform himself into a character from a movie, so seeing him on a set actually makes perfect sense to me.

 

“What’s interesting about The Big D, though, is that we’re essentially being asked to bring ourselves into this world rather than pretend to be completely different people.”

 

Baker said the experience is such foreign territory that the couple is absorbing the experience as it unfolds moment by moment.

 

 

“It’s definitely exciting, but there is also an element of, ‘What in the world are we doing?’ because this is completely new territory for us,” Baker said. “We already had extremely full lives. I run AY Media Group, Ryan is involved in so much of what I do, and we have our careers, family, friends, travel, events and commitments. We certainly weren’t sitting around saying, ‘You know what we need? A television series.’

 

“We’re taking it one step at a time. I don’t think either of us knows yet what impact this could ultimately have on our lives, so rather than trying to predict where it leads, we’re enjoying the experience and seeing where God takes it.”

 

Leaving a Legacy

 

Not unlike Turnbuckle, Film Mafia’s recently completed feature film, which Carney also shot in Arkansas, the series will be preceded by a vertical marketing strategy that includes special video productions to introduce characters and a “making of” documentary to whet audiences’ appetites. Carney said Film Mafia is innovating through that approach, creating an audience in advance instead of rolling out the first episode of the series cold and hoping for the best.

 

He said the structure of multiple seasons’ worth of The Big D storyline has already been crafted, and he believes the series has the potential for a multiyear run via streaming after its expected debut next year. He also hopes the series creates a wider wake for his home state than just being appointment television viewing during its time.

 

“With Turnbuckle, while it was shot here, it didn’t really showcase Arkansas. That movie created this crazy world, and you saw the trees or whatever, but it didn’t really show you what Hot Springs or Arkansas was all about,” he said.

 

“With this show, we actually are showcasing the beauty of it and showing these landmarks and meeting these people and connecting with them on a personal level. After each episode ends and the show’s gone, we want people to come here to visit these landmarks. That’s what I really want this to do, and that’s what I’m super excited about.”

 

“This may actually be the part that means the most to me,” Baker agreed. “I love Arkansas. My entire career has been about telling Arkansas stories, promoting Arkansas people and businesses, and changing perceptions about what this state has to offer. That’s why I’m so excited that Greg is bringing so much of this production into Hot Springs, his hometown, and Arkansas.

 

“There are still people outside our state whose perception of Arkansas is based on stereotypes that haven’t reflected reality for decades. They don’t necessarily see the beautiful homes, incredible destinations, successful businesses, sophisticated communities and extraordinary people who live here. If The Big D succeeds on the level we believe it can, I hope people don’t just fall in love with the characters. I hope they fall in love with Arkansas.”

 

ON SET WITH GREG CARNEY

 

 

Explain the ecosystem marketing concept Film Mafia is pioneering.

 

It’s the creative standard behind what we’re doing, and we’re doing it in a way that people haven’t really seen before. The ecosystem really gets down to you have the main show, and then you have the making of the show, which is Beyond the Series. That’s unique because audiences won’t simply watch the finished show; they’ll experience it with the behind-the-scenes vertical, which is documentary style, how it was built. We’re documenting the entire filmmaking process from development through production.

 

That also highlights the brands and the brand narratives. We’re letting some of the brands that are partners help influence the storyline because it’s super simple within the narrative on how we’re doing it.

 

So you have the behind-the-scenes documentary content, your creator-access content. We’re going to have production diaries that are going to be available. There’ll be the brand partnership diaries and then the companion vertical series, which is what introduces the audience to this world, the locations and the characters, before the flagship series premiere.

 

You have carried the banner for more film work to be done in Arkansas. How did that play out with this project?

 

It benefited us to create a home base here. We can go four hours and set everybody up and do our shots that we need to do in Dallas, like our helicopter shots, our ranch shots, our outside city shots — you know, Reunion Tower, the mansions, that whole Texas vibe.

 

We’re also cheating a lot for the interiors, shooting that at houses and mansions in Hot Springs, in addition to the things that are shot here because the backstory happens in Arkansas, and we’ve identified that in the story.

 

The way I see it, we’re kind of making Hot Springs, like, our soundstage, where we film most of it here and create the bulk of it here, which I’m very proud of.

 

ON SET WITH JOSH HENDERSON

 

 

You almost turned down a career-defining role in Over There. What possessed  you to almost say no to a TV star maker such as Steven Bochco?

 

I was absolutely intimidated. I knew that this show was about real soldiers who were still fighting in Iraq, representing our country. I knew what my character was going to go through; he was going to hit an [improvised explosive device] in the first episode, become the hero of the episode, then lose his leg, and get hooked on drugs and the morphine. I was scared. I was intimidated. I didn’t know if I could pull this off. Up to then, I’d played the kid in the family that goes to high school and dates the girl. Now I’m playing this guy that’s representing thousands of Americans, and I don’t want to screw it up.

 

I called my agent, and he said, “You’re absolutely insane. He’s the biggest producer in the history of TV. You’re going to do this show, and I don’t care what you say.” I showed up, and I pushed myself to a place that I didn’t know I had, and right then and there, after shooting that first episode and seeing the pilot, I go, “OK, I can do this.” That show pushed me and gave me confidence for the rest of my career.

 

The Big D and Dallas are not related but they share a lot in common, starting with you. What stands out to you about that Dallas experience?

 

I’ll never forget, when I saw that Dallas was coming back, something hit inside of me because my mom and my meemaw, her mother, were massive Dallas fans. They’d watch together when my mom was younger. It was a big deal for the family. When I was the first one of the younger generation to be cast, I called my mom and freaked out and said, “Mom, here we go. You’re not going to believe this. I’m playing J.R.’s son on Dallas.” Right then I got a little nervous, like, “OK, wait. J.R.’s the most infamous television character of all time, and I’ve got to play his son. I’ve got to play a chip off the old block.” I hadn’t met him yet.

 

We shot our first scene together, and Larry was really everything you would expect. He was larger than life. He had a smile on his face. You felt him walk in the room. His energy was bigger than a mansion, and we just got along right away. Patrick Duffy is a consummate pro, the sweetest man in the world, and Linda Gray, who plays my mother, it all just clicked. It was almost effortless. I didn’t expect that. I expected to come in and really have to work on this and make sure that Larry’s comfortable and he likes me, and it was none of that. I truly loved it.

 

ON SET WITH HEATHER BAKER AND RYAN PARKER

How did you two get involved in The Big D?

 

Baker: We were introduced to Greg through our dear friend Josef France while we were talking with him about Turnbuckle, another production filmed in Hot Springs. Greg started telling us about some of the projects that would follow Turnbuckle, and he mentioned The Big D.

 

The original Dallas has always had this funny place in my life. The Dallas theme song is the ringtone on my phone. I also told him about growing up and going to Plano with my dad during the summers. We would visit Southfork Ranch, and for my dad’s birthday, I would buy him one of those novelty little pieces of Southfork land, so there was already this nostalgic connection for me.

 

At some point, Greg looked at us and said, “I have the perfect idea,” and he said he wanted us to play the foster parents of Jax. Ryan and I just looked at each other like, “OK, sure. Very funny.”

 

Why say yes to this?

 

Baker: I’m not sure we completely understood what we were saying yes to, and honestly, I’m not sure we fully understand it yet. This truly feels like one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that just lands in your path. What made it easier was the people. From the producers to the cast and crew, there was an immediate connection. It already feels a little like family.

 

Greg has been very intentional about casting people who naturally fit into this world. He isn’t trying to make Ryan and me become two completely different people. He wants Ryan Parker and Heather Baker. He wants our personalities, our relationship, our banter and the way we actually interact. That’s what makes the whole thing so intriguing to us.

 

What are your favorite movies and TV shows?

 

Parker: One of my favorite movies is Spies Like Us. I love Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase and that whole era of movies from the ’70s and ’80s.

 

As far as television, one of my favorites growing up was I Dream of Jeannie. My dad was in the military, so there was something about Major Nelson being an Air Force officer that connected with me as a kid — and, of course, the idea that this guy had a genie who could make almost anything happen wasn’t too bad either.

 

Baker: Mine is easy: the Rocky movies. I am absolutely obsessed with Sylvester Stallone. Meeting Stallone, having dinner with him, and just getting the opportunity to sit down and talk with him would be a dream for me. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve watched the Rocky series.

 

Television? Absolutely Dallas. That one isn’t even close. Here’s the funny connection we didn’t even realize at first: My childhood show was Dallas, Ryan’s was I Dream of Jeannie, and both starred Larry Hagman. Maybe this was destined to happen after all.

 

SEE THE FEATURE BELOW AND IN OUR SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF AY MAGAZINE

 

READ ALSO: Exclusive: Greg Carney and Evan Ross Reveal All in Hot Springs as Film Mafia Films Turnbuckle