''High Desert'' is an American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series created and written by Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford and

Jennifer Hoppe-House Jennifer Hoppe (also credited as Jennifer Hoppe-House) is an American film and television writer, having worked on the series ''Grace and Frankie'', ''Get Shorty'', ''Nurse Jackie'' and ''Damages''. She also co-wrote the 2004 made-for-television m ...

that premiered on

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

on May 17, 2023. In July 2023, the series was cancelled after one season.

Premise

The series follows Peggy (

Patricia Arquette Patricia Tiffany Arquette (born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987). Her other notable films include ''True Romance'' (1993), ''Ed Wo ...

), 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 Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Oscar and Grammy nomination. Dillon made his feature film debut in '' Over the Edge'' (1979) and established himself as a te ...

plays Denny, Peggy’s ex, and an undeniably charming parolee and a relentless operator.

Rupert Friend Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 9 October 1981) is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Libertine'' (2004) and '' Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' (2005), both of which won him awards for best newcomer. He port ...

plays Guru Bob, a local ex-anchorman, who, after a trauma, rebrands himself as a mystic desert personality.

Weruche Opia Reanne Weruche Opia () (born 11 April 1987) is a British-Nigerian actress and entrepreneur. She is the founding CEO of the clothing line Jesus Junkie Clothing. She was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for her performance in the B ...

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. Brad Garrett plays Bruce, a private investigator whose business is circling the drain, and who becomes Peggy’s reluctant employer. Bernadette Peters has a recurring role as Rosalyn, Peggy’s complicated mother.

Christine Taylor Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''The Wedding Singer'', ''Z ...

has a recurring role as Dianne, Peggy’s buttoned-up sister, who tries to make order of Peggy’s chaos

Cast

Main

as Peggy Newman * Brad Garrett as Bruce Harvey *

as Carol * Bernadette Peters as Roslyn / Ginger *

as Guru Bob

Recurring

* Crystal Coney as Mary *

as Denny *

as Dianne *

Eric Petersen Eric Petersen is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as the titular character in the AMC dark comedy series ''Kevin Can F**k Himself'' (2021–present), and for playing the title character in the first US national tour of '' ...

as Owen * Susan Park as Tammy * Jeffrey Vincent Parise as Roger * Eden Brolin as Jeannie *

Carmine Giovinazzo Carmine Dominick Giovinazzo ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, writer, painter and musician, known for his role as Danny Messer, Detective Danny Messer in ''CSI: NY''. Early life Giovinazzo was born and raised in the Port Richmond, ...

as Nick Gatchi *

Carlo Rota Carlo Dante Rota (born 17 April 1961) is a British-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' and as systems analyst Morris O'Brian on the Fox series '' 24''. He also co-starred as Emilio Solano in ''Jane the Virg ...

as Arman * Alex Saxon as Ethan

Guest

* Keir O'Donnell as Stewart *

Tracy Vilar Tracy Vilar (born Tracy Leigh Vilar April 12, 1968; and sometimes credited Tracy Villars) is an American actress. Career She is best known for her roles as Ro-Ro on the CBS sitcom '' Partners'', Sophia Ortiz on The WB sitcom ''The Steve Harve ...

as Tina * Michael Masini as Leo Gatchi

Episodes

Production

The series, created by Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford and

, was given a greenlight in September 2020 by

, with

set to star in the series as well as executive produce along with Ben Stiller, who was set to direct the first episode. In November 2021,

and Brad Garrett were added to the main cast of the series, with Bernadette Peters and

cast in recurring roles. Stiller would no longer be directing the first episode, as

Jay Roach Mathew Jay Roach (born June 14, 1957) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Austin Powers'' film series, '' Meet the Parents'', ''Dinner for Schmucks'', '' The Campaign'', '' Trumbo'', and '' Bombshell''. Roach also ea ...

had joined the series to direct all eight episodes. Filming began by November 2021 in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. The show depicts a fictionalized

Pioneertown, California Pioneertown, California, is an unincorporated community of the Morongo Basin region of San Bernardino's High Desert. The historical town was originally incorporated in 1946 and fell into the hands of San Bernardino County in the late 1960s. The w ...

shot on set with outdoor footage taken at

Sable Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...

, as the actual town is an unincorporated landmark with separate private owners.

Release

''High Desert'' premiered on May 17, 2023, with the first three episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.

Reception

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports a 70% approval rating with an average rating of 5.90/10, based on 27 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "''High Desert'' is so deliberately odd and scattershot that viewers may begin to suspect they're being bamboozled, but Patricia Arquette's whirlwind performance will be enough for many to just sit back and enjoy the ride."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave the series a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 17 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* {{Apple TV+ Apple TV+ original programming 2023 American television series debuts 2023 American television series endings 2020s American comedy television series English-language television shows Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by Red Hour Productions Television shows set in California