'Big Sky' Actress Brooke Smith Launches Her Own Emmy Campaign, Says ABC Won't Include Her in FYC Ads

Brooke Smith, who played Merrilee Legarski on the ABC series Big Sky, has launched her own Emmy campaign and she says the network won’t include her in their official FYC campaign.

Anyone who has watched the hit ABC series, which was just renewed for season two, knows how Brooke played an integral role in the first half of season one’s storyline.

Brooke says she can’t afford a publicist to campaign on her behalf, so she has launched a grassroots campaign to get the word out about her eligibility for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Click inside to read her official statement and details on what the studio said…

In a statement provided to JustJared.com, Brooke said, “As the daughter of PR guru Lois Smith, I understand the importance of campaigning for awards. I can’t afford a publicist, but I did pay the fees and submit myself for consideration to be nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for my work as Merrilee Legarski on David Kelley’s Big Sky.”

Brooke continued, “Because of the ‘stay in your lane’ mentality of studios, they won’t include me in any FYC panel discussions or press, or even put my name in the cast list on the Big Sky FYC page because I was a ‘recurring character’ and not a ‘series regular.’ I appeared in 8 out of 10 episodes (more than some of the other actors who were ‘series regulars’) and I was paid a lot less than everyone else, but I made peace with that because of the incredible material David E. Kelley was writing for me. I told myself that as long as I had great stuff to do on Big Sky playing Merrilee Legarski, I would survive being alone + away from my family in Vancouver for 6 months during a global pandemic.”

“Even though I know about publicity and what it does, I have always believed that if you do good work, people will notice. It’s difficult to compete when FYC ads in trade magazines start at about 10k, and most actors have teams helping them to get the word out. But I am very proud of my work on this show, so I am trying to do a DIY campaign myself. I am emailing tv critics and trade magazines directly to ask them to vote for me if they liked my work on the show. What have I got to lose?” she concluded.

Brooke had her big break playing Catherine Martin in the movie The Silence of the Lambs. She’s also known for roles in Grey’s Anatomy, Bates Motel, and the new Amazon series Them.