The Sticks: A Grieving Widow, a Broken Town, and a Hockey Team That Might Save It All

Small-town grief meets high-stakes hockey in Netflix's newest drama, "The Sticks." With filming now underway, the streamer has unveiled a full cast list and first-look photos — and the story…

By Reetam Bodhak

August 11, 2026

3 min read

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Small-town grief meets high-stakes hockey in Netflix’s newest drama, “The Sticks.” With filming now underway, the streamer has unveiled a full cast list and first-look photos — and the story behind it is far heavier than your typical sports drama.

What The Sticks Is About

Set in a small Minnesota hockey town, the series follows a grieving widow who steps behind the bench of the team her late husband built, guiding a “found family” of wounded young athletes through a season shaped by loss, love, and rivalry. At its core, it’s less about the sport and more about community — what holds a broken town together when everything else falls apart.

Series creator Nick Naveda described it as a story about hockey, family, class, and above all, the importance of taking care of one another.

The Sticks– Show Details

Detail	Information
Production Company	21 Laps Entertainment
Creator	Nick Naveda
Showrunner	Bridger Bedard
Executive Producers	Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Robert Atwood
Episode Count	8
Setting	South Dorothy, Minnesota
Production Status	Filming underway
Release Date	Sometime in 2027

Meet the Cast

Leading the series are Michelle Monaghan as Harper Sullivan, the widow at the story’s center, alongside Emilie Bierre as Riley Sullivan and Shai Chase as Henry Sullivan. The young hockey team includes Josh MacQueen, Costa D’Angelo, Carter Shimp, Ethan Holder, Isaac Arellanes, Chloe Avakian, Caleb Baumann, River Codack, Angus Albinati, and Callum Orchison.

Series regulars Scott Bakula and Logan Marshall-Green join as coaching figures, with a deep recurring cast rounding out the town of South Dorothy.

Why This One Stands Out

21 Laps Entertainment, the studio behind hits like Stranger Things, has a strong track record of blending emotional storytelling with ensemble casts — and “The Sticks” looks to follow that formula, trading supernatural stakes for very human ones.

If you like tracking upcoming Netflix originals and cast reveals as they drop, check out more entertainment coverage over on TechnoSports.

The Bottom Line

With filming underway and a full ensemble cast locked in, “The Sticks” is shaping up to be one of Netflix’s more emotionally grounded dramas for 2027. No exact release date yet, but this is one to keep on your radar.