American Rust (TV series)
A crime drama revived after cancellation, then canceled again.
American Rust is an American crime drama television series created by Dan Futterman, based on the 2009 novel by Philipp Meyer. The series premiered on September 12, 2021, on Showtime, and was canceled after one season in January 2022. It was revived for a second season by Amazon Freevee in June 2022, which was released on March 28, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video, before being canceled again in July 2024.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Crime drama
- Creator
- Dan Futterman
- Based On
- American Rust · Philipp Meyer
- Starring
- Jeff Daniels / Maura Tierney / David Alvarez / Bill Camp / Julia Mayorga / Alex Neustaedter / Mark Pellegrino / Rob Yang / Kyle Beltran / Lauren Vélez
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 2
- Num Episodes
- 19
- Executive Producer
- Dan Futterman / Adam Rapp / Elisa Ellis / Jeff Daniels / Katie O'Connell Marsh / Michael De Luca / Paul Martino
- Company
- SouthSlope Pictures / Boat Rocker Studios / Showtime Networks (season 1) / Amazon MGM Studios (season 2)
- Network
- Showtime
- First Aired
- 2021-09-12
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The series is set in a small Rust Belt town in Pennsylvania, where chief of police Del Harris investigates when the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder. The cast is led by Jeff Daniels as Del Harris and Maura Tierney as Grace Poe. The series was originally ordered by USA Network in November 2017 but scrapped in January 2018 after trouble finding a leading actor. It was recommissioned by Showtime in July 2019, with Dan Futterman writing and Jeff Daniels starring. Filming took place in and around Pittsburgh. After Showtime canceled the series in January 2022, Amazon Freevee picked it up for a second season in June 2022, which began shooting in Western Pennsylvania in November 2022 and completed in May 2023. The second season, subtitled American Rust: Broken Justice, was released on March 28, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video. On July 26, 2024, Amazon Prime Video opted not to renew the series for a third season.
Reader's Guide
American Rust received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 28% based on 32 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus states: 'American Rust's tale of America lost is a worthy one, but despite an A-list cast it simply does not have the narrative clarity or heft necessary to do its subject matter justice.' On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 48 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating 'mixed or average reviews.' Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it a 'C' grade, writing that it is 'a dreary, well-acted, badly written chunk of misery porn' with 'flatly expository' dialogue. The series is notable for being revived after cancellation by Showtime, only to be canceled again after its second season on Amazon Prime Video.
Did You Know?
- It was revived by Showtime in July 2019 with Dan Futterman as writer and Jeff Daniels as star.
- The second season was subtitled American Rust: Broken Justice.
- The series was canceled twice: first by Showtime in January 2022, then by Amazon Prime Video in July 2024.
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