Based on the book of the same name by Philip Meyer, American Rust created by Dan Futterman is the latest American crime drama television series that involves mysterious deaths revolving around the central theme of a drug overdose. The show premiered on the American television network SHOWTIME and will also be available on VOOT.
Production Development
In November 2017, an attempt was made to create an ad adaptation of Philip Meyer’s book for television. The Pilot episode was ordered by USA Network and penned by Brian McGreevy, Lee Shipman, and the author himself – Philipp Meyer, under the skillful direction of David Gordon Green. Unfortunately, the attempt was unsuccessful following some issues in finding a suitable lead actor.
In July 2019, a second and successful attempt to bring the critically acclaimed book to the screen was made by Showtime. The Pilot was penned by Dan Futterman, and Jeff Daniels was cast in the lead role, and both of them serve as executive producers of the show.
The show premiered on September 12, 2021, with its following episodes scheduled to hit the screens every Sunday. The upcoming episode will air on September 26, 2021.
Plot Development
The series is a cop drama that centers around Del Harris, a Pennsylvanian sheriff who has a hard-time in imagining a future for himself and his neighborhood following the search of a young man responsible for the assault.
The show unravels some unsettling and nerve-chilling details about some characters who lost their way prior to a murder that takes place in the community. The man who was the alleged culprit of the assault turned out to be the son of Del’s love interest, which coaxes Del Harris to take up the investigation of the case. In the third episode, we will see a more detailed development of Harris trying to discover the truth about these mysterious events.
Casting
Jeff Daniels plays the lead role of Del Harris, the Pennsylvanian Sheriff. Maura Tierney is cast as Grace Poe, and in the role of Isaac English, we will see actor David Alvarez. We will also see Bill Camp as Henry English and Mark Pellegrino as Virgil Poe.
In other recurring characters, we will be treated with the visual representation of Jackson Berg as Dallas Roberts, and Clea Lewis as Jillian, and Nicole Chanel Williams cast as JoJ and a few others.
Reception
With regards to critical reviews, the show stands at a middle ground holding seven out of ten ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and the critics added that “American Rust‘s tale of America lost is a worthy one, but despite an A-list cast, it simply doesn’t have the narrative clarity or heft necessary to do its subject matter justice.” The series received a forty-seven out of a hundred on Metacritic, which is based on the reviews of thirteen critics. The series, which is yet to progress, is anticipated to show some surprise suspense elements which will ensure a better public response.
