Duster (TV series)

2025 television series

Duster

Genre| Crime thriller
Created by|

* J. J. Abrams
* LaToya Morgan

Showrunner| LaToya Morgan[1]
Starring|

* Josh Holloway
* Rachel Hilson
* Asivak Koostachin
* Sydney Elisabeth
* Benjamin Charles Watson
* Camille Guaty
* Adriana Aluna Martinez
* Greg Grunberg
* Keith David

Music by| Laura Karpman
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 1
No. of episodes| 8
Production
Executive producers|

* Steph Green
* Rachel Rusch Rich
* LaToya Morgan
* J. J. Abrams

Producers|

* Andrew Balek
* Lucas Brown Eyes

Cinematography| Carmen Cabana
Running time| 52 minutes
Production companies|

* Bad Robot Productions
* TinkerToy Productions
* Warner Bros. Television

Original release
Network| Max
Release| May 15 (2025-05-15) –
July 3, 2025 (2025-07-03)

Duster is an American crime thriller series created by J. J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan and starring Josh Holloway, Rachel Hilson, and Keith David. The show is set in 1972; Hilson portrays the FBI's first Black woman agent and Holloway plays a getaway driver using a 1970 Plymouth Duster. Duster premiered on Max on May 15, 2025. In July 2025, the series was canceled after one season.

## Premise

[edit]

In the Southwest in 1972, the FBI's first Black woman agent (Rachel Hilson) works to stop a crime syndicate boss (Keith David) with the assistance of a talented getaway driver (Josh Holloway).[2]

## Cast

[edit]

### Main

[edit]

* Josh Holloway as Jim Ellis
* Rachel Hilson as Nina Hayes
* Asivak Koostachin as Awan Bitsui
* Sydney Elisabeth as Genesis Saxton
* Benjamin Charles Watson as Royce Saxton
* Camille Guaty as Izzy Reyna
* Adriana Aluna Martinez as Luna Reyna
* Greg Grunberg as Nathan Abbott
* Keith David as Ezra Saxton

### Recurring

[edit]

* Corbin Bernsen as Wade Ellis
* Gail O'Grady as Charlotte Dean-Ellis
* Donal Logue as Sergeant Groomes
* Kevin Chamberlin as Bob Temple
* Sofia Vassilieva as Jessica-Lorraine Sims
* Dan Tracy as Agent Chad Grant
* Evan Jones as Billy Mahoney

## Episodes

[edit]

No.| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date [1]

|
|
|
|

1| "Baltimore Changes Everything"| Steph Green| J. J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan| May 15, 2025 (2025-05-15)
2| "Suspicious Minds"| Steph Green| LaToya Morgan & J. J. Abrams| May 22, 2025 (2025-05-22)
3| "You're No Good"| Darren Grant| J. J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan| May 29, 2025 (2025-05-29)
4| "Criminalus Velocitus Super-Sonicus"| Darren Grant| Sue Chung| June 5, 2025 (2025-06-05)
5| "Ravishing Light and Glory"| Steph Green| Lucas Brown Eyes| June 12, 2025 (2025-06-12)
6| "Meet by the Clothes"| Steph Green| Matt Lambert| June 19, 2025 (2025-06-19)
7| "K-129"| Darren Grant| Michael Horowitz| June 26, 2025 (2025-06-26)
8| "66 Reno Split"| Darren Grant| LaToya Morgan| July 3, 2025 (2025-07-03)

## Production

[edit]

The series was given a straight to series green-light at HBO Max in April 2020, as part of J. J. Abrams' overall deal at WarnerMedia. The series was co-created and co-written by Abrams and LaToya Morgan.[3] The series has eight episodes, with the first three written by the creators.[4] Steph Green is also an executive producer and directed the first two episodes.[2]

In March 2021, Josh Holloway was cast to star in the pilot,[5] with filming beginning in October 2021 in Tucson.[6][7] In February 2023, the series was officially given a series order, with Rachel Hilson announced as a co-lead.[8] Corbin Bernsen was announced in a recurring role the following month.[9]

Production for the full series began in April 2023 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the surrounding areas.[10][11][7] In May, it was suspended due to the 2023 WGA strike.[12] Before the strike, the pilot was shot in downtown Tucson and parts of Pima County, Arizona, from September through mid-November 2021.[13]

On July 9, 2025, Max canceled the series after one season.[14]

### Cars

[edit]

Ted Moser served as the picture car coordinator for Duster and procured over 250 vehicles for the show.[7] Four separate cars were sourced for the titular 1970 Plymouth Duster 340[15] driven by Holloway's character Jim — one "hero car" for filming only, detailed enough for close-ups, and three other stunt cars modified for camera equipment and retrofitted with automatic transmissions.[7] Holloway took a stunt driving class in preparation for the role and filmed many of his own driving scenes; stunt driver Corey Eubanks performed the rest. Hilson's character Nina drives a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere.[15] One scene featuring several BMWs was originally written with Audis in mind.[7]

## Release

[edit]

A teaser trailer was released on March 19, 2025.[2] The official trailer was released on April 30, 2025. [16] Duster premiered on Max on May 15, 2025, with successive episodes released weekly thereafter.[2]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 92% based on reviews from 35 critics. The website's critical consensus reads, "Making great use of Josh Holloway's rugged charm and a retro aesthetic that recalls 1970s television, Duster slaps a fresh coat of paint on a vintage vehicle."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave it a score of 72 out of 100, based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[18]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Max Original Drama Series DUSTER, From Emmy-Award Winner J.J. Abrams And Showrunner LaToya Morgan, Debuts May 15" (Press release). March 19, 2025.
2. ^ a b c d Petski, Denise (March 19, 2025). "'Duster': J.J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan's Drama Series Gets Max Premiere Date & First-Look Teaser". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 16, 2020). "HBO Max Orders 'The Shining' Offshoot 'Overlook', J.J. Abrams' 'Duster' & Justice League Dark Series From Bad Robot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
4. ^ Mathai, Jeremy (March 19, 2025). "The Duster Trailer Finally Returns JJ Abrams To TV – And Reunites Him With A Lost Star". SlashFilm. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
5. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 9, 2021). "Josh Holloway to Star in HBO Max Series 'Duster' From LaToya Morgan, J.J. Abrams". Variety. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
6. ^ Parris, Pat (October 6, 2021). "HBO Max Series Duster could bring $65 million economic boost to Tucson". KGUN-TV. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
7. ^ a b c d e Soloski, Alexis (May 13, 2025). "In 'Duster,' the Cars Are in the Driver's Seat". Television. The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 31, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
8. ^ White, Peter (February 16, 2023). "Rachel Hilson To Star In J.J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan's Duster As HBO Max Hands Out Official Series Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
9. ^ Petski, Denise (March 30, 2023). "Corbin Bernsen Set To Recur In J.J. Abrams' HBO Max Series Duster". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
10. ^ "The New Mexico Film Office Announces Max/Warner Bros. Television Series Duster is Currently in Production in New Mexico" (PDF). Film New Mexico. April 28, 2023.
11. ^ Rajput, Priyanca (May 4, 2023). "JJ Abrams' crime thriller series Duster filming in New Mexico for HBO Max". KFTV.com.
12. ^ White, Peter (May 22, 2023). "Max's 'Duster', From J.J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan, Suspends Production In New Mexico". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
13. ^ Savic, Bryan (December 14, 2021). "Why was HBO Max's 'Duster' pilot shot in Tucson?". Arizona Daily Wildcat. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 9, 2025). "Duster Canceled By HBO Max After One Season". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
15. ^ a b Vaughn, Mark (May 16, 2025). ""Duster" Is An 8-Episode '70s Crime Drama Starring A Plymouth 340". Autoweek. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
16. ^ [1]
17. ^ "Duster: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
18. ^ "Duster: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 20, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Duster at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

HBO Max original programming

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| Live-action|

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Continuations|

* Harley Quinn (since 2022)
* Sesame Street (since 2020)

Ended|

| Original|

* Adventure Time: Distant Lands (2020–21)
* Amarres (2021)
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* The Convict (2024)
* Doom Patrol (2020–23)
* Esme & Roy (2020–21)
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* Young Justice (2021–22)

Films|

| Released|

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|

Upcoming|

* Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires (2025)

Unreleased|

* Batgirl

See also|

* HBO Go
* HBO Now
* DC Universe
* List of exclusive international distribution

* Category

* v
* t
* e

J. J. Abrams

Films directed|

* Mission: Impossible III (2006, also wrote)
* Star Trek (2009, also produced)
* Super 8 (2011, also wrote, produced)
* Star Trek Into Darkness (2013, also produced)
* Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, also wrote, produced)
* Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, also wrote, produced)
* Untitled film (TBA, also wrote, produced)

Films written|

* Taking Care of Business (1990)
* Regarding Henry (1991)
* Forever Young (1992)
* Gone Fishin' (1997)
* Armageddon (1998)
* Joy Ride (2001, also produced)

Films produced|

* The Pallbearer (1996)
* The Suburbans (1999)
* Cloverfield (2008)
* Morning Glory (2010)
* Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
* Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
* 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
* Star Trek Beyond (2016)
* The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
* Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
* Overlord (2018)
* Lou (2022)
* The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022, short film)
* The Blue Angels (2024)
* Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024)
* Flowervale Street (2026)

Television series created|

* Felicity (1998–2002)
* Alias (2001–2006)
* Lost (2004–2010)
* Fringe (2008–2013)
* Undercovers (2010)
* Duster (2025)

Related|

* Unrealized projects
* Bad Robot
* S.
* Gracie Abrams (daughter)
* Gerald W. Abrams (father)
* Carol Ann Abrams (mother)

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