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.[1] In January 2022, the series was canceled after one season by Showtime.[2] In June 2022, the series was revived for a second season by Amazon Freevee.[3] The second season was released on March 28, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video.[4] In July 2024, the series was once again canceled.[5]
Premise
Set in a small Rust Belt town in Pennsylvania, chief of police Del Harris takes on an investigation when the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder.[6]
In November 2017, a television adaptation of American Rust was ordered to series by USA Network. The pilot episode was written by Brian McGreevy, Lee Shipman, and Philipp Meyer, and to be directed by David Gordon Green.[18] The series was scrapped on January 25, 2018, after having trouble finding a leading actor for the show.[19]
The series was filmed in and around Pittsburgh.[24] On January 25, 2022, Showtime canceled the series after one season.[2] On June 9, 2022, Amazon Freevee picked up the series for a second season.[3] The second season began shooting in Western Pennsylvania in November 2022 and completed in May 2023.[25]
The second season, subtitled American Rust: Broken Justice, was released on March 28, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video.[4] On July 26, 2024, Amazon Prime Video opted to not renew the series for a third season.[5]
Reception
American Rust has 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 reads, "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."[26] On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 48 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[27]
Based on three episodes for review, Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it a "C" grade, writing "There's a lot not to like about Rust, a dreary, well-acted, badly written chunk of misery porn" and that "the dialogue is all flatly expository". Handlen concluded with, "American Rust likely has a story worth telling, and a setting worth exploring, but this version fails to make much of a case for either."[28]
