AMERICAN RUST
Jeff Daniels, Bribery + Murder on Showtime
Did you love Mare of Easttown? How about The Undoing? If you said yes to either, we have a perfect recommendation for you, PROVOKRs. American Rust is a Showtime crime series starring Jeff Daniels, Maura Tierney, and Alex Neustaedter.
Daniels is, of course, the protagonist. He plays a compromised small-town police chief in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt. Though she’s married, he is genuinely in love with a woman named Grace (Tierney). When her son is accused of murder, she uses her influence over the chief to get him to cover her son (Neustaedter)’s tracks. The bribery, murder, and power of seduction add up to a captivating series.
The trailer provides us with an eerie and gruesome look into the series. Its muted tones and ominous shots of dead bodies and animals heighten the curiosity. Not to mention Daniels looks like he’s digging deep into the complex nature of his character.
American Rust is based on the 2009 Philipp Meyer novel of the same name. The theme of both the novel and show centers around the collapse of the American dream. That’s pervasive in the Rust Belt, characterized as parts of the Northeast and Midwest. Both areas experienced significant industrial decline starting around 1980.
The series was shot in Pittsburgh, one of those cities within the Rust Belt. Showrunner Dan Futterman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he hopes it introduces the industry to the wonders of shooting in Western Pennsylvania. He also had some terrific comments about Daniels: “He’s such a tremendous and devoted actor who sets a tone of preparedness. He can have fun on set, but he wants people there to do the work. Once you work a day with him, you don’t show up if you don’t know your lines. You have to come prepared for take one, because he is.”
The project could tee Daniels up for another Emmy nomination next year. The actor has been nominated for five and won two: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Godless; and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for The Newsroom. His co-star, Tierney, has been nominated for two Emmys in a couple of shows you may have heard about — ER and The Affair. Yeah, so it sounds like we have a great show in store for us.
American Rust premieres on September 12 at 10 p.m. on Showtime.
