J.J. Abrams’ ‘Duster’ Series Starring Josh Holloway Canceled by HBO Max

J.J. Abrams’ ‘Duster’ Series Starring Josh Holloway Canceled by HBO Max

Duster has bit the dust.

HBO Max has canceled its 1970s-set action-comedy series Duster after one season.

The drama from showrunners J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan starred Josh Holloway as a getaway driver working for an Arizona crime syndicate and Rachel Hilson as an FBI agent.

The show, which premiered in May, had terrific Rotten Tomatoes scores — 92 percent positive from critics and 83 percent positive from audiences — yet apparently didn’t succeed in drawing a large enough audience. The show didn’t chart, at least, in the Nielsen Top 10.

Here’s a statement from Warner Bros. Television: “J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan delivered a thrilling, multi-dimensional crime drama in Duster, with textured characters that took the audience back to the 1970s in a new and innovative way. Those characters were brought to life by a wonderful team led by Josh, Rachel, and an extremely talented ensemble cast, along with an expert crew behind the scenes. We are incredibly proud of the show, and while we wish this journey could continue, we are thankful to our partners at HBO Max for the opportunity to tell Jim and Nina’s story.”

The outcome is likely to be particularly disappointing for Holloway, who patiently waited for years for the star vehicle to get on track after plenty of false stops and starts. As the actor recalled to The Hollywood Reporter before the premiere, “I must have thrown the penny over the wrong shoulder and broke a mirror while I did it, because I had a hard seven years. Just hard — nothing was coming through. I had to focus on my family. I learned piano. I did all sorts of different things. I started telling my agents, ‘Just bring me work, I need to get out of house, it’s ridiculous, I only work for the Holloways now and I need to do something.’

And then, when Duster finally materialized and Holloway was given the opportunity to reteam with his Lost executive producer Abrams, “It was that old Jerry Maguire moment — “You had me at ‘hello.’” 

Here’s a statement from HBO Max: “While HBO Max will not be moving forward with a second season of Duster, we are so grateful to have had the chance to work with the amazingly talented co-creators J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, and our partners at Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television. We are tremendously proud of this series led by Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson, and we thank them, along with our cast and crew, for their incredible collaboration and partnership.”