J.J. Abrams’ Latest, ‘Duster’ Gets Josh Holloway-Filled First Look

J.J. Abrams’ first writing project since Star Wars came together like jazz. Collaborating with accomplished screenwriter LaToya Morgan (whom you may know from The Walking Dead), the Lost creator has re-teamed with Josh Holloway — the star of that show — to bring to life Duster, a new Max drama series set to thrill its way onto our screens later this year. And in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, we finally have a new look and further details into the retro crime story about an FBI agent and a getaway driver trying to take down an impressively run crime syndicate.

Calling the story a “fun pastiche of action and humor,” Duster tells the following story, according to its official logline:

In 1972, the first Black female FBI agent heads to the Southwest and recruits a gutsy getaway driver in a bold effort to take down a growing crime syndicate.

And now, with some new first-look images and an interview under our belt, we’re starting to see the threads that weave this intriguing story together thanks to Abrams and Morgan’s keen storytelling eyes. Curious to know more? Keep reading!

‘Duster’ Goes To Unexpected Places With A Cast You’re Sure To Love

According to Abrams, while the show may sound more straightforward than his other outings, don’t expect it to stay that way. “It isn’t straightforward. There are a lot of things that you don’t expect,” he explained. “What I love about the show, and what I think LaToya and I had the most fun with, is you never quite know, when you open a door, what kind of unexpected criminal mind is going to be behind it.”

Some of the minds involved in the series besides Holloway (who plays Jim)? Love, Victor actress Rachel Hilson, who stars as Nina, as well as Keith David as Ezra, Sydney Elisabeth as Genesis, Greg Grunberg as Abbott, Camille Guaty as Izzy, Asivak Koostachin as Awan, Adriana Aluna Martinez as Luna, and Benjamin Charles Watson as Royce.

The duo also seemed to love the retro setting, allowing for a more complicated narrative without the ease of cell phone and internet culture. “There was the fun in the obsolescence of things,” Morgan explained. “I love CB radios and car culture and car chases and the music of the time. We wanted to lean into all those things. And there’s a thriller aspect to this show. There’s a mystery at the heart of it. There are mysteries that I won’t spoil. It’s a chance to do a combination of those things and set it in a time period that a lot of people are familiar with, and, for the folks that aren’t, it’s a chance to introduce them to the fun of that time.”

And if you’re looking for audacity, it seems that Duster will have it in spades — even if it isn’t a typical “mystery box” show, for which Abrams is most well-known:

“The most satisfying thing for me was seeing how so many these elements — some of which seem crazy and out there — end up actually serving a real narrative purpose. Also, every episode feels like it’s ending on a fun cliffhanger vibe that you get from serialized comics. When we were doing the first couple seasons of Alias, it was so much fun because every episode ended with like a definitive cliffhanger. We ultimately got told by the network that we had to stop doing that because it was harder to put a show into syndication if it was that linear. But that’s a thing that’s really fun about this show.”

It may go without saying, but…color us intrigued, Duster fam. We’re ready for a trailer and to dig in more.

Source:

The Hollywood Reporter