Amazon’s Freevee Revives ‘American Rust’ After Showtime Cancellation
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The canceled Showtime series American Rust is getting a new life.
Freevee, the free, ad-supported streaming service from Amazon, has revived the drama starring Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney. Both are slated to return for the show’s second season, as is executive producer and writer Dan Futterman (Capote, The Looming Tower). Boat Rocker Studios produces.
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It’s likely that season one of the series will also stream on Freevee, though no deals are in place yet.
“American Rust is exactly the type of gritty and engaging storytelling Amazon Freevee audiences love, and we could not be more excited to bring this prestige series to our customers, free of charge,” said Freevee co-heads of content and programming Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi in a statement. “We can’t wait to dive in with Boat Rocker and Dan Futterman to continue the story that intrigued audiences during the first season, and to see the evolution of characters so expertly portrayed by Jeff and Maura in this next chapter.”
Based on a novel by Philipp Meyer, American Rust centers on the sheriff (Daniels) of a southwestern Pennsylvania town. The first season chronicled his conflict when the son of the woman he loves (Tierney) is accused of murder.
“I’m grateful to Amazon Freevee for giving us the chance to make season two of American Rust,” said Daniels, who’s also an executive producer. “Set inside a struggling American small town, our authentic, realistically told story is built for streaming. The movies they don’t make anymore are being made as series at places like Amazon Freevee. It’s where I want to be.”
Added Steve Lescroart, head of scripted at Boat Rocker Studios, “We’re delighted to work with the wonderful team at Amazon Freevee to bring American Rust back for a second season. The source material for this series is incredibly rich, and when you add in the world-class talents of Dan Futterman, Jeff Daniels, Maura Tierney, [executive producer] Adam Rapp, and the entire cast and crew, season two is sure to enthrall viewers who enjoy premium content. We’re really pleased to have the opportunity to continue telling this story.”
Freevee will be the third stop for American Rust: It was given a straight-to-series order at USA Network in 2017 but later scrapped after difficulty finding a lead actor. Showtime picked it up in 2019, with Daniels attached to star. It premiered in November 2021 and was canceled in January.
Futterman, Daniels and Rapp executive produce with Paul Martino, Michael De Luca and Katie O’Connell Marsh of Boat Rocker, and Elisa Ellis.
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