HBO Max Cancels 92% Rotten Tomatoes Hit Series After Only One Season

HBO Max has canceled Duster after just one season, even though the crime drama got solid reviews from critics and viewers alike. The show, which starred Josh Holloway and was co-created by J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, didn’t get enough attention from fans to stick around.

The news was first confirmed by Entertainment Weekly, and it marks the end of a highly anticipated reunion between Abrams and Holloway, who last worked together on Lost over 15 years ago.

In a statement shared with EW, HBO Max said, “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.”

Duster was a period crime show set in the 1970s. Rachel Hilson played Nina Hayes, an FBI agent who becomes the first Black woman to join the Bureau. She teams up with Jim Ellis, a getaway driver played by Holloway, to go after a brutal crime boss, played by Keith David. The show was praised for its strong performances and cool retro style, but still couldn’t bring in enough viewers to get a second season.

Warner Bros. Television also spoke about the cancellation, saying, “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.” They added that they were proud of the show and thankful for the chance to tell the story, even though it was cut short.

The idea for Duster was first announced back in 2021. Both Abrams and Holloway had kept busy after Lost ended. Holloway went on to star in shows like Colony and Intelligence, while Abrams worked on big films like Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and produced series like Castle Rock and Lovecraft Country.

Talking about how Duster came together, Holloway told EW that Abrams pitched the idea in a way that instantly grabbed him. “This concept is phenomenal, he just opened the conversation with, ‘You’re a fixer for the mafia in 1972,’” he said. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, my mind just blew up.’ There’s nothing like it on TV right now. It is like Pulp Fiction meets Starsky & Hutch.”

This wasn’t Holloway’s first time working with a former Lost boss since the show ended. He had also teamed up with Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse on the alien series Colony, which ran for three seasons. When asked about his ongoing relationships with both Abrams and Cuse, Holloway said, “I think they call me because they know I have a very strong work ethic. I work hard and so they can trust me to carry something. We’ve worked together, we’ve done big things. So we’re like, ‘Okay, we can work together again.’ And I love that I have that relationship with both of them.”

Despite the love from critics and the star power behind the show, Duster just didn’t catch on with viewers in a big enough way. Now, with the show officially done, The Pitt is the only original series still running on the newly rebranded HBO Max.

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