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J.J. Abrams’ 1970s-Set ‘Duster’ Is a Gas Until It Hits the Skids: TV Review
HBO Max's 1970s set 'Duster' follows a tenacious FBI agent and a getaway diver determined to take down the Al Capone of the Southwest.
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From “Criminal Minds” to “Mindhunter,” a number of television shows over the years have depicted the FBI’s efforts to take down the country’s most nefarious criminals and organizations. In Max’s new drama series “Duster,” veteran writer-creator J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan have teamed up to put their spin on the genre. “Duster” is the first show to debut out of Abrams’ massive nine-figure Warner Bros. deal, and is distinctly different from his other Bad Robot-produced genre series, such as “Alias,” “Lost” and “Westworld.” Here, what begins as a thrilling journey of an FBI agent determined to make a name for herself becomes an uneven adventure that can’t quite stay the course.
“Duster” opens in the summer of 1972 in the shadow of President Richard Nixon’s emerging Watergate scandal. Nina Hayes (a fantastic Rachel Hilson), a rookie and the FBI’s first Black woman agent, petitions her bosses to be placed in the Phoenix office. Nina is fixated on dismantling the Saxton crime family. Portrayed by a perfectly cast Keith David, Ezra Saxton is the Al Capone of the Southwest. Sharp-tempered and impulsive, he lords over his business, employees, son Royce (Benjamin Charles Watson) and daughter Genesis (Sydney Elisabeth) with an iron fist.
Popular on VarietyWhile the senior agents are reluctant to grant Nina’s request, the Saxton case has become a sore spot for the bureau. Saxton reins unchecked, and the investigation surrounding him has reached a standstill. Tenacious and fierce in the face of racism, misogyny and sabotage, Nina finds an unexpected weak spot in Saxton’s operation: Jim Ellis (Josh Holloway), Saxton’s charismatic and loyal getaway driver.
Nina’s arrival in Phoenix flips Jim’s world on its axis. He’s been content to zoom through life, doing runs and drops for Saxton in his gorgeous cherry-red muscle car, bedding different women and spending time with his friend Izzy (Camille Guaty) and her precocious young daughter, Luna (Adriana Aluna Martinez). But a devastating incident from two years earlier compels him to hear Nina out. Examining his boss with fresh eyes, he begins to see what horrors and offenses Saxton is capable of. Together, the unlikely duo dig into Saxton’s past while trying to uncover the crime boss’s latest scheme, which, he says, has “global implications.” However, Jim learns that covering his tracks may be more trouble than it’s worth.
In addition to the investigation, “Duster” skillfully depicts the constant microaggressions Nina endures in a white-and male-dominated field. She finds kinship with her new partner, Awan Bitsilly (Asivak Koostachin), an Indigenous agent who has spent his entire tenure at the bureau being sidelined. Despite her petite stature, Nina roars through the Phoenix office and into Saxton’s world, showing Awan and Jim that often, the only way to get answers is to go against the grain and push past the obstacles in your path.
“Duster” has a large cast of memorable and delightful characters. Charlotte Dean-Ellis (Gail O’Grady), Jim’s stepmother, is a former actress with a deep-seated disdain for him. There is also the creepy police sergeant Groomes (Donal Logue), an evangelical who does everything in his power to undermine Nina and Jim’s operation, using blackmail to line his pockets. Greek Sal (Jack Topalian), Saxton’s arch-nemesis, has his own reasons for thwarting Saxton’s business deal, and Kelly (Esther Omegba), a cleaner at Nina’s office, takes it upon herself to watch another Black woman’s back. Still, the plot starts to suffer under the weight of too many figures and storylines.
The show’s main blunder is that instead of unpacking the various angles of the mob bosses’ corruption, random side stories start popping up. Notoriously erratic millionaire Howard Hughes (Tom Nelis), a blade-wielding assassin and Elvis Presley’s blue suede shoes are pulled into the ever-expanding web of the series, which becomes a chaotic and confusing scheme instead of the intriguing mystery it set out to be.
For the final three episodes, the writers throw in everything but the kitchen sink. The show, which begins at a low boil, suddenly takes off in several directions at a breakneck pace. Some of these ideas could have been omitted entirely or preserved for future seasons. Nina and Jim are forced to work overtime to re-center key story components that get lost amid more minor twists and turns.
Though the eight-episode series seems to lose itself after Episode 5, it’s ripe with 1970s cool and has a campy edge. Soul classics, including tracks from Marvin Gaye, the Spinners and James Brown, ripple across the episodes. Helmed by directors Steph Green and Darren Grant, with costumes by Dayna Pink, the series feels historically authentic. Moreover, by the season finale, the truth behind this expansive conspiracy is revealed, and viewers learn much more about the central figures and the wounds that drive them.
“Duster” isn’t perfect, but its swag and stellar acting keep it fairly engaging, especially when it reaches its conclusion. Nina, Jim and endearing characters like Luna and Jim’s father, Wade (Corbin Bernsen), inject heart and humanity into a series that could have completely fallen apart. The show isn’t zippy, nor is it smooth, but something fun is lurking below the surface. Those willing to hold on until the final scene may find some semblance of satisfaction in the chaos.
“Duster” premieres May 15 on Max with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays.
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