American Rust is a crime drama television series set in Rust Belt, PA, shifting back and forth from the fictional small town of Buell to the big city of Pittsburgh. It premiered on Showtime in 2021 and was canceled after its first nine-episode season. It recently resurfaced on Amazon Freevee as American Rust: Broken Justice for a follow-up ten-episode season. The series is based upon the novel of the same name by American fiction writer Philipp Meyer.
American Rust kicks off with the murder of an ex-cop in an abandoned steel mill. The case strikes close to home for Buell Police Chief Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) when the son of the woman he loves is charged with the killing. He tries to protect Grace (Maura Tierney) and Billy (Alex Neustaedter) by going after the witness and discovers a fentanyl ring while he’s at it. Del is still under investigation for his prior stint with Pittsburgh PD and now is operating way outside the lines of law enforcement ethics in Buell. As season one ends, the true killer of the ex-cop is on the run but returns home to confess when he hears Billy has been wrongly imprisoned.
Broken Justice also starts with a murder, seemingly unrelated, via a front door bomb delivery in Pittsburgh. Harris is back with the Pittsburgh PD and visits Grace in Buell when he can get away. Billy is in turmoil and relationships around him are swirling. A possible cover-up of water tests by the fracking industry is causing further disruption in Buell. And the FBI is investigating an internal gang of Pittsburgh police officers taking justice into their own hands.
American Rust captures the dreary Rust Belt setting: de-industrialization, economic decline, population loss, and urban decay. The two leads are outstanding and probably the main reason to watch. Jeff Daniels never fails to impress, does he? Maura Tierney is consistently adept whether it’s a comedic, dramatic, or quirky role. She combines all three here. As you can tell, there’s a lot going on in western Pennsylvania. Maybe too much to get your mind around. The 2½ years between seasons didn’t help at all in remembering where we left off. Let’s hope there’s a more-timely season three to wrap up all the loose ends.
D² Rating: ◼◼◼☐☐
Trivia: Who starred in AMC’s adaptation of Philipp Meyer’s other novel, The Son?
Answer below
Answer: Pierce Brosnan (The Son ran for two 10-episode seasons from 2017-2019 on AMC and is available to stream on AMC+)