The latest from J.J. Abrams follows a 1970s getaway driver (Lost’s Josh Holloway) recruited by the FBI to take down a crime syndicate
J.J. Abrams’ pedigree is well established, as creator of such TV series as Felicity, Lost, Alias and Fringe, and director of Star Wars and Star Trek movies. Not surprisingly, any new Abrams-produced project is sure to attract attention, and such is the case with Duster.
Debuting this week on HBO, the series is set in 1972, and reunites Abrams with former Lost star Josh Holloway. He stars as Jim, getaway driver for a burgeoning crime syndicate in the American Southwest who’s recruited by Nina, the FBI’s first Black female agent (Rachel Hilson of This Is Us) to take down the syndicate’s boss, Ezra (Keith David). As this unlikely partnership unfolds, however, it soon becomes clear that things aren’t exactly what they seem.
According to series creator and showrunner LaToya Morgan, the original germ of what became Duster (the title refers to Jim’s high-octane Plymouth Duster) arose when Abrams reached out to Morgan after reading some scripts she’d written. “He told me that he had this image in his head that he had for about 20 years of a scene that’s in the pilot of a car racing towards a pay phone in the middle of the desert,” Morgan recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “When he told me that idea, it just sparked something and we just started pitching ideas. It was really like jazz. So we just decided in that moment we should work together on it, and the rest is history.”
As she collaborated with Abrams, the story quickly began to gel. “That became the goal: How do we tell a crazy story that actually ends up being driven towards one point and where we’re actually headed towards something that feels inevitable?” Abrams said. “Where we would have the vibe of it, the spirit of it, the sense of humour and the sense of absurdity?”
Duster hearkens back to such classic ’70s car-chase flicks as Two Lane Blacktop and Vanishing Point, a genre that has long since faded away. “The thing that was most exciting for me was that we could do something that was a throwback to things that are not really on television anymore,” Morgan explained. “You could have this fun pastiche of action and humour. It was really a chance to jump into something with both feet.”
For Abrams, casting Holloway as Duster’s leading man was a no-brainer; in fact, years earlier he’d pitched the actor on the idea of playing a driver for a criminal organization, and Holloway confirmed he’d be all in.
“So the whole time we were writing this, it was always with Josh in mind,” Abrams said. “He’s someone I just love working with. And with age, I think he’s gotten even more comfortable with his wry swagger and toughness, and also vulnerability and being unsure of himself. It’s a tough balancing act. He’s a great-looking guy, but he’s genuinely funny and big-hearted and he brings that to the character.”
That, however, created a high bar for the actor cast as the FBI agent, but Hilson managed to check all the boxes. “Josh is such a strong actor and has such energy and personality onscreen, that we knew we needed someone who could hold the screen with him and really push him,” Abrams explained. “Rachel hadn’t really played anything like this before and this was a chance for her to step into a role that she could totally command.”
Delving into the 1970s proved to be a real treat for Morgan. “There was the fun in the obsolescence of things,” she said. “I love CB radios and car culture and car chases and the music of the time. We wanted to lean into all those things.”
Meanwhile, fans of Abrams’ earlier shows will not be disappointed by a lack of unforeseen twists and turns. “It isn’t straightforward,” he added. “There are a lot of things that you don’t expect. 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 . . . Also, every episode feels like it’s ending on a fun cliffhanger vibe that you get from serialized comics . . . that’s a thing that’s really fun about this show.”
The series premiere of Duster airs Thursday, May 29 on HBO Canada