American Rust (2021-)

The Showtime series American Rust, based on the novel of the same name and which debuted in the late summer of 2021, comes to us from actor turned writer and director Dan Futterman (The Birdcage, Sex and the City). The series is set in the so-called Rust Belt, in this case rural Pennsylvania, where local police chief Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) does his best to keep order in the sleepy hamlet. All of that is upended when Billy (Alex Neustaedter), the son of his longtime girlfriend Grace (Maura Tierney), is accused of a vicious murder along with Billy's best friend Isaac (David Alvarez). While Grace thinks that her son is innocent and likely being set up by Isaac, Del can't help but feel that both Billy and Isaac are following in the footsteps of their respective criminal fathers Virgil (Mark Pellegrino) and Henry (Bill Camp). Of course, the murder plot is ultimately just a way to dig into the social and economic turmoil felt in these areas of the country, laying out the politics of small town America for the rest of the world to see. The last time Maura Tierney starred in a Showtime series, it was The Affair where she went nude multiple times over the course of the show's run. This time around, she gets off to a slower start, showing off in her bra in the debut episode, but never going nude, at least not yet! Hopefully Maura can shake off the American Rust and get back down to the business of getting down!