A lot of great TV shows have been cancelled or are ending this year like Our Flag Means Death, The Brothers Sun and Walker to name a few. What I would imagine is even wilder than simply ending or being canned, however, is for a canceled show to be revived only to get axed again by the platform that saved it. That’s now the case for American Rust, which was once considered one of the best Showtime shows to stream. It was just confirmed that the series will not receive a third season, and you can thank Amazon for that.
Adapted from Philipp Meyer’s 2009 novel of the same name, American Rust starred Jeff Daniels as the chief of police in a small Rust Belt town in Pennsylvania. The show, which premiered in 2021, saw Daniels’ character lead an investigation after the son of the woman he loves was accused of murder. Also starring on the series were actors like Maura Tierney, David Alvarez, Alex Neustaedter and Luna Lauren Velez. The legal drama was originally canceled after one season in 2022 due to low viewership only to later receive a second-season renewal worth celebrating from Amazon’s Freevee. But, now, Pennsylvania’s Tribune-Review reports that the drama will ultimately not get a season-three renewal from the streamer.
To say that the show’s run on the small screen was somewhat unconventional would be an understatement. Subtitled Broken Justice by Amazon in June, the crime drama shifted to Prime Video over a month after rumors circulated about Freevee’s shutdown. The streaming company eventually confirmed there would be no changes to the free, ad-supported service, which may make the news of the Jeff Daniels-led series’ demise all the harder for avid fans and consumers of the platform to fathom.
As a fan, it can be absolutely nerve-wracking to see a show get canceled, uncanceled and then canceled again. Another show that recently suffered that fate was the former Netflix dramedy Uncoupled, as it was canceled after one season and saved by Showtime, which later cancelled the show before filming that second season.
Jeff Daniels was a major pick-up for American Rust, given his resume. He most recently starred in the Netflix miniseries A Man in Full. While there’s no news yet regarding what the Newsroom actor has in store yet, I’m sure Daniels will land something sooner rather than later.
As for Maura Tierney, who played Grace Poe, it’s a shame we won’t see more of her character’s journey after that triumphant “new beginnings” toast during the season finale. However, the ER alum will get a new beginning of her own becoming a series regular on Law & Order Season 24.
American Rust’s cancellation is sure to sting more than a few fans and, quite frankly, I can’t help but wonder what exactly factored into Amazon’s decision to cancel it. Regardless of that, feel free to enjoy all two seasons of the series using a Prime Video subscription. You can also take a look at the 2024 TV schedule if you’re in need of something else to watch now.