formerly Max, which was formerly formerly HBO Max — it was a whole thing) before the dust had even settled on last week’s season finale. The show marked a long-awaited reunion between Holloway and Abrams, both of whom worked together on the hit ABC series “Lost,” as well as Abrams’ first significant project since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” hit theaters in 2019. Incredibly enough, it also represented the only actual title to come to fruition from Abrams’ and his production company Bad Robot’s lucrative first-look deal with HBO announced back in 2020. The high-profile casualties in that deal included the likes of “The Shining” spin-off “Overlook,” “Justice League Dark,” and the wildly expensive “Demimonde.”
The cancelation of “Duster,” reported by Deadline, resets that counter all the way back to zero … and, unfortunately, the news comes as little surprise to those who’ve been closely following along. Even fans of the show would have to admit that, despite the fantastic ensemble cast and the well-written story, it struggled to gain much traction with general audiences. Anecdotally, any mention of the show among (for lack of a better word) “normies” was typically met by blank stares or surprise that they’d never even heard of this production before. As it turns out, that’s exactly what led to its demise. The report cites its poor performance on both Luminate and the Nielsen ratings, with the show ultimately unable to survive its flagging viewership.
The worst part of it all, of course, is that “Duster” was only just getting started. Season 1 told its story to completion, charting the uneasy alliance between Ellis and Hayes during their attempts to find the truth behind a pair of murders that hit far too close to home, respectively. What Abrams and Morgan intended to come next, however, would’ve been nothing short of appointment television.
