‘American Rust’: What You Need to Remember About Season 1

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for American Rust Season 1.]

American Rust is returning as American Rust: Broken Justice on Prime Video, after the series was unceremoniously canceled at Showtime following its first season. But it’s been quite some time since viewers last checked in with Buell’s Chief of Police, Del Harris (Jeff Daniels), and the rest of the fictional town’s residents as Season 1’s finale aired November 7, 2021.

With Broken Justice soon to debut on Frevee (beginning Thursday, March 28), we’re breaking down all of the need-to-know details to remember before streaming the latest season, below. Beware of major Season 1 spoilers ahead.

The action began with a murder (and a coverup).

Set in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Buell, American Rust‘s first season began with a murder in an abandoned steel mill. The incident occurs when Billy Poe (Alex Neustaedter) provokes a fight with Pete Novick (Jim True-Frost), an ex-cop who previously arrested him for assault after the young man got caught up in a bar fight.

Dennis Mong/Showtime/Everett Collection

Things take a turn, though, and it’s ultimately revealed that Billy’s best friend Isaac (David Alvarez) hit Novick over the head with a wrench, killing the crooked ex-cop. Already on the road out of Buell, Isaac is encouraged by Billy to go on the run. When Del is the first one to the scene of the crime, he covers Billy’s potentially damning tracks in an attempt to protect the son of his on-again-off-again girlfriend Grace (Maura Tierney).

Interference only goes so far, though, as an associate of Novick escapes from the scene and names Billy as a suspect. And Billy refuses to implicate Isaac, due in part because he’s still in love with Isaac’s sister, his high school ex-girlfriend Lee English (Julia Mayorga). Confessing to Lee, he promises he won’t ever reveal the truth and nearly pays for it with his life as he’s forced into a prison with rough inmates.

That’s just the start of the bloodshed.

Determined to free her son, Grace puts pressure on Del to explore possible ways to get Billy out of prison. Ultimately, he goes after the witness, a drug dealer known as Bobby Jesus (William Apps) who is also in cahoots with Buell’s pharmacist, Jackson Berg (Dallas Roberts). Together, they’ve been dolling out fentanyl which has caused more than a few problems in Buell.

Dennis Mong/Showtime/Everett Collection

During a fateful night in West Virginia, Del enters a remote cabin where he kills Bobby in self-defense after the man tries choking him, but Jackson isn’t far behind, leading Del to shoot the pharmacist. Believing he is alone, Del stages the crime to look like the drug dealers killed each other, but he doesn’t account for Bobby’s elderly cousin, a lady who aims a gun at Del.

Shooting the woman dead, Del is injured after the interaction, but mostly okay after wearing a bulletproof vest. From the cabin, Del travels back to Buell and chucks the evidence into the water under a bridge he crosses over. Without Bobby alive to point a finger at Billy, the young man is seemingly in the clear, but a violent altercation at prison leaves his life in the balance.

Feelings of guilt get the better of one of them, but it doesn’t stop the violence.

Feeling guilty after going on the run, Isaac also decides to turn back home after learning about Billy’s imprisonment, but when he shows up at Buell’s police station with the murder weapon, Del turns him away and orders him to never show anyone. Because having Isaac confess will only cause more misery and send the young man to prison.

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Additionally, Del was being questioned by members of the Pittsburgh PD about the death of his former colleague Chuck Castellanos (Danny Mastrogiorgio). In other words, the walls were closing in on Del as he’d previously traveled with Chuck to take out a former criminal but refused to comply, leading Chuck to murder the man and kill himself.

Will they figure out that Del was there for the crime? Or will Steve Park (Rob Yang), Del’s partner piece together the clues about Del’s actions after he spotted a missing bulletproof vest in the police station’s supply closet? And what lengths will Grace go to after viewers learned she burned down her own house in Season 1?

Viewers will have to stay tuned to find out when Broken Justice debuts on Prime Video.

American Rust: Broken Justice, Season Premiere, Thursday, March 28, Prime Video