‘Duster’: J.J. Abrams’ New HBO Series, Explained

Amanda Bell March 19, 2025, 3:53 pm

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J.J. Abrams is back with a new TV debut, but it might not be what you expect. Instead of being another mysterious science-fiction series, he’s delivering an entirely different kind of thrill ride with Duster, an eight-part crime drama that reunites him with Lost favorite Josh Holloway and was co-written with LaToya Morgan.

So what is Duster, and what do Abrams fans have to look forward to from this new small screen adventure? Here’s a look at everything we know about Duster so far.

When does Duster premiere?

The series premieres on Max on Thursday, May 15, at 9/8c. The following episodes will be released weekly until the finale arrives on July 3.

Who stars in Duster?

Leading up the cast of the series is Josh Holloway, who Abrams had in mind when co-writing the series. He stars as Jim, a getaway driver who is brought into an FBI mission. Rachel Hilson also has a lead role as Nina, a new FBI agent who enlists Jim in her effort to take down a crime boss. Keith David appears as Ezra, the crime boss whom the two pursue.

Also starring in the series are Sydney Elisabeth as Genesis, Greg Grunberg as Abbott, Camille Guaty as Izzy, Adriana Aluna Martinez as Luna, Asivak Koostachin, and Benjamin Charles Watson. Recurring cast members include Corbin Bernsen as Wade Ellis, Gail O’Grady as Charlotte Dean-Ellis, Donal Logue as Sergeant Groomes, Kevin Chamberlin as Bob Temple, Sofia Vassilieva as Jessica-Lorraine Sims, Dan Tracy as Agent Chad Grant, and more.

Max

What is Duster about?

The logline reads, “Set in the 1970s Southwest, Duster explores the life of a gutsy getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate that goes from dangerous to wildly, stupidly dangerous when a tenacious young agent comes into town hellbent on taking his crime family down.”

As the above-embedded trailer shows, there will be a lot of groovy action in the series, but, as with most Abrams projects, there’s more to the story than it seems. As he told The Hollywood Reporter, “It isn’t straightforward. 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.” He also promised that each episode ends on a “cliffhanger” to keep the momentum going throughout all eight.

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What else is there to know about Duster?

The series was created by Abrams, he told THR, after he had a vision of “a phone in the middle of the desert and a guy getting on the phone to find out where he was meant to go next.” Then the story built out from there, and he had Holloway, who played James Ford a.k.a. “Sawyer” in Lost but who Abrams wanted to showcase for his “genuinely funny and big-hearted” nature in this character.

Abrams and Morgan co-wrote the first two episodes, which were directed and executive produced by Steph Green.

The show was filmed in Tucson, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Production on the series was temporarily suspended due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.