The 10-episode first season of Showtime’s “American Rust,” which was scheduled to begin filming in Western Pennsylvania in March but got delayed by the pandemic-forced global entertainment production shutdown, has been pushed to 2021.
On a teleconference with reporters to promote his role as former FBI director James Comey in Showtime’s upcoming miniseries “The Comey Rule” (9 p.m. Sept. 27-28), “American Rust” star Jeff Daniels explained the show’s current production time table.
“As of this moment, I’m being told we’re hopeful for March, possibly February, and at this moment [we’re still shooting] in Western Pennsylvania,” said Daniels, who will star in “Rust” as Del Harris, chief of police in a southwestern Pennsylvania town.
After his girlfriend’s former high school football star son is accused of killing an ex-cop, Harris must decide how far he will go to protect the accused.
The series is based on author Philipp Meyer’s 2009 novel of the same name, which is set in the fictional Mon Valley town of Buell, Fayette County.
Earlier this year Showtime announced Maura Tierney (“The Affair”) will play Grace Poe, a dress factory union organizer and Harris’ girlfriend. Alex Neustaedter (“Colony”) was slated to play Grace’s son, Billy.
Actor Bill Camp (“The Night Of”) was cast as Henry English, a disabled former steel worker and widower who cares for his son, Isaac (David Alvarez). Julia Mayorga was cast as English’s daughter, Lee, who is pulled from New York back to her hometown after her brother runs away.
Since it was announced in August 2019, the series has alternately had the title “Rust” and “American Rust” but in an August announcement about an international streaming service to be rolled out next year in Australia, Latin America and the Nordics, Showtime parent company ViacomCBS referred to the show as “American Rust.”
