J.J. Abrams Series 'Duster' Officially Confirmed for HBO Max with Josh Holloway & Rachel Hilson to Star

by Darian Scalamoni

    After being in the works for almost three whole years, HBO Max has finally handed a series order to J.J. Abrams-produced project Duster. Deadline is now reporting that it's finalized its cast as previously announced Josh Holloway (Lost, Yellowstone) will be joined by Rachel Hilson (This Is Us, Love, Victor) to lead the crime series for the streaming service.

    Duster takes place in 1972 and stars Hilson as Nina, the first black FBI agent who heads to the Southwest to recruit a getaway driver, played by Holloway to help take down a growing mob syndicate. The eight-part series is produced by Abrams' Bad Robot banner while the filmmaker also wrote the first two episodes of the series alongside LaToya Morgan. Morgan most recently served as a writer on AMC's The Walking Dead and Into the Badlands. Hilson and Holloway are joined in the series by fellow cast members Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez and Benjamin Charles Watson.

    Hilson is best known for her role as Mia Brooks on the Hulu teen drama Love, Victor. She also played a younger version of Beth Pearson, portrayed in present day by Susan Kelechi Watson in NBC's This Is Us. Hilson has also worked with HBO before on numerous projects including Winning Time and High Maintenance. Hilson recently filmed Red White & Royal which stars Uma Thurman and Sarah Shahi. 

    Holloway is coming off a supporting role in Yellowstone but is best known by fans as playing the lead within Abrams biggest project ever, ABC's Lost as Sawyer which ran for six seasons and is one of the biggest television shows of all-time. Duster will put him in his first starring role in quite a while.

    Duster is an interesting project as it comes off the controversial development deal that Warner Bros. Discovery inked J.J. Abrams to back in 2019 for a reported $200 million. The problem is that Abrams has yet to produce a single show for either HBO or HBO Max in that time with pricey shows such as Demimonde being shelved, Duster taking years to get off the ground and other shows being passed on by the company such as Constantine, Madame X and Overlook based on The Shining. This project has big potential but also due to the costly deal made by Warner Bros. and Abrams, there is massive pressure for this series to do well.