"Duster" is an explosive and thrilling ride back to the 1970's on HBO Max!
We crashed the global press day to find out more about this new crime drama!
The new HBO Max series Duster is set in the Southwest region of the United States in 1972, it follows the FBI's first Black woman FBI Agent Nina (Rachel Hilson) who is working to stop a crime syndicate with the assistance of a talented getaway driver named Jim (Josh Holloway).
Dangerous, thrilling, and nostalgic, Duster brings 8 episodes that will release weekly Thursdays on HBO Max. Audiences should speed to their screens for this exciting, action packed, and groovy new series.
Season 1, episode 1, titled "Baltimore Changes Everything" debuted yesterday May 15, 2025. Right out of the gate, Duster proves that it’s going to be a blazing good time! Taking audiences back in time on a “cultural explosion”. The series is mixed with fast paced thrills, crime, collusion, and some very creative, black, and powerful characters for the culture!
Lynette Rice, (reporter for Deadline) hosted the global press day. Scenes In Color was on hand to discuss this new and exciting new series from creator J.J. Abrams. We were joined via zoom by showrunner/co-creator LaToya Morgan, and Duster leads Rachel Hilson and Josh Holloway.
Host Lynette Rice: I want to start with the most important question: why a Duster? Why not like a Chevelle or a Plymouth Barracuda? Why did you choose that car?
LaToya Morgan: Oh, because the Duster is a really cool car. They only made it for about six years, so we wanted something really iconic for this show. We thought about the Aston Martin that Bond has or the Mustang that Steve McQueen has, and we wanted something really iconic for this, so, Duster it is.
Lynette Rice: Tell me how this idea came about and why the '70s?
LaToya Morgan: Oh, great question. The idea came about because J.J. had an image in his head from a few years ago. It was a phone booth, phone ringing in the middle of the desert, and a muscle car racing up to it. And he said, I think maybe Josh Holloway jumps out of that car. So, I was like I dig this idea. So, we really started pitching ideas of what it could be and really building the show together, and we decided to work on it together.
LaToya Morgan: Yes, yes because he's amazing. Yes. I always wanted to work with him again. He's worked with him multiple times since Lost but yeah. This was a great chance to give him a real vehicle literally for him to be in.
The setting in Duster plays a huge part in how crime is conducted, how racial biased and mistreatment is handled in the workplace, and much more. The clothes, the language, the cars, the music, and the lack of modern technology immediately immerse you into the story, sending you back to disco’s, Duster’s, and pay phones. Audiences will enjoy the cultural and historical events that define the 1970’s come speeding to life on screen throughout this entire series.
When asked their thoughts about this time period and signing on to this series, in short, here’s what Holloway and Hilson had to say:
Josh Holloway: First, it was J.J. So, J.J. called, and I was like yes. The answer's yes. Whatever it is you're asking, I'm in. So, it's just exciting to have anyone of that caliber artistically calling you for something….And every step of the way, it just got better because it's set in 1972. Muscle cars, the explosion of music and individuality and all this kind of cultural explosions during that time, it was so rich, and I grew up, you know, as a small child in the '70s but I remember it. I remember the freedom in the culture.
So, it was just a wonderful, rich era, and I love cars. I have three brothers. We grew up loving cars. And, so, that was very appealing to get to drive a muscle car, and I love the Duster because it's an obscure muscle car kind of between muscle cars. That’s why not a lot of people knew what it was. But it's a fantastic choice, and just the emblem with the little Tasmanian devil on it, I was like, ooh. And LaToya, they know what's up.
Rachel Hilson: I mean Nina is a badass…..She's overtly badass, and she's just so dynamic and complex. She's got this really -- this rawness that comes from I think her childhood.So, there's this vulnerability that she brings that sort of is like the fuel for this badassery and this tenacity and her drive. And, so, I was really excited to take that on.
Digging deeper into Agent Nina, both Hilson and Morgan chimed in about this BAD*SS black woman with a powerful law enforcement job during that era…
Rachel Hilson: yeah, the '70s are just such a rich period. I think 1972 in particular, you've got like, oh, God, just like a whole cornucopia of things happening politically and culturally and, you know, it's right off of the civil rights movement. You've got like, you know, the Black Panthers still sort of hanging out, and I think I was really excited to navigate this role, navigate this character, this black woman, this young black woman in this period in this environment in like -- in the bureau, you know, which is so unheard of. And I think that's one of the coolest things about this project is that they thought to write this character in this very unlikely environment. And, you know, her being the first one in our world.
In this environment I think was, you know, a challenge I really wanted to take on. I was really lucky to take on.
LaToya Morgan: …We had a wonderful FBI consultant. He was brilliant. A black woman named Jerri Williams who was great at giving us information about what it was like. She joined the bureau in the early '80s, so she was able to tell us a lot about what happened in the '70s and other colleagues that she'd worked with. So, it was really, really a gift to get her to share her stories. And we could infuse some of that in Nina's character.
The time put in toward the carefully chosen creative contributions from Morgan effortlessly shine and dazzle as bright as a disco ball. Viewers are easily taken back to the time when platform shoes, pay phones, and afro’s were all the buzz. The evoking of nostalgic emotions through the detailed set designs, props, wardrobe, and dialogue from well written and layered characters adds an extra flare to this well crafted show.
Host Lynette Rice: Let me ask you this question from one journalist. This is for you, Rachel, but maybe you can draft off it a little bit too. As a black blogger and a woman, I grew up hearing black and women were two strikes. Words echoed in the first episode. What do you hope black women take away from your character's strength, struggle, and resilience?
Rachel Hilson: That's a great question. I think what -- I mean black women can do anything. And I think, you know, in this world, she's given -- she's like given this opportunity sort of like as -- aw, fine. But she was really given this opportunity to pave her way. Like, she's there to do a job. She's there to do a job and do it well. And I think, you know, if I what any -- what I want black women to take from that is that, you know, we are capable of anything. We contain multitudes. We are able to be vulnerable. We are able to be strong. We are able to be, you know, speak multiple languages. We can do anything, I think. Yeah.
LaToya Morgan: Absolutely. And I think just the tenacity too. Just the ability to -- there's so many scenes throughout the series but especially in the pilot where you see Nina constantly getting knocked down or told you can't do this, and she constantly just lets it wash over her --
Rachel Hilson: Pushes through.
LaToya Morgan: And pushes through, and she gets the job done. So, if anything, I've learned that from my mom, all the women in my family, and that was something I definitely wanted to infuse into her character.
It’s safe to say that throughout this series, viewers will agree that Agent Nina is one bad mother {*SHUT YOUR MOUTH*}!
The series also stars Keith David appears as Ezra, the crime boss whom the two pursue along with 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, and Dan Tracy as Agent Chad Grant.