Deadline reports that J.J. Abrams (Fringe, Lost) and LaToya Morgan’s (Shameless, Into the Badlands) Max drama series Duster has suspended production. The period drama was shut down in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Monday. Teamsters and IATSE did not cross picket lines in support of WGA members. The strike has been going on for 21 days.
Duster follows the first Black female FBI agent, Nina, in 1972 as she travels to the Southwest and recruits a gutsy getaway driver, Jim, in an effort to take down a crime syndicate.
The series will star Rachel Hilson (This Is Us, American Horror Story) as Nina, Josh Holloway (Yellowstone, Colony) as Jim, Greg Grunberg (Felicity, Heroes) as Abbott, Donal Logue (Grounded For Life, Gotham) as Sergeant Groomes, Sofia Vassilieva (Looking For Alaska, Medium) as Jessica, Gail O’Grady (NYPD Blue, American Dreams) as Charlotte Dean-Ellis, Dan Tracy (The Watcher, Class of ’09) as Chad Grant, Camille Guaty (Scorpion, Prison Break) as Izzy, and Keith David (Greenleaf, Rick and Morty) as Ezra.
It is produced by Warner Bros. Television. The first two episodes are written by Morgan and Abrams and directed by Steph Green (Watchmen, The Book of Boba Fett). Green will executive produce the series as well as Morgan for TinkerToy Productions via its overall deal with WBTV; Abrams and Rachel Rusch Rich (Demimonde, Presumed Innocent) executive produce through Bad Robot via its content partnership with WBTV and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Abrams was protesting on the picket line on May 5 at Fox Studios in Los Angelas.
Duster is not the only Max series to be impacted by the strike recently, Max’s The Penguin starring Colin Farrell (Scrubs, True Detective) was disrupted due to the strike last week. FX drama series The Old Man starring Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, Iron Man) suspended filming on season two earlier today.