NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, has opted not to renew comedy Rutherford Falls for a third season, according to Deadline. Its second season premiered on June 16 after an eight-episode run. Series co-creator and executive producer, Sierra Teller Ornelas. (Splitting Up Together, Superstore) is actively shopping the series to a new network.
“It’s been an honor to introduce the best of Indian Country to the masses,” Ornelas said in a statement via Deadline. The series starring Ed Helms (The Office, Together Together) and Jana Schmieding (Reservation Dogs, New Growth) was one of the few shows in history showcasing Native American creatives in front and behind the camera. Following two lifelong friends – Helms’ Nathan Rutherford and Schmieding’s Reagan Wells – Rutherford Falls explored the comical complications of reckoning with the past for a brighter future. When a casino owner, played by Michael Greyeyes (I Know This Much Is True, Wild Indian) seeks to make some major changes to the quaint town that borders a Native reservation, Nathan, Reagan, and the entire community are forced to reexamine their relationships with each other in more ways than one.
Ornelas’ complete statement can be viewed below:
It’s been a true joy to make these two seasons of Rutherford Falls. Mike Schur, Ed Helms and I set out to make something new, real, and smart—but also dumb—that made you cry and think, but also laugh when Reagan got kicked in the face or Nathan was stuffed into a coffin. Borrowing a line from Terry Thomas, played by the ridiculously talented Michael Greyeyes, before our show, “Native representation [was], for the most part, a hate crime.” Which is why it’s been an honor to introduce the best of Indian Country to the masses.
We remain overwhelmed by the critical response, garnering a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score in our second season, and while we’re sad that our time at Peacock has come to an end we are immensely grateful to them for picking us up and showcasing the talents of comedy legend Ed Helms and breakout stars like Jana Schmieding, Jesse Leigh, Dana Wilson, Dallas Goldtooth, Kaniehtiio Horn, and many others. We love these characters, the world we created, and the impact it has had, and will be exploring other platforms where, hopefully, the folks of Rutherford Falls can call home.
Per Deadline, the series boasts one of the biggest Native American writer’s rooms with both Schmieding and Greyeyes contributing. They join Bobby Wilson (Scalped, What We Do in the Shadows), Tai LeClaire (Characters Welcome), Tazbah Chavez (Your Name Isn’t English, Resident Alien), and Teller Ornelas.
Originally set at Apple TV+, the series is produced by Universal Television, Fremulon, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Pacific Electric Picture Company, via Deadline. Executive producers for the show include co-creator Mike Schur (The Good Place, Hacks), David Miner (30 Rock, Girls 5Eva), Morgan Sackett (Veep, Lucy and Desi), Mike Falbo (Coffee & Kareem, The Clapper), Helms, Schmieding, and Teller Ornelas.
Both seasons of Rutherford Falls are available to stream on Peacock.