Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson: the dynamic duo revving up 'Duster's' 1970s crime scene

I’m an absolute sucker for a TV series or movie that is set in the ‘70s. Just the aesthetics alone are a vibe. 

That was one of the reasons that I started watching the crime thriller “Duster”, which is co-created by J. J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan.

The other is that the series is helmed by “Lost” star Josh Holloway as Jim Ellis and Rachel Hilson as Nina Hayes.

Set in the Southwest in 1972, the premise centres on the FBI's first black woman agent, Nina Hayes (Hilson), fresh out of training from Quantico, taking on the mammoth task of bringing crime syndicate boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David) to book.

She is laughed at by her sexist peers. But Nina has two things in her favour: she’s got the smarts to get the job done, and she is fuelled by revenge. This is personal for her. 

Jim is her way in as he’s Ezra’s trusted getaway driver. 

In a recent press junket, ahead of the series dropping on Showmax, Morgan, Holloway and Hilson unpacked their thoughts on it. 

On the title of the show, Morgan revealed: “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 iconic for this, so Duster it is.”

The co-creator also shed light on what inspired the storyline. 

“The idea came about because J.J. had an image in his head from a few years ago.  It was a phone booth, a 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.  We started pitching ideas of what it could be and building the show together, and we decided to work on it together.”

Holloway was in from the get-go. 

He smiled and shared: “J.J. called, and I was like, yes. The answer's yes. Whatever it is you're asking, I'm in. It's just exciting to have anyone of that calibre artistically calling you for something.  And, so, he just proceeded to kind of pitch me this show.  

“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 these kinds 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. You were freer to do anything, especially as a child.  Your parents just said, ‘Come back for dinner’.  There was not that helicopter type thing. 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.”

After taking the call, Holloway revealed he contacted Rick Seaman's Motion Picture Driving Clinic to attend stunt driving school.  

On casting Hilson, who looks very young, Morgan explained: “Yes. It was key to her character.  She's fresh out of Quantico.  She's coming in, you know, hell bent on taking this crime syndicate down. 

"She is young, and so she doesn’t adhere to the rules.  She likes to break them and make her own way.

“We wanted someone tenacious, who was passionate, and who really believed in her cause. She comes in as sort of this unstoppable force for this immovable object that is Josh.”

Hilson added, “I mean, Nina is a badass.  And I think I've not gotten to play many badasses yet.  Like, overt badasses. 

“She's overtly badass, and she's just so dynamic and complex.  She's got this rawness that comes from, I think, her childhood and losing her father so young.  So, there's this vulnerability that is like the fuel for this badassery and this tenacity and her drive.  

“And then, 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, the Black Panthers still sort of hanging out, and I think I was excited to navigate this role, navigate this character, this young black woman in this period in this environment in the bureau,  which is so unheard of.”

From the stellar cast, taut storyline, where personal and professional aspirations blur, this series ticks many boxes. 

Morgan added: “People who enjoy sort of like that Tarantino vibe, that Scorsese vibe, that's there. We always wanted to infuse everything with humour as well.  So, there's a lot of heart and fun in the show, but, you know, some of our touchstones, we talked about ‘The Godfather’, we talked about ‘Parallax View’, ‘Sugarland Express’, all those great movies from the '70s that we all know and love.  

“Those were inspirations, and one of my favorite touchstones is a tiny little movie called ‘Five Easy Pieces’, which a lot of people don’t know about but I love that movie so much, and it was always the touchstone because I feel like people think the '70s are very big collars and bright clothes but in that movie, you get to see people just wearing their jeans and looking normal and looking lived in and authentic, and that's what I wanted the show to feel like.”

Sadly, despite the clout of the creative team, it didn’t get the nod for a second season. 

Rating: *** solid and enjoyable, though not groundbreaking.

If you enjoy this series, you should watch …

“Baby Driver”

An action crime film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Kevin Spacey, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, and Jamie Foxx appear in supporting roles.