TV Talk: Filmed-in-Pittsburgh 'American Rust' canceled

Amazon’s Prime Video will not renew the filmed-in-Pittsburgh drama series “American Rust,” whose second season was largely set in Pittsburgh, for a third season. The show’s first two seasons were filmed in Western Pennsylvania.

Jeff Daniels starred in “American Rust” as the police chief of fictional Buell, Fayette County, who returns to Pittsburgh to be a detective. Maura Tierney played Grace, his love interest, a fiercely protective mother to her emotionally scarred son, Billy (Alex Neustaedter). Season two storylines incorporated more Western Pennsylvania culture and references, including a whole storyline about Grace working as an ambassador for a fracking company.

“American Rust” was canceled by Showtime after its critically drubbed first season but later picked up by Amazon’s Freevee and then transferred to Prime Video, where it debuted all episodes of its much-improved second season on March 28. That’s the same day Prime started streaming the show’s first season.

The binge-release was an odd choice for a series that few people watched in its first season. A weekly release might have given the show an opportunity to build word of mouth. Instead, Amazon dropped it all at once with limited promotion and it quickly and quietly disappeared.

The cancellation of “American Rust” is a shame, not just because of the jobs it provided local film crews, but because the series had so much promise. Season two moved at a faster pace with several surprising plot turns, including a cliffhanger ending that left the future for several series regulars uncertain.

Pennsylvania’s budget for 2024-25 keeps the Pennsylvania Film Tax Credit capped at $100 million; film industry supporters had pushed for the cap to be raised to $300 million.

Filming on TV series and movies in Western Pennsylvania — and nationwide — has been slow to resume after the writers’ and actors’ strikes settled last fall, likely because media companies have reined in costs by making fewer shows but also out of fears that another strike could happen at the end of this month. While IATSE came to terms on a tentative contract with Hollywood studios, a contract for the Teamsters remains elusive.

Pittsburgh Film Office director Dawn Keezer said there are currently no film or TV projects slated to film in Western Pennsylvania.

But it seems likely that Paramount+’s “Mayor of Kingstown” will be renewed for a fourth season and return to film eventually. “Kingstown” appeared in Nielsen’s Top 10 original streaming series rankings for the first three weeks of its third season (that’s as far as Nielsen ratings go at this point).

Newhart tribute

CBS will celebrate the life and career of the late, great Bob Newhart, star of “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart,” in “Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter” (8 p.m. Monday, KDKA-TV).

‘Suits’ spin-off ordered

NBC gave a series order to its “Suits” legal drama spinoff pilot, “Suits: L.A.,” from original “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh. “Suits: L.A.” will star Stephen Amell, Josh McDermitt, Lex Scott Davis and Bryan Greenberg.

NBC ordered another drama to series, “Grosse Pointe Garden Society,” about four members of a suburban garden club who get caught up in a murder investigation. Melissa Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb, Ben Rappaport, Matthew Davis, Alexander Hodge, Aja Naomi King, Nancy Travis and Felix Avita star.

It’s unclear if these series will air during the 2024-25 TV season or be held for 2025-26.

Channel surfing

Paramount+’s “Frasier” sequel series returns for its second season Sept. 19. … FX’s “Alien: Earth,” a late 21st-century, Earth-set prequel to Ridley Scott’s “Alien” from FX’s “Fargo” writer Noah Hawley, wrapped production in Thailand and will air in 2025, possibly in the latter half of next year. … A feature film based on the Fox series “24” is in early development at 20th Century Studios. … This year’s “47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors” (9-11 p.m. Dec. 23, CBS) will honor director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; American rock band the Grateful Dead (Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir); blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval; and The Apollo, which will receive a special Honors as an iconic American institution. … The first part of the final season of “Cobra Kai” is now streaming on Netflix; the second half of the season streams Nov. 15. … Paramount+ canceled “Halo” after two seasons. … Former “Dance Moms” star Christi Lukasiak was arrested June 27 on a DUI charge in Murrysville.