American Rust showrunners Dan Futterman and Adam Rapp finally gave an update on Season 3 of the Amazon Prime Video series, but it is rather discouraging.
All 10 episodes of American Rust Season 2 (subtitled Broken Justice) were released on Prime Video on March 28, two-and-a-half years after Season 1 premiered.
The show follows Jeff Daniels' Del Harris, a police chief in Pennsylvania trying to solve multiple murders and figure out how they are connected to a bigger threat.
Is American Rust Season 3 Even Happening?
In a recent interview with TribLIVE, American Rust producers and showrunners Dan Futterman and Adam Rapp were asked about Season 3 of the show, specifically whether they have already thrown around some ideas for the next installment to Prime Video.
Futterman revealed that he and Rapp "haven't been invited" to discuss the possibility of Season 3, adding that it is still "up in the air:"
"We haven’t been invited so I think that’s something that remains very up in the air."
This update will undoubtedly be fairly discouraging to fans, as the show has gained popularity and a loyal fanbase since its first premiere. It is also important to note that there is still a story to be told, so if Futterman and Rapp aren't invited back, viewers may never know the outcome of what has been set up over two seasons.
However, Rapp did tease what fans could expect if Season 3 were to be greenlit. The producer stated that he "[loves] Pittsburgh," and that they "have stuff that's set up really well" there, so if another installment did come out, it would likely be set there again:
"I love Pittsburgh. I love shooting there. I love the character of the city and the outlying areas. We went to New York for one episode and a bit of another and I think that was the only time we did that this season. I mean, we have stuff that’s set up [in Pittsburgh] really well. We know the area, our scouts are terrific there. I don’t see why we wouldn’t write Pittsburgh again. I can’t answer that because we don’t have a [writers’] room…"
Futterman chimed in as well on the topic of staying in Pittsburgh, noting that there is "a lot of unfinished business in" the Steel City and that they would "love to incorporate as much of Pittsburgh as possible:"
"I think that we have a lot of unfinished business in Pittsburgh. So Luna is still there. If she’s available and willing, we would absolutely have her back. She’s just so good in the show. Detective Fisher, Kyle Beltran's character, is, at least at the last moment, still around. There’s potential prosecutions to happen. There’s arrests to be made and so I think we’d both love to incorporate as much of Pittsburgh as possible."
Rapp also talked about wanting to explore Luna's character more, listing out certain questions regarding her story and stating that it is "something that feels like it has a lot of narrative force:"
"Luna is someone we're very interested in giving a lot of [story] real estate if we were to get a season three. And I think that dossier is a dirty bomb in some ways. I think there could be a lot of potential for that object and the force of her discovery. What does she do morally? What does she hide? Does she bury it? Does she whistle blow? What’s going on here? That’s something that feels like it has a lot of narrative force. Maybe some other things don’t."
The showrunner then revealed that, ultimately, finding the direction that Season 3 should go in mainly comes down to deciding "what's going to create more conflict:"
"And I think we would have to assess where’s the dead weight. What’s gonna push us in the future in a good way? And what’s gonna create more conflict?"
Will American Rust Season 3 Be Greenlit?
Streaming services and distributors typically consider many factors when debating whether to bring a TV show back for another season, but ultimately, the most important statistics are how much it is watched and how high the demand is as time goes on.
Although American Rust recently premiered a brand-new season on March 28, it did not fare too well compared to other series.
For example, according to Television Stats, it was ranked at #90 in overall popularity on March 28 (the day Season 2 premiered) and has only decreased in that category since.
It is important to note that all Season 2 episodes were released on the same day, likely contributing to its ranking decreasing since that release date. However, as of writing, just 13 days after Season 2 hit Amazon Prime Video, the show has already dropped to #154 in overall popularity.
Another statistic to consider is American Rust's engagement score, which currently stands at 3.7 (which is viewed as moderate engagement).
When comparing American Rust to another Amazon Prime Video show such as Hazbin Hotel, it is even less likely that the former could be greenlit for another season.
Hazbin Hotel's Season finale aired on February 2, nearly two months before Season 2 of American Rust even came out. The animated series is still ranked #38 in overall popularity and has an engagement score of 10.15.
As of writing, it has been 13 days since Season 2 of American Rust was released. 13 days after Hazbin Hotel ended, it was ranked #1 in popularity and had a 41.9 engagement score.
Hazbin Hotel was a series that performed better than most of its competition, but it will definitely be a reference point for Prime Video when looking at its other shows.
American Rust Season 2 performed fine statistically, but it couldn't capture its audience or attract enough new viewers to warrant a Season 3.
However, it is important for fans to know that, although Rapp and Futterman's update was rather discouraging, other series that have performed much worse have been brought back for more seasons.
Season 2 of American Rust is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
Read more about other Amazon Prime Video shows:
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