Rutherford Falls, a critically praised Indigenous comedy, may still be saved by Peacock off the chopping block. Despite being cancelled by Peacock after two seasons, the program’s showrunner and co-creator, Sierra Teller Orleans, made a statement responding to the decision and giving fans optimism that the project will find a new home. Together with Ed Helms (who co-starred with Jana Schmieding) and Good Place creator Michael Schur, Ornelas conceived of a show that would successfully combine comedy with a discussion of social concerns facing Indigenous Americans.
She and Schmieding were members of one of television’s largest Indigenous creative teams; other notable Indigenous contributors to the programme were Bobby Wilson, Tai Leclaire, Tazbah Chavez, and Michael Greyeyes. After two seasons, Rutherford Falls was rated 96% fresh by critics and 70% by viewers. Orleans was quite pleased with how the series turned out thanks to the single cam work done at Peacock: Building Rutherford Falls’ first two seasons has been a blast. We wanted to produce a movie that would make you cry when Reagan got kicked in the face and laugh when Nathan got placed in a coffin. Mike Schur, Ed Helms, and I wanted to make something unique, authentic, brilliant, and dumb.
The extremely gifted Michael Greyeyes’ character, Terry Thomas, said before our concert that “Native portrayal [was] for the most part a hate crime.” That’s why it’s been a privilege to share Indian culture with the world. She continued by saying that the production team is actively seeking for new platforms to air the series on in the hopes that it would be picked up from where it left off. Since the show’s second season was more well received by reviewers and audiences alike, it’s not unreasonable to assume that someone will want to give Rutherford Falls another go.
Here’s what’s said in the release: While we’re sad to see our time at Peacock come to a close, we can’t thank them enough for taking us up and giving us the opportunity to feature the likes of comic icon Ed Helms and emerging stars like Jana Schmieding, Jesse Leigh, Dana Wilson, Dallas Goldtooth, Kaniehtiio Horn, and many more. We’re excited by the reception of these characters and the world we’ve built, and we’re looking at additional platforms where the citizens of Rutherford Falls may find a permanent home. In the film, Rutherford Falls, Nathan Rutherford (Helms) and Reagan Wells (Schmieding) play long-time friends who clash over the planned removal of a statue honouring Nathan’s ancestor, the town’s founder. Since Reagan’s made-up race, the Minishonka, were a frequent target of Nathan’s ancestors, the latter rallied to the monument’s defence while the former seeks to have it taken down. The cast also includes Jesse Leigh, Dustin Milligan, and Michael Greyeyes in addition to Helms, Schmieding, and Greyeyes.
Peacock is currently hosting all episodes of Rutherford Falls.