‘Reservation Dogs’: Everything to know about the new FX shows
FX has put out some of the best television of the past ten years, and much of it flies under the radar. While juggernauts like HBO & Netflix control the conversation of great TV, many forget that FX has put out some of our most beloved programming.
Yes, we’re all familiar with the accolades of massive FX shows like Sons of Anarchy, Atlanta, and American Horror Story, but we hear less of the wildly underrated You’re The Worst & Snowfall. FX continues to pump out quality TV, and there’s a new original series to add to the roster of FX shows.
Behind the camera
Reservation Dogs has been announced to come out via FX, the brainchild of Sterlin Harjo & Taika Waititi. Sterlin Harjo is an up-and-coming director, and the Oklahoman will use his experience with the Intermountain state in the new comedy which follows a group of Native American teens who live in the area.
Taika Waititi has more mainstream accomplishments under his belt, having directed 2019’s Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit, 2017 blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok, as well as the first season finale of the viral sensation that is The Mandalorian.
From a real place
The new comedy follows a group of young Native Americans as they get into trouble, causing & fighting crime, in the setting of rural Oklahoma. It’s said both Harjo & Waititi will use their own experiences with native communities in the series, and use the storytelling style of these communities, TV Line reported.
Harjo will use experience from his home state and Waititi with those from his homeland of Aotearoa, the native name for the Northern New Zealand island.
Waititi is no stranger to working on FX shows, as his wildly successful What We Do in the Shadows wrapped up it’s second season this past June. The series has been renewed for a third season.
It will, however, be Harjo’s first collaboration with the network, and his first full TV series. He directed an episode of SyFy’s The Magicians, but up to now he has focused on independent and documentary features, often with a spotlight on Native Americans and life in Oklahoma.
Inspiration
Photos from the upcoming series show the cast clad in black suits, and the title is no doubt a reference to Tarantino’s breakout hit Reservoir Dogs.
One wonders if the series will also draw from 2015’s The Wolfpack, the documentary sensation that follows young Native American brothers also often seen in suits, isolated in the NYC projects as they recreate famous film sequences, most notably Reservoir Dogs.
In front of the camera
The new FX show will have a cast of young newcomers. Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs will appear, known mostly for a few small roles in VOD films, as well as voice work in The Walking Dead video game & Assassin’s Creed: Lineage.
Matty Cardarople can be seen on the new FX show. The actor has been adding to his Imdb since 2008, appearing in features like Logan Lucky & Jurassic World, as well as series like A Series of Unforchunate Events.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai will also appear on the cast, who we might remember from Netflix’s Creeped Out & Canada’s Murdoch Mysteries.
The cast will also feature some relatively complete unknowns with Paulina Alexis, only known for her work in 2020’s Beans, as well as Lane Factor.
The incredibly original set up for the coming-of-age story of youth hasn’t set a release date, but we know it will be added to the growing list of FX shows. With such a powerful cast & crew behind it, Reservation Dogs is sure to grab the attention of any binge watcher.
