Freevee revives Boat Rocker’s American Rust after Showtime cancellation

Jeff Daniels as police chief Del Harris in American Rust

Amazon’s AVoD service Freevee has commissioned a second season of American Rust after the drama series was cancelled by Showtime earlier this year.

In addition to greenlighting the second season, Freevee has secured streaming rights to season one.

The show, which stars Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney, is set to go into production on its second instalment later this year.

Based on Philipp Meyer’s novel of the same name, the drama explores the tattered American dream in a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania through the eyes of police chief Del Harris.

Season two will be executive produced by Daniels, Dan Futterman, Paul Martino, Adam Rapp, Michael De Luca, Katie O’Connell Marsh and Elisa Ellis. Boat Rocker holds international distribution rights.

Freevee has looked to expand its roster of originals in recent months, with the platform recently ordering a second season of Bosch: Legacy (Fabel Entertainment) and coming-of-age dramedy Beyond Black Beauty (Amazon Studios, Sinking Ship Entertainment, Leif Films). Last month, Freevee also revealed it was in development on an adaptation of BBC Two dark comedy Inside No 9.

Boat Rocker’s upcoming scripted slate includes Orphan Black: Echoes for AMC+, Slip for Roku, Robyn Hood for Corus, and Beacon 23 for Spectrum/AMC.