Reservation Dogs
| Reservation Dogs | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | |
| Written by |
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| Directed by |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Kathryn Dean |
| Production location | Oklahoma |
| Cinematography |
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| Running time | 25-30 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Distributor | |
| Release | |
| Original network | FX on Hulu |
| Original release | August 9, 2021 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Reservation Dogs is a comedy television series created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX Productions. It is a notable first in that it features all Indigenous writers and directors, along with an almost entirely Indigenous American cast and production team.[1][2][3] It is also the first series to be shot entirely in Oklahoma.[1][4] The series premiered on FX on Hulu[5] on August 9, 2021[6] (International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples).[7] In September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.[8]
Premise[edit]
The series follows the lives of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma, as they spend their days committing crime and fighting it, in an effort to get to California.[9]
Cast and characters[edit]
Main[edit]
- Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan Postoak
- D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear Smallhill
- Lane Factor as Cheese[9]
- Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack
Recurring[edit]
- Sarah Podemski as Rita, Bear's mom
- Zahn McClarnon as Officer Big
- Dallas Goldtooth as William "Spirit" Knifeman
- Gary Farmer as Uncle Brownie, Elora's uncle[10]
- Lil Mike as Mose
- Funny Bone as Mekko[9]
- Elva Guerra as Jackie, leader of the NDN mafia
- Jack Maricle as White Steve, member of the NDN mafia
- Jude Barnett as Bone Thug Dog, member of the NDN mafia
- Xavier Bigpond as Weeze, member of the NDN mafia
- Dalton Cramer as Daniel, Willie Jack's late cousin and friend of the Rez Dogs, who died a year before the start of the show
- Kirk Fox as Kenny Boy
- Matty Cardarople as Ansel
- Jon Proudstar as Leon, Willie Jack's dad
- Kimberly Guerrero as Auntie B, Willie Jack's aunt
- Casey Camp-Horinek as Grandmother at clinic
- Keland Lee Bearpaw as Danny Bighead
Guest[edit]
- Macon Blair as Rob
- Darryl W. Handy as Cleo
- Garrett Hedlund as David
- Kaniehtiio Horn as Deer Lady
- Sten Joddi as Punkin Lusty, Bear's estranged dad, a rapper living in California
- Rhomeyn Johnson as Miles
- Geraldine Keams as Elora's grandmother
- Bobby Lee as Dr. Kang
- Migizi Pensoneau as Ray Ray
- Jennifer Podemski as Willie Jack's mother
- Jana Schmieding as Clinic receptionist
- Wes Studi as Bucky
- Richard Ray Whitman as Old Man Fixico
- Bobby Wilson as Jumbo
- Bill Burr as Garrett Bobson (Chukogee), Elora's former basketball coach and driving instructor
Episodes[edit]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "F*ckin' Rez Dogs" | Sterlin Harjo | Sterlin Harjo & Taika Waititi | August 9, 2021 | |
| Elora Danan, Bear, Willie Jack, and Cheese (the Rez Dogs) steal a delivery truck and sell it. They are trying to raise money to leave their small reservation community and escape to the exotic, mythical land of California. They are mourning their friend Daniel who died a year earlier and hold a small memorial for him. When a car full of teenagers (the NDN Mafia) drives by and shoots paintballs at the Rez Dogs, Bear faints and encounters an Indigenous spirit, who attempts to give him life advice. | |||||
| 2 | "NDN Clinic" | Sydney Freeland | Sterlin Harjo | August 9, 2021 | |
| Bear gets jumped and beat up by the NDN Mafia, necessitating a visit to the local clinic. Elora and Willie Jack set up outside to sell meat pies next to a guy selling traditional medicines. Throughout the episode, the four encounter various members of their community. Cheese is kind to an old woman who thinks he is her grandson. The spirit from episode 1 has issues. The local doctor flirts with Bear's mom, who works at the clinic. | |||||
| 3 | "Uncle Brownie" | Blackhorse Lowe | Sterlin Harjo | August 16, 2021 | |
| Still concerned about the attacks by the NDN Mafia, the Rez Dogs go to find Elora's uncle, Brownie, to see if he'll teach them to fight. Tales are told of Brownie the powerful warrior and how he knocked out numerous people in a bar fight. They spend the day trying to help Brownie sell his ancient weed, in the process learning "Indigenous-style" about his ways of fighting. | |||||
| 4 | "What About Your Dad" | Sydney Freeland | Bobby Wilson & Tommy Pico | August 23, 2021 | |
| Bear's dad, a rapper, is hired to perform at the local clinic's Diabetes Awareness Frybread Feast. Bear spends the California fund buying him a gift—a beaded medallion of a microphone that instead resembles a penis. | |||||
| 5 | "Come and Get Your Love" | Blackhorse Lowe | Sterlin Harjo | August 30, 2021 | |
| Cheese spends a day on a ride-along with Big. Along the way, they meet Bucky, who makes sculptures from stolen copper; Big gets teased by a couple of white cops; the NDN Mafia get busted for a stolen car; finally, Big tells Cheese why he became a cop, a story that involves the Deer Lady, who has been a presence in his life since he was a child. | |||||
| 6 | "Hunting" | Sterlin Harjo | Sterlin Harjo | September 6, 2021 | |
| Willie Jack and her father, Leon, spend a day in the woods together, hunting deer and grappling with their grief over the death of Daniel a year earlier. | |||||
| 7 | "California Dreamin'" | Tazbah Rose Chavez | Tazbah Rose Chavez | September 13, 2021 | |
| Elora takes her driver's test, after multiple previous failures. Instead of completing the test, her instructor takes her on a wild ride. He talks about her mother and reveals more details of her death. In a flashback, we discover how Daniel died. | |||||
| 8 | "Satvrday" | Sterlin Harjo | Migizi Pensoneau | September 20, 2021 | |
| As the Rez Dogs prepare to leave for California, a tornado approaches. Most of the community takes shelter in the church basement, but Uncle Brownie rides through the streets, looking for the right tools to to divert the tornado. Bear's guiding spirit, William Knifeman, appears again, to ask Bear whether he has completed all the tasks he needs to before leaving town. Together in the church, members of the community, including the Rez Dogs and the NDN Mafia, talk to each other and make key decisions about their future. | |||||
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
The series was first reported on in November 2019 and was confirmed by Taika Waititi on Twitter shortly after.[11] The initial report announced that Waititi would be co-writing the series with Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, who would also share executive producer and directing duties with Waititi.[12] After the pilot had been shot in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, FX announced a series order for the project in December 2020. The casting for the four lead actors, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Deverey Jacobs, Paulina Alexis, and newcomer Lane Factor, was also confirmed at this time, alongside a group of guest stars to be featured in the pilot episode.[9] Filming sites for principal photography for season one, which had wrapped by July 2021, included Okmulgee, Tulsa, Sand Springs, Beggs, Inola, and Terlton, all in northeast Oklahoma.[4] On September 2, 2021, FX renewed the series for a second season.[8]
Discussing their creative partnership and respective roles in the production, Waititi stressed, "I really believe people need to tell their own stories and especially from whatever area they are from", leading to Harjo, who is from Oklahoma, taking the lead on the project and Waititi taking a more supporting role. Additionally, many of the storylines in the show are inspired by events from Harjo's childhood.[2]
Part of the development process included casting unknown actors from Indigenous communities, and the young leads in particular forming a working rapport, often around their shared love of Indigenous comedy. Jacobs and Alexis added that they bonded over their mutual appreciation of the sketch comedy group 1491s, several of whose members also work on Reservation Dogs as writers and actors.[2]
Release[edit]
The series premiered on FX on Hulu in the United States on August 9, 2021. In international markets, it is distributed through the Star portion of the Disney+ streaming service. In Latin America, the series premiered as a Star+ original.[5][6]
Reception[edit]
The series has a 100% rating with an average score of 8.30 out of 10, based on 33 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critical consensus reads: "Aimless afternoons yield absurd delights in Reservation Dogs, a low-key comedy that deftly captures the malaise of youth and Rez life thanks in no small part to its impressive central crew".[13] On Metacritic, the show has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Starr, Michael (August 3, 2021). "Oklahoma teens California dreaming in 'Reservation Dogs'". New York Post. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
The eight-episode series is notable for two firsts: using an entirely Indigenous creative team (behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera) and shooting its entire season in Oklahoma (never done before for a scripted series).
Note: Oklahoma is recognized as Indian Territory, a distinction that was upheld by the 2020 Supreme Court decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma. - ^ a b c Cheung, Kylie (August 9, 2021). ""No more 'Indian in the Cupboard'": "Reservation Dogs" is the new direction of Native storytelling". Salon.com. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
Additionally, in the show's all-Native writers' room and main cast, Harjo emphasized how important it is to him that they worked together as a community.
- ^ Boutsalis, Kelly (August 9, 2021). "'This Is What We Should Have Had All Along'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Shot-in-Oklahoma FX series 'Reservation Dogs' set for Aug. 9 debut". Tulsa World, July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "twdc_investor_day_2020_press_release_final_836ffdab" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company (Press release). DTCI. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Pedersen, Erik (June 3, 2021). "FX Sets Summer Premiere Dates For 'AHS' & New Spinoff Series, 'Impeachment', 'Y: The Last Man', 'Archer', More". Deadline. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Waititi, Taika [@TaikaWaititi] (August 9, 2021). "Happy World Indigenous Peoples Day" (Tweet). Retrieved September 18, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Iannucci, Rebecca (September 2, 2021). "Reservation Dogs Renewed for Season 2". TVLine. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ a b c d White, Peter (December 22, 2020). "'Reservation Dogs' From Sterlin Harjo & Taika Waititi Receives Series Order At FX". Deadline. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ Starr, Michael (August 3, 2021). "Oklahoma teens California dreaming in 'Reservation Dogs'". New York Post. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ Waititi, Taika (November 7, 2019). ""Indigenous stories by indigenous film makers. Getting to create a story told through a native lens with my old friend @sterlinharjo makes this whole journey worthwhile. Mauri ora! #RezDogz"". Twitter.
- ^ Fisher, Jacob (November 6, 2019). "Taika Waititi Set To Write, Direct & Executive Produce 'Reservation Dogs' For FX (EXCLUSIVE)". DiscussingFilm. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ "Reservation Dogs: Season 1 (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ "Reservation Dogs: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
