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This 8-part crime thriller is one of the most underrated HBO series of the decade and makes for the perfect weekend binge-watch. With its 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, this 2025 series with a stylish throwback vibe was co-created by J.J. Abrams but still deserves more praise.
Somewhat shockingly, this series was canceled after one solid season, even though it featured a star-studded ensemble cast and earned widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences. Nevertheless, it remains one of the best new series streaming on HBO Max that can be started and finished in just a few sittings. Don’t count out this overlooked but not forgotten series if you’re looking for a great show to binge this weekend.
Duster Is A Great Crime Thriller To Binge This Weekend
Duster is one of the best crime thriller series to binge-watch on HBO Max right now. Released less than a year ago in May 2025, Duster was, at one point, one of the most promising new shows on HBO Max, especially because it marked the long-awaited reunion of Abrams and one of the biggest stars from the Emmy-winning series Lost, Josh Holloway.
Duster also has an exciting ensemble around Holloway, which includes Keith David, Corbin Bernsen, Camille Guaty, Matt Lauria, Greg Grunberg, and Rachel Hilson, who had a breakout role portraying one of the first black FBI detectives in American history, Nina Hayes. In Duster, Holloway plays a smooth-talking getaway driver named Jim Ellies, who works for a gangster in the 1970s Southwest. He’s known around the region for driving his signature 1970 Cherry Red Plymouth Duster.
Blending elements of historical fiction with classic crime drama, Duster develops into an unlikely buddy cop series that also adds elements of comedy and action. When Nina suspects that Jim’s boss, Ezra Saxton (David), was behind Jim’s brother’s accidental death, Jim goes undercover, feeding Nina intel on David’s various criminal activities while digging closer to the truth about Saxton’s past.
Duster has a little bit of everything for everyone. While it can get violent and intense, it is fundamentally a feel-good show that’s full of vintage music, clothes, and lingo. Truly a blast from the past, Duster is an all-around good time that is best binge-watched over the course of just one weekend.
Duster Deserved More Episodes Despite Its Cancellation
Although Duster earned strong praise from critics and won over the majority of its audience, HBO ultimately decided not to move forward with the project, even with JJ Abrams set to remain at the helm. Considerations like production costs and less-than-ideal viewership certainly factored into HBO’s decision to pull the plug on the promising crime thriller series, even though season 1 ended on a massive cliffhanger that clearly set up a second season.
While unlikely, there may be a glimmer of hope that Duster can find a new streaming home, or perhaps be picked back up under HBO’s eventual new ownership and creative leadership. While nothing along those lines has officially been announced, Duster is absolutely deserving of a second season, at the very least, even if it was only for a shortened six-part installment to properly wrap things up.
Screen Rant’s review of Duster gave the series 8/10 stars, noting, “Duster masterfully balances classic thrills and timeless heart. It’s tremendously fun TV when it stays in control and keeps both hands on the wheel.” In the same vein, The Hollywood Reporter writes, “Duster is like an R-rated Hot Wheels series and an entertaining star vehicle, so to speak, for Josh Holloway, Rachel Hilson and especially Keith David.”
If you’re looking for a breezy throwback crime thriller that offers action, comedy, and suspense, settling into Duster this weekend on HBO Max is one of the best options now streaming on the platform.
