Rutherford Falls is a show we love and we still can’t wrap our heads around the latest sad news. Diversity and representation are at the core of this show and…the fans deserve so much more than this. Do you want to know exactly what we are talking about? Keep reading!
Here we go!
According to Deadline, Rutherford Falls was canceled by Peacock. The show premiered its second season on June 16. Its cancellation follows Peacock’s decision in late June to scrap the Field of DreamsTV series reboot a month before the start of production.
The series had one of the largest Indigenous writer’s rooms on television with five Native writers staffed on the series including Teller Ornelas (Navajo), Bobby Wilson (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota), Tai Leclaire (Kanien’kehá:ka [Mohawk Nation]/Mi’kmaq), Schmieding (Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux) and Tazbah Chavez (Bishop Paiute/Diné/San Carlos Apache) as well as Greyeyes ([Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation – Treaty Six Territory in Saskatchewan]) on screen.
And, curiously, all the shows that include diversity and representation in a big way are the first to end up being canceled by television networks or streaming platforms. It’s something to reflect on, right?
Among so much bad news, there is something good. According to Deadline, Rutherford Falls executive producer Sierra Teller Ornelas reacted to the news by thanking fans and making it clear that she would fight for the show to be bought by another screaming platform.
Ornelas’ message reads:
“It’s been a true joy to make these two seasons of Rutherford Falls. Mike Schur, Ed Helms, and I set out to make something new, real, and smart—but also dumb—that made you cry and think, but also laugh when Reagan got kicked in the face or Nathan was stuffed into a coffin. Borrowing a line from Terry Thomas, played by the ridiculously talented Michael Greyeyes, before our show, “Native representation [was], for the most part, a hate crime.” This is why it’s been an honor to introduce the best of Indian Country to the masses.
We remain overwhelmed by the critical response, garnering a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score in our second season, and while we’re sad that our time at Peacock has come to an end we are immensely grateful to them for picking us up and showcasing the talents of comedy legend Ed Helms and breakout stars like Jana Schmieding, Jesse Leigh, Dana Wilson, Dallas Goldtooth, Kaniehtiio Horn, and many others. We love these characters, the world we created, and the impact it has had and will be exploring other platforms where, hopefully, the folks of Rutherford Falls can call home.”
In parallel, fans created a campaign on social media to help the show be rescued using the hashtag #SaveRutherfordFalls. And we hope that happens because this show and its fans deserve much more.
Rutherford Falls is streaming now on Peacock.
