THE STREAMING SERVICE Max—which is soon to be once again known as HBO Max, a name it abandoned less than two years ago in 2023—has been searching for a true identity ever since it’s launch and through its various names and incarnations. After all, what is a Max Original? How, exactly, does that differentiate from a proper HBO show (outside of, well, not airing on actual HBO). To people just clicking through an app and looking for something good to watch, what does any of this mean? Does it even matter?
It’s hard to come up with specific or pointed answers to any of those questions. But Max seemed to start to hit on something important for its Max Originals banner with the creation and subsequent success of the medical drama The Pitt earlier this year. The Pitt marked a reunion between former ER star Noah Wyle and producer John Wells, and, in its style—a fast-paced medical drama with gritty realism, light moments, and fantastic acting and characters—feels distinctly like an elevated but still very, very good network drama. The Pitt was excellent, but no part of it felt like a show that would ever air on HBO proper, where most of the shows have more of a focus on a certain cinematic quality (the motto, after all, is “It’s Not TV. It’s HBO.”, and The Pitt distinctly feels out of a certain golden age of TV).
If an elevated, well-done, still super enticing version of network TV worked for The Pitt, well, it seems like Max is looking to keep the heater going with Duster. Similar to The Pitt, this show reunites a star (Josh Holloway) and super-producer (J.J. Abrams) years after their own beloved hit (Lost) left TV airwaves. Their new show, though, is changing things up a bit. Duster, which marks Holloway’s first leading role in nearly a decade (he showed up in a bit part on Yellowstone among other jobs in the time since)and Abrams’s first co-creator credit in 15 years (past shows he’s taken this role on include Lost, Alias, and Fringe), isn’t the sci-fi mystery box type of show that Lost was, but rather a fast-paced, action-filled story about the very best getaway driver around (Holloway) as he teams up with the first-ever Black FBI agent (Rachel Hilson) to take down a Southwestern crime syndicate.
It’s the kind of story that as recently as 15 years ago may have been a movie, and certainly feels like something you’d find flipping through the channels—a movie from the ’70s that catches your attention and sucks you right in. Much like The Pitt, this is a show that is great, but it doesn’t have that very specific HBO feel to it. Max Originals have this very specific mode going, and if there’s a way to keep this streak going, we’re going to be all for it—even if the name of the platform we’re watching it on manages to confuse us all by changing two or three more times.
No matter the name of the platform, you’re going to be wanting to take part each and every week in the fun chaos of Duster. Read below and you won’t miss a single week, or a single episode.
Watch Duster Here
When is the next episode of Duster coming out?
Episodes of Duster release on Max (soon to be, once again, called HBO Max) on Thursday nights at 9:00 EST. The next episode will release on Thursday, May 22.
How many episodes of Duster are left in season 1?
The first season of Duster will run for eight episodes. That means there are seven episodes—and seven more weeks of action-packed, getaway driving crime show drama—remaining in season 1 of Duster.
Here’s the complete release schedule for Max’s Duster:
Episode 1, “Baltimore Changes Everything” – Now streaming as of May 15
Episode 2, “TBA” – Streaming on May 22
Episode 3, “TBA” – Streaming on May 29
Episode 4, “TBA” – Streaming on June 5
Episode 5, “TBA” – Streaming on June 12
Episode 6, “TBA” – Streaming on June 19
Episode 7, “TBA” – Streaming on June 26
Episode 8, “TBA” – Streaming on July 3
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.
