“Duster,” the new Max crime series from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, initially pits getaway driver and career criminal Jim Ellis (Josh Holloway of “Lost”) and rookie FBI agent Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson) … until they realize they might have a common enemy in Jim’s boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David).
TheWrap spoke to Morgan, as well as Holloway and Hilson, about the shifting dynamic between the two lead characters and how they go from wary distrust to actually becoming partners in a way.
I love how these characters play off of each other.
Series co-creator LaToya Morgan: We knew from the beginning that if Jim was going to be this crazy criminal in this crime syndicate, that we had to have a really badass law enforcement officer coming after him. And that’s where Nina comes in.
I love the idea of having her be straight out of Quantico, almost too green to know, like that. She’s stepping on landmines everywhere she goes. She’s sort of like the bull in the china shop, and she won’t take no for an answer.
On paper, they just seem so opposite. He’s a criminal, she’s a law enforcement officer. He’s a man, she’s a woman. She’s Black, he’s white. But over the course of their adventures together, they start to see that they’re not that different. They’re both really good at solving problems, they’re both super smart, they both have a great sense of humor. And as the pressure cooker of this crime syndicate starts to come to a boil, they start to lean on each other and see that they’re each other’s best help out of this crazy situation,
Jim and Nina initially have no reason to trust each other at all, and then they find out they actually have a lot in common.
Rachel Hilson (Nina Hayes): Nina comes to Phoenix with a very clear agenda. She comes with a lot of ferocity and determination that’s rooted in this family loyalty and this desire for justice, and she’s willing to go to whatever lengths to get it. And so this dynamic that she develops with Jim, I don’t know if she really necessarily cares about pleasantries, per se. She just wants to get what she can out of him. But then she realizes there’s this tie and that could really be used to her advantage.
Josh Holloway (Jim Ellis): Yes, it’s almost a joke to him. He loves his job. He loves his breezy life. He doesn’t want to sink too deep into these questions that are gnawing at him [about his brother’s death].
But even before he meets Nina, he’s trying to be a better father. Trying to be a little more responsible. And then he meets Nina, and bam, this mirror is thrown in his face, and now he has to answer these questions he’s been avoiding for so long.
He doesn’t want to put his whole lifestyle and life in danger. But her sharing this thing about her father and how he lost his brother. It’s a connection. There’s no denying that. So whether he likes it or not, now he has a relationship with this person.
He thinks he can use her the way she’s using him.
Holloway: If she felt like,”I’m just going to use this guy to get what I need, same with him.” [He’s thinking,] “I’m going to get all the information I need. I’m going to give her nothing, and then be done with her.”
And then they both start pulling those threads, and suddenly we’re doing this [gestures between them] — that is the brilliance of LaToya Morgan and J.J. Abrams and storytelling. They really know how to create those stakes that are real and organic and that can take the audience on that ride. That’s tricky with this sort of relationship, but it’s brilliant.
Josh, you had to keep your hair long for the show again.
Holloway: Yes, That’s just so 70s. I like my hair short, but I don’t tend to work that way. My wife’s like, “See, I told you not to cut your hair. You don’t work.” So I grow it and I’ve got a job again. But it’s fun to flip around.
It’s very Sawyer-esque. Rachel, did you ever watch “Lost”?
Holloway [to Hilson]: You were probably three.
Hilson: I am embarrassed to say, I just started digging into it. I was more into the “Alias” and “Felicity” side of J.J. for a while.
Holloway: My kids haven’t watched a thing. My daughter’s 16, she still hasn’t watched any of it.
I guess you’re just never cool to your kids.
Holloway: [Laughs] No, you’re not.
“Duster” premiered on Max on May 15. New episodes debut on Thursdays.
