Why ‘Duster’ Stars Josh Holloway & Rachel Hilson Are an ‘Unlikely Duo’ in This Thrill Ride of a ’70s Action Series

“When J.J. first approached me about this, he had an image in his head that he had for 20 years where it was a phone booth with a phone ringing in the middle of the desert and a car driving up to it,” explains showrunner LaToya Morgan of co-EP J.J. Abrams‘ initial idea for a period crime drama. “And of course, that ends up being in the pilot, but he didn’t know what else was in the story. So we started talking about it together, really pitching what this story could be, who is the driver and why would he be in the middle of the desert doing, of course, some nefarious things. So it kind of built from there.”

Set in 1972 Arizona, the series is a high-octane hoot that hits the ground running. Feisty FBI agent Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson) ropes Jim Ellis (Josh Holloway), a scruffy-sexy mob driver, into being an informant on his crime-boss father figure Ezra Saxton (Keith David). Turns out, Saxton isn’t just running the shadiest trucking biz in Phoenix — he may also be behind tragedies in both Jim’s and Nina’s pasts. Once the two strike a deal, the Tarantino-ish Duster goes full throttle with WTAF?! twists, darkly comic eruptions of violence (the kills are next-level bonkers), and Bullitt-caliber chases. Along the way, this series gives Lost vet Holloway his most swaggerific role since his days playing Sawyer and certifies Hilson (Love, Victor) as a badass star in her own right.

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“She brought this strength and a wonderful vulnerability,” raves Morgan, who saw hundreds of actresses for the role of the witty, wily Nina, a cross between ’70s TV cop Christie Love and the FBI’s first Black FBI agent, Sylvia Mathis. “It was so much fun to really create Nina’s character and dig into what the experience would be like for her to be working at the FBI at that time.”

For authenticity, Morgan relied on the pros. “We have an FBI consultant that we spoke to and she was a Black woman who worked around the time of our series. She was really helpful in giving us insight into what it was like to be working at the FBI at that time.” And while Duster definitely features moments of bias that leave a sting, Hilson’s ahead-of-her-time Nina refuses to let them get to her. In fact, her refusal to react at times irks her antagonistic bosses to an almost comedic proportion. “We wanted to obviously honor the experience, but we also didn’t want to feel heavy-handed,” continues Morgan. “So we wanted to keep the fun of that, but also not ignore what the times would’ve been like.”

“It’s a joy to play someone so human, who is allowed to be so human,” says the undeniably dynamic Hilson. “I think that’s the gift of playing characters from previous generations in this generation. Because we’re giving writers and filmmakers from all walks of life more opportunities to tell their truth, characters are now imbued with real texture. It’s much more interesting to see the vulnerable underbelly of a character like Nina who is so capable and tenacious. At the end of the day, she’s a person with fears and sensitivities, too. Characters like her weren’t able to exist in that way before.”

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Compared to finding a perfect Nina in Hilson, Holloway was an easier get. Not only does Jim fit Holloway like a well-worn pair of snarky, seductive jeans, but he was also hot to work with Lost boss Abrams again. “I hadn’t talked to him in a long time,” he reveals. “And I love J.J. when he gets creatively excited and he was…he was just blasting me with it. And I loved everything out of his mouth.” Chiefly, that Jim was neither hero nor villain.

“It’s been such a fun journey to play this guy,” Holloway excitedly states, echoing Hilson’s love for the gig. “I love walking that line between good and bad and [seeing] what that perspective is depending on where you’re sitting. What is good and what is bad? And at first, I was like, ‘Well, I don’t want to play a snitch for the mafia,’ but then I realized like, ‘Wait a second. Nina comes to me and says [spoiler!] so okay, now you got me interested.” And that’s how I found my way into the character. I like walking both sides.”

Sweetening things, he adds, was Jim’s mode of transportation. “When J.J. said, ‘You’re a wheelman for the Mafia,’ I was like, ‘Damn right I am!’” he tells TV Insider. Adding to the allure was the era (“My God, the fashion, the music, the cars, the sex…everything in the ’70s was groovy!”), as well as Jim’s chops behind the wheel of his cherry-red 1970 Plymouth Duster — skills Holloway packs thanks to raceway training. “I was like, if I’m a driver, I’m gonna learn to drive,” he giddily confesses. “I learned every stop in the book. When the time came, I said, ‘I’m a certified stunt driver; you can insure me.’”

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However, it’s not all fast cars, free love, and felonious long-haul deliveries. Under the hood, there’s gallons of heart, morally gray dilemmas, and the weaponization of hate within a federal agency we slowly realize has something to hide.

“The backdrop of 1972 raises the stakes,” says Hilson of the racism and misogyny Nina and her Navajo partner (a charming Asivak Koostachin) face in the office. “The more we are empowered by seemingly illicit knowledge we’re uncovering, the greater the targets on our backs.”

Thankfully, she’s got Jim watching hers. “Nina and Jim are unlikely allies,” Hilson offers. “There’s nothing more unifying than loyalty to their loved ones — and a common enemy! I think Josh and I are also an unlikely duo with a common goal: to show up for these characters, each other, and to tell a good story.”

Now that’s the kind of drive you can get a lot of mileage out of.

Duster, Series Premiere, Thursday, May 15, Max