The series follows the lives of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma, as they spend their days committing crime and fighting it. After the death of their friend Daniel one year prior to the events of the series, the gang wrestles with a desire to move to California, the way Daniel dreamed of. But first they need to tie up loose ends in their lives and community, and make preparations to leave.[10]
Cast and characters
Main
Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan Postoak.[11] She is the most responsible and driven member of the gang. Elora lost her mother when she was still a toddler.
D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear Smallhill. Bear sees himself as the "leader" of the gang, despite being the only one of the group to think so. He grew up with only his mother parenting him and is still very close to her. He longs for a relationship with his estranged, deadbeat dad. Bear experiences visions of a spirit guide.
Lane Factor as Cheese.[10] More laid back than Elora or Bear, he rolls with the flow of whatever mischief or misadventure comes his way. No family members are presented, and Cheese tends to connect with various adult characters in the show.
Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack. A tomboy, she is very close with her parents. Daniel was Willie Jack's cousin and she is strongly affected by his death.
Recurring
Sarah Podemski as Rita, Bear's mom. A devoted single parent, Rita works at the local tribal clinic and frequently fields advances from male admirers. She’s determined to find a man who can be a better father figure to Bear than Punkin.
Zahn McClarnon as Officer Big. A lighthorseman known for his patience with petty criminals as well as for his superstitious nature.
Dallas Goldtooth as William "Spirit" Knifeman. A self-proclaimed warrior who died at The Battle of Little Big Horn, even though he didn't do any fighting. He has been sent to act as a guide to Bear.
Gary Farmer as Uncle Brownie, Elora's uncle.[12] While his former bar fights are legendary, he now lives in the woods as a hermit.
Lil Mike as Mose, half of a local rap duo along with his brother. They ride around the community on their bikes, keeping track of local gossip and commenting on events.
Funny Bone as Mekko, the other half of the local rap duo.[10]
Elva Guerra as Jackie, leader of the NDN mafia. She grew up in the city and wants to return to urban life.
Jack Maricle as White Steve, member of the NDN mafia
Jude Barnett as Bone Thug Dog, member of the NDN mafia
Xavier Bigpond as Weeze, member of the NDN mafia
Dalton Cramer as Daniel, Willie Jack's late cousin and friend of the Rez Dogs, who died a year before the start of the show
Elora Danan, Bear, Willie Jack, and Cheese (the Rez Dogs) steal a delivery truck and sell it. They are trying to raise money to leave their small reservation community and escape to the exotic, mythical land of California. They are mourning their friend Daniel who died a year earlier and hold a small memorial for him. When a car full of teenagers (the NDN Mafia) drives by and shoots paintballs at the Rez Dogs, Bear faints and encounters an Indigenous spirit, who attempts to give him life advice.
Bear gets jumped and beat up by the NDN Mafia, necessitating a visit to the local clinic. Elora and Willie Jack set up outside to sell meat pies next to a guy selling traditional medicines. Throughout the episode, the four encounter various members of their community. Cheese is kind to an old woman who thinks he is her grandson. The spirit from episode 1 has issues. The local doctor flirts with Bear's mom, who works at the clinic.
3
"Uncle Brownie"
Blackhorse Lowe
Sterlin Harjo
August 16, 2021 (2021-08-16)
Still concerned about the attacks by the NDN Mafia, the Rez Dogs go to find Elora's uncle, Brownie, to see if he'll teach them to fight. Tales are told of Brownie the powerful warrior and how he knocked out numerous people in a bar fight. They spend the day trying to help Brownie sell his ancient weed, in the process learning "Indigenous-style" about his ways of fighting.
Bear's dad, a rapper, is hired to perform at the local clinic's Diabetes Awareness Frybread Feast. Bear spends the California fund buying him a gift—a beaded medallion of a microphone that instead resembles a penis.
5
"Come and Get Your Love"
Blackhorse Lowe
Sterlin Harjo
August 30, 2021 (2021-08-30)
Cheese spends a day on a ride-along with Big. Along the way, they meet Bucky, who makes sculptures from stolen copper; Big gets teased by a couple of white cops; the NDN Mafia get busted for a stolen car; finally, Big tells Cheese why he became a cop, a story that involves the Deer Lady, who has been a presence in his life since he was a child.
6
"Hunting"
Sterlin Harjo
Sterlin Harjo
September 6, 2021 (2021-09-06)
Willie Jack and her father, Leon, spend a day in the woods together, hunting deer and grappling with their grief over the death of Daniel a year earlier.
7
"California Dreamin'"
Tazbah Rose Chavez
Tazbah Rose Chavez
September 13, 2021 (2021-09-13)
Elora takes her driver's test, after multiple previous failures. Instead of completing the test, her instructor takes her on a wild ride. He talks about her mother and reveals more details of her death. In a flashback, we discover how Daniel died.
As the Rez Dogs prepare to leave for California, a tornado approaches. Most of the community takes shelter in the church basement, but Uncle Brownie rides through the streets, looking for the right tools to divert the tornado. Bear's guiding spirit, William Knifeman, appears again, to ask Bear whether he has completed all the tasks he needs to before leaving town. Together in the church, members of the community, including the Rez Dogs and the NDN Mafia, talk to each other and make key decisions about their future.
Production
Development
The series was first reported on in November 2019 and was confirmed by Taika Waititi on Twitter shortly after.[13] The initial report announced that Waititi would be co-writing the series with Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, who would also share executive producer and directing duties with Waititi.[14] After the pilot had been shot in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, FX announced a series order for the project in December 2020. The casting for the four lead actors, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Alexis, and newcomer Lane Factor, was also confirmed at this time, alongside a group of guest stars to be featured in the pilot episode.[10] Filming sites for principal photography for season one, which had wrapped by July 2021, included Okmulgee, Tulsa, Sand Springs, Beggs, Inola, and Terlton, all in northeast Oklahoma.[4] On September 2, 2021, FX renewed the series for a second season.[8]
Discussing their creative partnership and respective roles in the production, Waititi stressed, "I really believe people need to tell their own stories and especially from whatever area they are from", leading to Harjo, who is from Oklahoma, taking the lead on the project and Waititi taking a more supporting role. Additionally, many of the storylines in the show are inspired by events from Harjo's childhood.[2]
Part of the development process included casting unknown actors from Indigenous communities, and the young leads in particular forming a working rapport, often around their shared love of Indigenous comedy. Jacobs and Alexis added that they bonded over their mutual appreciation of the sketch comedy group 1491s.[2] Four of the five members of the 1491s worked on season one of the series, and with the addition of Ryan RedCorn to the writers' room for season two, all of the 1491s are now working on Reservation Dogs as writers, actors, or directors.[2][3][15]
Release
The series premiered on FX on Hulu in the United States on August 9, 2021. In international markets, it is distributed through the Star portion of the Disney+ streaming service. In Latin America, the series premiered as a Star+ original.[5][6] In India, all eight episodes of season 1 premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on October 2, 2021.[16]
Reception
The series has a 98% rating with an average score of 8.20 out of 10, based on 56 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The site's critical consensus reads: "Aimless afternoons yield absurd delights in Reservation Dogs, a low-key comedy that deftly captures the malaise of youth and Rez life thanks in no small part to its impressive central crew."[17] On Metacritic, it has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 22 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[18]
^ abStarr, Michael (August 3, 2021). "Oklahoma teens California dreaming in 'Reservation Dogs'". New York Post. Retrieved August 13, 2021. The eight-episode series is notable for two firsts: using an entirely Indigenous creative team (behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera) and shooting its entire season in Oklahoma (never done before for a scripted series). Note: Oklahoma is recognized as Indian Territory, a distinction that was upheld by the 2020 Supreme Court decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma.
