New Max series 'Duster,' set in the 1970s, puts a vintage muscle car in the title role
Steve McQueen's Ford Mustang in 1968's 'Bullitt' and Burt Reynolds' Pontiac Trans Am from 1977's 'Smokey and the Bandit' are two of the more famous muscle cars in movie history.
But another sweet ride is about to get big exposure in "Duster," an upcoming original series from the streaming platform Max. It gets its name from the Plymouth Duster driven by one of its lead characters.
Set in the 1970s Southwest, "Duster" stars Josh Holloway ("Lost") as a daring getaway driver for a crime family who is drawn into extreme danger when a rookie FBI agent played by Rachel Hilson ('This Is Us') arrives on the scene, determined to bring down his bosses.
Keith David, who played a Detroit judge in the 2023 limited series "Justified: City Primeval," is also featured as a crime boss.
The streaming series is a collaboration between "Star Trek" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, whose writing credits include 'Shameless" and 'The Walking Dead."
It is scheduled to premiere May 15 on Max and will have an eight-episode first season.
In the slick teaser trailer for "Duster," Holloway is shown at the wheel of a vintage red, two-door coupe (presumably the performance-oriented Duster 340 model) as it screeches around corners, races down highways and narrowly avoids flipping and flying cars in pursuit.
Although the Plymouth Duster had a short life span from 1970 to 1976, it was a popular, budget-friendly option of that era. At one point, it was advertised with commercials starring "Room 222" actress Judy Strangis playing a pony-tailed, football jersey-wearing, Duster-driving young woman named Mean Mary Jean.
'Duster' isn't the only example of the Duster being spotlighted on screen. In director Richard Linklater's essential 1993 movie on '70s high school life, 'Dazed and Confused," Ben Affleck's character, Fred O'Bannion, drove a 1973 gray Duster as he went about terrifying freshmen students.
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 1970s Plymouth Duster gets title role in new action drama from Max
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