Fans of all things Taika Waititi recently welcomed a new comedy series Wellington Paranormal. The supernatural sitcom spun off from the filmmaker’s beloved mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows. (The second TV show to spawn from the 2014 film, following the like-named Staten Island-set sitcom; the latter returns to FX for a third season in September.) But 2021 will treat hungry viewers to further Waititi material still. He and Sterlin Harjo co-created the forthcoming comedy series Reservation Dogs, which has just unveiled an introductory trailer.
The show follows the day-to-day adventures of four Indigenous teenagers who long to leave their rural Oklahoma hometown. Their dreams to relocate to luxurious California lead them to a life of small-time crime. However, they’re still committed to keeping the peace in the neighborhood with which they have a love-hate relationship.
Though a comedy, Reservation Dogs seems like it may have a dramatic bent. Press notes released by FX describe a backstory involving the death of a friend of the four teens. The synopsis also alludes to the prevalence of gang violence and meth addiction in the kids’ locale.
We see a bit of these more severe themes in the above trailer. However, everything is packaged with a comedic bent. We’re not quite sure how seriously Reservation Dogs will take any of its subject matter. But even if predominantly humorous, it does suggest an interesting and humane story about trying to “make it” in an unforgiving world.
Reservation Dogs stars D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear Smallhill, the group’s would-be leader; Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan, who is better suited to the role of leader; Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack, which FX describes both as a “smart-mouthed tough girl” and “the beating heart of the group”; and Lane Factor as Cheese, the gentle workhorse of the bunch.
The series will kick off on August 9 on FX on Hulu.