It’s time for the gang to pack their bags, as the third season of Reservation Dogs will mark the conclusion of the series, according to a statement from series creator Sterlin Harjo on Instagram. After more than two years of following the adventures of Elora Postoak (Devery Jacobs) and her friends, it’s time for the journey of these rebellious teenagers to come to an end. Apparently, the decision was made thinking of what the correct creative decision for the show would be, instead of a straightforward cancelation where the team didn’t have a choice. It’s better to see the beloved characters reach their own endings, instead of having to witness an abrupt finale.
FX also shared a statement regarding the end of the series calling the show created by Harjo and Taika Waititi “one of the most important TV shows ever made.” The statement goes on to say:
“It’s difficult to say goodbye to these indelible characters and to an award-winning series that The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Variety and Vulture named The Best Show of 2022. That said, we support Sterlin and Taika’s decision to end the series in a way that will cement its legacy.We, along with our partners at Hulu, are forever grateful to the producers, writers, directors, cast, crew and the Native land and communities in eastern Oklahoma who collaborated to make this masterpiece. While we’re sad to see the show come to an end, we’re excited for Sterlin, Taika and Garrett Basch to continue to tell stories for FX. And Rez Dogs fans, we hope you share our excitement and anticipation for the coming season.”
The whole story began with a mischievous endeavor based on heartfelt intentions, as Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor) help Elora steal a food truck in order to sell it and get some money to save the reservation they live in. The series did a quick job of establishing the situation its main characters live in, having to deal with constant discrimination from anyone who wasn’t from their community while trying to survive. Putting on their bravest face, the core group of friends keeps finding solutions to their various problems, while they mourn the loss of their dear friend, Daniel (Dalton Cramer).
The second season established a premise that any good sophomore installment about a group always feels tempted to do, as the main crew was separated after a bit of trouble. The new episodes dealt with the social issues introduced during the previous season, with Elora and Jackie escaping from racist men who wanted to hurt them while making their way through the sunny state of California. Added to that, Bear is surprised to get a job with the same company Daniel’s father was working in, prompting the two characters to have a meaningful conversation about their shared loss.
What Will the Final Season of Reservation Dogs Be About?
While the plot for the upcoming episodes is currently being kept under wraps, Harjo has stated that he “always knew what the end of this story would be”, but he didn’t know when it would end up arriving. With the character arcs planned out in advance, it might be safe to say that the future of the group is in the safest hands it could be.
The third and final season of Reservation Dogs will premiere on August 2, the first two seasons currently available to stream on Hulu. The rest of the season will be launched in a weekly manner.
You can check out Harjo‘s full statement and his post down below.
Aho young and old warriors! Here it is: the coming third season of Reservation Dogs will be the final season Reservation Dogs.
That’s a difficult line to write and a more difficult decision to make. However, it’s the correct decision creatively for the show. I always knew what the end of this story would be, I just didn’t know when it would arrive. As we continued to break stories and write scripts this season, it became clear to the producers, Taika and me that the season three finale is the perfect SERIES finale.
When we came up with the idea for Reservation Dogs, I didn’t think the show would ever get made, but thankfully it did.
The first and most basic idea for us as Native people, was to show the world that Native humor and Natives are funny. Almost all television and film depictions about Native people are mostly inaccurate. And most of them have been untruthful. It has been a gift to us to show the world a different perspective of Indigenous people and our culture. Most important of all, it has been a dream to collaborate and make a show that it is entirely written by, directed by and stars Native people. These are our stories, and they represent our people. We know it’s an enormous responsibility and we never took that lightly.
It has been an incredible experience to have the show embraced so lovingly by the audience and TV critics. We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from Producer Garrett Basch, as well as John Landgraf, Nick Grad, Kate Lambert and everyone at FX and Hulu. Our experience with them has been exceptional and we’re excited to develop new shows with them once things get up and moving again.
There are so many people to thank-our amazing writers, directors and crew, and all of the people of Okmulgee, Tulsa and the great people of the Muscogee Nation.
As for our beautiful cast, especially Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-a-tai, Paulina Alexis and Lane Factor, you are the Rez Dogs and this show wouldn’t have been the same without you.
Reservation Dogs has been a privilege.
Although it’s the end of this story, it’s likely you will see Elora Danan, Bear Smallhill, Willie Jack, Cheese Williams and other characters in the Rez Dogs universe show up in other stories to come.
Until then, Mvto. Love you bitch.
via Collider