‘Rutherford Falls’, ‘Pause With Sam Jay’ And ‘Evil’ Score Season Renewals

The TV Gods blessed us today with not one.. not two… but three renewals!

First off, Peacock revealed that the Native-forward comedy series Rutherford Falls from co-creator, rxecutive Producer and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas was renewed for a second season.

“We are beyond ecstatic for Season 2!” said Ornelas. “I’m probably slightly biased, but RUTHERFORD FALLS is made by the best writers, cast, and crew, on earth. Not to mention Ed Helms and Mike Schur, two of the nicest guys in the business. We are very grateful to the folks at Universal Television and Peacock for continuing to champion Indigenous comedies.”

Bolstering Native representation in comedy television both in front of and behind the camera, Rutherford Falls has one of the largest Indigenous writer’s rooms on television with five Native writers staffed on the series including co-creator and executive producer Ornelas (Navajo), Bobby Wilson (Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota), Tai Leclaire (Kanien’kehá:ka [Mohawk Nation]/Mi’kmaq), Jana Schmieding (Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux), and Tazbah Chavez (Bishop Paiute/Diné/San Carlos Apache). Schmieding and Michael Greyeyes ([Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation – Treaty Six Territory in Saskatchewan]) star in the series.

In case you didn’t know, Rutherford Falls is a comedy about two lifelong best friends, Nathan Rutherford (Helms) and Reagan Wells (Schmieding), who find themselves at a crossroads – quite literally – when their sleepy town gets an unexpected wakeup call. The series also stars Jesse Leigh (Heathers) and Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek).

If you haven’t watched, what are you waiting for?

Pause with Sam Jay is not “pausing” at all! The HBO late night talk show co-created and hosted by the titular Sam Jay is coming back to the premium cabler for a sophomore season.

“I can’t express how excited I am to bring you all a second season of Pause,” said Jay. “We learned so much during the first season and hope to take those lessons into this new chapter and deliver something even better. There are so many topics to explore and so much growth to be had. I can’t wait to dig in with the team and get to work! See y’all mofos soon!”

Prentice Penny, co-creator, executive producer added: “I’m super excited that HBO is picking up our show for a second season. I am so proud of what Sam, Langston and the entire Pause team put together in the first season and think the conversations explored were simply groundbreaking. Sam is an extremely special talent that continues to shape, push and challenge the culture in so many amazing ways. I can’t wait to see what she wants to explore and dive into for the next season.”

Pause features a new take on the late-night talk show format and uses a fresh lens to plunge into the cultural issues that divide us — and you can read more about it in Diaspora’s interview with Jay.

 

And last but certainly not least, Paramount+ is getting more Evil. The streamer has renewed the psychological mystery starring Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi and Katja Herbers for a third season.

The first three episodes of season two of Evil are currently available to stream on Paramount+ and the viewership has grown compared to the first season. New episodes of the 13-episode long second season drop weekly on Sundays on Paramount+.

Evil examines the origins of evil along the dividing line between science and religion. The series focuses on a skeptical female psychologist who joins a priest-in-training and a contractor as they investigate the church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions and hauntings. Their job is to assess if there is a logical explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.

Evil also stars Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, Kurt Fuller, Brooklyn Shuck, Skylar Gray, Maddy Crocco and Dalya Knapp.