It's the end of the road for our favorite foursome in rural Oklahoma. Last we saw the Native teens of Reservation Dogs, the gang fell apart with California dreams and the need to find their individual paths. We can only hope that everyone's story gets fully wrapped up as, apparently, the upcoming Season 3 is the final chapter of the story. Series co-creator Sterlin Harjo shared the news on Instagram, along with a touching tribute to the cast and crew and everything they accomplished with the series.
"Here it is: the coming third season of Reservation Dogs will be the final season," Harjo wrote.
"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 show was the first of its kind, with all Indigenous writers and directors and nearly an entirely Indigenous cast and crew. The FX series first premiered on Hulu in 2021 and was quickly brought back for a second season, named one of the best shows of 2021 and 2022. The series fully films in Oklahoma, giving viewers an accurate picture of life for real rural Native teens. For creators Harjo and Taika Waititi, they had a simple goal in mind when they first conceptualized their story.
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"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 most 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 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 don't take that lightly," Harjo shared.
Harjo proceeded to recognize the amazing crew, as well as the people in Oklahoma, specifically Okmulgee, Tulsa, and Muscogee Nation. He then called out the cast, namely the 'Rez Dogs' themselves, Devery Jacobs, D'Pharaoh Woon-a-tai, Paulina Alexis and Lane Factor. He alluded that we might be seeing Elora Danan, Bear Smallhill, Willie Jack, Cheese Williams and potentially other characters from the Reservation Dogs universe down the road. Does this mean spinoffs are in the works? Here's hoping.
"People throw around the words historic and groundbreaking far too often and without merit: Reservation Dogs is worthy of those superlatives. Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi created one of the most important TV shows ever made. They gave the world a wholly unique, original, and honest portrayal of Native people—one that has never before been seen in television or film," said an FX spokesman.
"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 upcoming season."
Reservation Dogs Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Hulu. Season 3 will premiere on August 2.
