Summary
- American Rust is set in a fictional town in the Rust Belt of Pennsylvania.
- Nearly all scenes were filmed in Pittsburgh, with some suburbs used for select shots.
- Buell symbolizes the decline of the American Dream, making it a crucial element in the series.
A small Rust Belt town plays a significant role in American Rust, but the show itself was all filmed in a bigger city. The crime drama series, created by Dan Futterman, is based on Philipp Meyer's 2009 novel of the same name, which revolves around the decline of the American middle class (and the American Dream) in the early 2000s in a rural town in Pennsylvania. Whereas American Rust undoubtedly shines a light on economic and social problems that several people went through in the late 20th and early 21st century, the show also pulls viewers in with a mystery.
American Rust kicks off with the murder of Pete Novick (Jim True-Frost), and Chief Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) is assigned to the case. However, things get complicated when the son of Del's on-again-off-again girlfriend is accused of killing Pete. The first season, which debuted on Showtime, took many twists and turns as Del attempts to clear the young man's name. Sadly, Showtime canceled American Rust, but Amazon Prime Video picked up the series for a second season, which premiered in March 2024. Consequently, the cast and crew returned to Pennsylvania to shoot season 2, subtitled Broken Justice.
|
American Rust Cast |
Role |
|---|---|
|
Jeff Daniels |
Chief Del Harris |
|
Maura Tierney |
Grace Poe |
|
David Alvarez |
Isaac English |
|
Bill Camp |
Henry English |
|
Julia Mayorga |
Lee English |
|
Alex Neustaedter |
Billy Poe |
|
Mark Pellegrino |
Virgil Poe |
|
Rob Yang |
Deputy Steve Park |
|
Kyle Beltran |
Detective Ramon Fisher |
|
Luna Lauren Velez |
Detective Angela Burgos |
American Rust Is Set In Buell, PA
Buell Is A Fictional Place
The majority of American Rust takes place in Buell, Pennsylvania. However, in reality, Buell is not a real place — the city is fictional and was created by Philipp Meyer, the author of the book that the show is based on. Somehow, the production crew was able to make a bustling city look like a small rural town located in the Rust Belt, which is where Jeff Daniels' Amazon crime drama gets its name. The Rust Belt is a United States region in the Northeastern and Midwestern that spans many states, including Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and more.
Although Buell in American Rust is a made-up town, the county it resides in — Fayette County — is a real county in southwestern Pennsylvania.
American Rust Was Mostly Filmed In Pittsburgh
The Cast & Crew Also Filmed In Pittsburgh's Suburbs
The cast of American Rust resided in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during production on seasons 1 and 2, as that is where most of the show was filmed. According to Giggster, many scenes were captured in Pittsburgh, even though the story is set in Buell, a fictional small Pennsylvania town. When they couldn't shoot parts of the show's 19 episodes on location, the American Rust team would use 31st Street Studios, a film production studio in Pittsburgh. Another significant filming location was Carrie Blast Furnaces, a National Landmark that perfectly captured the industrial rundown town of Buell.
Buell acts as an additional character and is one of the most vital aspects of American Rust, even though it's fictional.
The cast and crew also occasionally traveled outside Pittsburgh to the suburbs to film a handful of sequences for season 1 and season 2 of American Rust, including Monroeville and Duquesne. The Fayette County Courthouse scenes were captured at Duquesne City Hall, but it's unclear which scenes were shot in Monroeville, which is about a 30-minute drive from Pittsburgh. Nevertheless, the second season's story split its time between Buell and Pittsburgh, which likely made it easier for the production team to find places to film.