It’s about time, Peacock.
The NBCUniversal-backed streaming service has handed out a second season renewal for breakout comedy Rutherford Falls.
The news arrives after the single-camera comedy starring Ed Helms and from showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas launched April 22 to positive reviews. The show, which is produced in-house at Universal Television and counts Mike Schur (The Good Place) among its exec producers, currently has an impressive 94 percent rating among critics on RottenTomatoes.com. (Peacock, like other streamers, does not release traditional viewership data.)
“We are so proud to be a part of Rutherford Falls, a smart comedy and a breakthrough moment for Native representation in comedy both in front of and behind the camera,” said Lisa Katz, president of scripted at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “Rutherford Falls embodies the modern, original and inclusive storytelling viewers want and we are excited to develop season two alongside Sierra, Mike, Ed and the incredible cast.”
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Rutherford Falls features one of the largest Indigenous writers rooms on television, with five scribes staffed including showrunner Ornelas, and counts stars Jana Schmieding and Michael Greyeyes as part of its history-making on-screen representation. Schmieding and Helms star as friends at a crossroads when their sleepy town of Rutherford Falls gets an unexpected wake-up call.
“We are beyond ecstatic for season two! I’m probably slightly biased, but Rutherford Falls is made by the best writers, cast and crew on Earth,” Ornelas said. “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.”
Rutherford Falls also marks the latest scripted original to score a renewal at Peacock, joining Girls5eva, Saved by the Bell and NBC transfer A.P. Bio on the year-old streamer. Peacock, which is overseen by Susan Rovner and Frances Berwick as part of an entertainment content group that also includes NBC and cablers USA and Syfy, among others, also has a slate that includes the upcoming Dr. Death, Kate McKinnon vehicle Joe Exotic, MacGruber, Queer as Folk, Wolf Like Me, Battlestar Galactica and Bel-Air, among others.
Ornelas — who previously worked with Schur on Brooklyn Nine-Nine — exec produces alongside Schur, Helms, 3 Arts’ Mike Falbo, David Miner and Morgan Sackett. A return date for season two of Rutherford Falls has yet to be determined.
To hear more from Ornelas about the making of Rutherford Falls and its place in TV history, check out her interview on THR podcast TV’s Top 5.
