Reservation Dogs Review

When one hears that Taika Waititi has a new half hour series on FX (or, if you’ve cut the cord, FX on Hulu), your initial reaction might be to assume it’s another comedy a la What We Do in the Shadows (which will be returning to both FX and Hulu this fall for season three). But what you get with Reservation Dogs, which Waititi developed alongside Sterlin Harjo, is a much more grounded, real, and focused series that has some humor but is much more concerned with telling the stories of its four central teenage protagonists and exploring what life is like for young Native American kids on the reservation.

And, lest I bury the lede further, the series is excellent and unlike anything else on television. It takes a couple of episodes to hone in on its focus and get a handle on the show’s pacing (this isn’t a show concerned with flash and pushing its storytelling – it takes its time to build the characters, their relationships, and provide its audience with an understanding of what is happening underneath the surface of the show’s key friendships), but by the fourth episode – the last one provided for critics – I found myself fully hooked on the story, and impatiently waiting the next installment.

Reservation Dogs follows four friends – Devery Jacob’s Elora, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai’s Bear, Lane Factor’s Cheese, and Paulina Alexis’s Willie – as they attempt to save up enough money to leave the reservation and head for California. To accomplish this, the foursome initially stage a series of heists, stealing a delivery truck, boosting cars, and pulling out copper wiring around town to sell for cash. While the reservation’s sheriff (Zane McClarnon, best known from his work in season two of Fargo) suspects they’re behind these robberies, he can’t prove it, so the gang gets away with it time and again. Of course, their reign over the area is cut short by the arrival of a rival gang – who jump Bear and start a mini war between them. And all this is overshadowed by the potential return of Bear’s father, in-fighting amongst the foursome, and the general monotony and boredom of the teens as they continue to grow disillusioned with their lives and hope for something different.

In a first for television, the series’s writing staff and directors are all Indigenous, and the show’s core cast is also made up of Indigenous actors. Waititi has stated that he drew from his own childhood growing up in New Zealand, and the trials and tribulation he encountered being half Maori, when working within the writers room for the series. But the one thing that struck me the most while watching the initial four episodes was how universal the themes of the series were. Yes, there are elements that speak directly to the Native American identity of its characters, but the lives of these four teenagers (and the adults around them) feel similar to those of any group of friends at that age. The yearning to get out on their own, the misunderstandings that have the potential to tear a friend group apart, believing that they know better than those older and wiser than them, and the belief that they can turn things around and break the cycles that have kept their older family members stuck in a routine the kids want no part of. It’s a coming of age story told through the lens of Native American life – something we’ve never had on television before – told by those who have lived similar stories themselves.

So, if you’re looking for a satire or an absurdist comedy, I’d recommend one of Waititi’s other works. But if you are looking for a smart, well-written, well-acted, and emotionally rich story that will resonate with you regardless of your own background (that has a nice dark comedy aesthetic as well), then Reservation Dogs is absolutely a show for you. The show’s four central actors are relatively new to the acting game and all four are standouts. The writing is top notch. The direction is strong. There’s not a weak link in the show that I’ve seen thus far. Just don’t expect a barrel of laughs – this is a show more about heart and growing up than anything else.

Reservation Dogs airs Monday nights on FX, and is available on Hulu the following morning. The first two episodes are currently available to stream. Subsequent episodes will be released weekly. Four of the season’s six episodes were provided to critics.