Jeff Daniels on canceled ‘American Rust’ getting rescued: ‘We got slapped around’

Jeff Daniels hasn’t gotten rusty. 

After Season 1 aired on Showtime, the Emmy-winning actor stars again in “American Rust,” which premieres its second season March 28 on Prime Video. 

“I got dragged to a book reading in 2004 or something like that. And it was some debut novel by an author named Philipp Meyer,” Daniels, 69, told The Post, referring to the titular novel that the show is based on. 

“Then, when I got in a position where I could do whatever I wanted to do, post-‘The Newsroom,’ I remembered this book. So, we went after it and got it set up at Showtime. I knew this guy. Living in the Midwest, I knew [my character] Del Harris.”

“American Rust” is set in Buell, a withering Rust Belt town in Pennsylvania with few prospects for its citizens. Season 1 followed Del Harris (Daniels), the chief of police who investigated as the son of Grace (Maura Tierney, “The Affair”), the woman he loved, was accused of murder. 

Season 2, titled “Broken Justice,” picks up with a string of seemingly unrelated murders, which imply a bigger conspiracy at play that threatens the town. 

Daniels, who is among the small crop of actors who prefer to live outside of Hollywood, resides in Michigan. 

“You know, Pittsburgh [where the show films] isn’t that different from Detroit,” he said.

“And I hadn’t played [Harris] yet, and I hadn’t done a true crime or a crime thing yet. We got it made at Showtime, and then it got canceled, but happily, Amazon Prime picked it up,” Daniels said. “I love the grittiness of it. I love the authenticity of the show and the people in it. 

“Many of the actors are local, we get some people out of Carnegie Mellon, it’s just down the street around the corner from where we’re shooting,” the actor continued. “Sometimes that doesn’t happen with the local hires, but these actors just bought it.” 

After Season 1 premiered in 2021, Showtime canceled it in January 2022. Prime Video’s free arm, Freevee, picked it up for Season 2 in June of that year (before it moved to Prime Video).

“We got slapped around for being slow,” said Daniels, referring to the middling reviews of the first season. 

“Which I still wouldn’t change … We took the time early in Season 1 to set up the people that you needed to care about and follow,” he said. “For whatever critical reaction we got for being slow, we certainly aren’t that in Season 2. So, I’m glad to be able to continue to do it. I really like the story.”

Daniels said he relates to Del. 

“I know some people who are as reticent as Del. And if you sit down with them or if they trust you enough, suddenly you hear their story,” he said. “And you had no idea what they’ve been through, because they cover it so well. And maybe that’s a Midwestern thing. So, I kind of drew from a couple people I know.”

The actor added: “Maybe [it’s] partly just me playing me … You know, we’re simple people. We’re basic people. And what I liked about Philipp’s book and the series is that these are simple people with very complicated problems. It’s good people making bad choices, trying to fix something that they did. I like that underneath the surface of the simplicity is complexity.”