The original plan for Reservation Dogs, which would have gone for five seasons, has been detailed by the Chairman of FX Networks. Created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, the half-hour comedy centered on Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs), Bear Smallhill (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor), four Indigenous teens who live in rural Oklahoma. Following the death of the fifth member of their crew, the teens take to stealing and saving to achieve their dream of living in California. After three seasons of universal critical acclaim, Reservation Dogs signed off in September 2023.
Speaking at FX’s panel at the Television Critics Association’s Winter 2024 press tour, in which Screen Rant was in attendance, FX Chairman John Landgraf shed some light on Reservation Dogs season 4. Landgraf explains that FXP, which helps produce the show and stream it on Hulu, had planned for the singular teen comedy to go five seasons. Harjo, however, felt that the story had reached a perfect ending. Landgraf’s quote is below:
We were surprised, to say the least, when Sterlin Harjo called to say that he had written the perfect ending to his show in the season 3 finale… We had planned to go at least five seasons. But it took a lot of courage for Sterlin to say “this story is finished,” and we respected that.
Could Reservation Dogs Return In The Future?
Harjo was previously candid about the fact that he had ideas on how to revive the series. The creator mentioned the possibility of a Reservation Dogs follow-up movie. Harjo likewise brought up the possibility of a spinoff focused on the Deer Lady character, who is played by Kaniehtiio Horn. A recurring character in three episodes of the show, the Deer Lady was the spirit of a beautiful woman with deer hooves that kills unsavory men.
On a separate front, Harjo mentioned a more road trip-centric spinoff that would feature Uncle Brownie (Gary Farmer) and Bucky (Wes Studi). But even as the series creator mentioned these ideas, and acknowledged the possibility of revisiting the main group, he acknowledged that the story needed to end for now and that any continuations would happen later. In that sense, it’s an echo of Landgraf’s remarks.
Every Movie & TV Show The Reservation Dogs Cast Is Doing Next
As Reservation Dogs wraps up its historic series with season 3, the acclaimed cast looks to reach more audiences with their next TV and film projects.
Harjo’s genre-mashing series concluded its run with a massive distinction, with the last two seasons boasting a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the first coming in at 98%. It put the spotlight on the very talented Reservation Dogs cast, unraveling a narrative that was at once and in turns hyper-specific and very universal. In that sense, perhaps, it was better for the FX standout to bow out on a high note.
Reservation Dogs
Reservation Dogs is a Hulu original series about teenage Native American friends who grow up together on a reservation in Oklahoma. The series stars D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor, and Devery Jacobs as the four friends and was created by Sterlin Harjo and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi.
- Release Date
- August 9, 2021
- Cast
- Zahn McClarnon , Bobby Lee
- Seasons
- 2
- Writers
- Taika Waititi
- Network
- FX
- Streaming Service(s)
- Disney+ , Hulu
- Directors
- Taika Waititi
