The early impetus behind the Peacock comedy “Rutherford Falls” started with Michael Schur (who created “Parks and Recreation”) and actor Ed Helms “being kind of surprised and disturbed by the ways that people were clinging to historical narratives and using them really as an excuse to mistreat each other, as opposed to something to learn from,” said Helms. “So we started kicking around the idea of: Is there a character we can create that has these blind spots in spite of himself? And what does a good person do when confronted with their blind spots?”
The resulting show, which was co-created by Schur, Helms and showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas, centers on a character named Nathan Rutherford (Helms), who is a descendant of the town’s white settler, and his best friend Reagan (played by Jana Schmieding), who is Native American and whose tribe is less than thrilled with Nathan’s stubborn efforts to idolize his not-so-honorable ancestor.
“That was a really good framework for the first season, there were some really big ideas and some larger cultural satire,” said Helms. “For Season 2, we’ve been able to move on from that a little and lean into this incredible ensemble and the town dynamics, which we thought we could have some fun with, although there’s still a lot of social satire.”
