A sense of pride and a need to honor one’s ancestors is at the heart of what Rutherford Falls is all about. From the creators of The Good Place and Parks and Recreation, the endearing and politically-minded sitcom is returning for a second season. With an impressive turnaround, the show is coming to our screens just over a year since the first season’s release. Providing audiences with a surprisingly thought-provoking sitcom that tackles otherwise avoided and heavy topics, this show focuses on a cultural need to feel proud and patriotic of our past, despite America’s flawed history, in a way that is amusing and often slightly bizarre.
Much of the show’s success is thanks to the strong eye for storytelling and comedic television that its co-creators, Sierra Teller Ornelas, Michael Schur, and Ed Helms, all have. Sierra Teller Ornelas is known for being a producer and writer for the hit comedy series Superstore featuring Ben Feldman and America Ferrera, as well as Splitting up Together starring Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson. Michael Schur is most known for his role as co-creator on the renowned US adaptation of The Office, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place, and executive producer of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Master of None, and Emmy Award-winning series Hacks. Ed Helms is most known for his work in front of the screen, playing many comedic roles, including his recurring role as Andy Bernard in The Office, as well as being voicing Kyle in the animated series BoJack Horseman and playing Stu in The Hangover film series. Here's how you can watch the new season.
Where Is Rutherford Falls Available to Stream?
Being a Peacock Original, audiences in the United States will have access to the first season of the show through the standard Peacock or Peacock Premium service. For audiences in the United Kingdom, Sky will have access to it. Outside of these areas, Peacock may have paired with other streaming platforms for international access. The show is set to premiere on June 16, 2022.
Watch the Rutherford Falls Season 2 Trailer
While the end of the last season sees Nathan driving off into the distance, away from Rutherford Falls, the show wouldn’t be the same without him. As seen in the trailer, Nathan returns after some time, returning to the chaos and drama that he left behind.
How Did Rutherford Falls Season 1 End?
Creating tension and angst for a new season was the uncertainty that the first season ended with. In the final episode, best friends who spent the second half of the season on the rocks Nathan Rutherford (Ed Helms) and Reagan Wells (Jana Schmieding) finally make up as they both break down about their hopes and expectations for their futures. Nathan also discovers that he is not actually related to the Rutherford family, completely derailing his sense of purpose in life and calling into question the connection that he so strongly felt to the family.
Reagan appears to finally be stepping up and comfortably moving forward with the Minishonka Cultural Center but is ultimately still scared about her new responsibilities. Finally, in the last 2 minutes of the show, it is exposed that journalist Josh Carter (Dustin Milligan), Reagan’s love interest, has made a podcast about the personal details Reagan exposed to him about Nathan and his family. As the first season’s finale left audiences with more questions and theories about the future, the second season of the show will continue to explore the stories and the characters we grew to care about in the first season, hopefully answering all of our questions.
How Many Episodes Does Rutherford Falls Season 2 Have (And When Are They Coming Out)?
According to the trailer, new Rutherford Falls episodes will be released on June 16, 2022. Similar to the first season, audiences can expect all of the episodes to air on the same day. Unlike the first season, however, the second season only has eight episodes, two less than the 10 episodes that the first season had. Here are all the episode details:
Episode 1: "White Man in the Cupboard" - June 16, 2022
Reagan struggles with a heavy workload now that her Cultural Center has relocated to Nathan's Heritage Museum; Terry faces new challenges following the town's revamp into a Colonial-themed tourist experience.
Episode 2: "The New Curator" - June 16, 2022
Nathan considers a run for mayor, while also processing his newfound notoriety after being featured in Josh's podcast; when Feather Day, a small-town rival of Terry's, tries to sabotage his plans, Terry must solicit help from Nathan.
Episode 3: "Aunt Sue" - June 16, 2022
Reagan assembles help from the whole rez to honor her aunt's final wishes with a memorial, but she must first overcome some long-held family tensions; Nathan tries to help plan the services, but gets entangled with her freeloading brother, Curtis.
Episode 4: "Land Back" - June 16, 2022
Nathan visits former mayor Deidre Chisenhall to secure her endorsement; when she flames out trying to obtain an application for tribal land on her reservation, Reagan accepts help from Nelson.
Episode 5: "Adirondack S3" - June 16, 2022
Terry enlists Reagan to join him in New York City to work as cultural consultant on a hit TV drama; Nathan and Bobbie seek a campaign donation from Rutherford Inc.; Reagan uses the trip as an opportunity to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend, Josh.
Episode 6: "Firefighters Pancake Breakfast" - June 16, 2022
With the election quickly approaching, Bobbie faces off against Feather Day as both try to curry favor with the local firefighters; Nathan tries to bond with Nelson; Terry and Reagan consider ways to improve the Nation's financial future.
Episode 7: "Halloween" - June 16, 2022
Everyone attends Wayne's Halloween house party; despite their couples' costume, Reagan starts to question her relationship with Nelson after some partygoers start showing him a little too much attention; Nathan meets Deirdre's parents.
Episode 8: "Election" - June 16, 2022
After the debate, everyone eagerly awaits to see who will be Mayor of Rutherford Falls; Nathan helps Deidre finalize her birth plan; Terry and Bobbie butt heads over how to steer the campaign; Reagan has her application reviewed by the Land Council.
More Comedic Shows like Rutherford Falls That You Can Watch Now
Now if you're a fan of the show, you may be looking for some ideas for other shows to watch that have a similar feel or comedic flair to Rutherford Falls.
Parks and Recreation: Probably most similar to Rutherford Falls in the overall tone of the sitcom is Parks and Recreation. This show follows the life of Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, a female government official who is in charge of the Parks Department of a small town called Pawnee.
With a mockumentary format, Parks and Recreation follows the lives of the workers in Leslie’s office as they pass their days with new park-related and personal dramas. Leslie Knope is a very eager and often innocently positive character who hardly ever sees setbacks or difficulties as issues beyond repair; everything has a silver lining. This happiness despite the audience's or other characters’ pessimistic realism is something that Nathan Rutherford from Rutherford Falls also embodies.
The Good Place: Juxtaposing extreme goodness and badness or grumpiness seems to be a theme in this collection of sitcoms with the co-creators of Rutherford Falls in common, The Good Place is no different. Featuring Ted Danson and Kristen Bell, alongside William Jackson Harper, The Good Place is a fantasy sitcom created by Michael Schur. The series follows Eleanor Shellstrop played by Kristen Bell, after she has lived an immoral life, passed away, and somehow found herself, by accident, in the "Good Place", rather than the "Bad Place". Eleanor, being a baddie, is uncomfortable in a place of over-bearing kindness and struggles as Chidi, played by William Jackson Harper, aims to help her improve. Much of the show is a comedic look into the philosophical aspects after we die and human speculation about what happens to us.
The Office: What is probably the least deep and meaningful or politically powerful out of all the recommendations, but a classic show nevertheless is The Office. With an ensemble cast including Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and Jenna Fischer, the infamous American adaptation of The Office is where Ed Helms’ comedic career in television became widely recognized. This series is another mockumentary, surrounding office workers at a paper distribution company and all of the day-to-day dramas and struggles that they face, under the hands of a boss, who just wants to make them smile. While the show is widely politically incorrect, much of the show’s humor and comedic elements come from recognizing how inappropriate the comments are.