Sterlin steps back up to the plate, without Taika's Watiti's help this time, and knocks it out of the park. His excellent "Reservation Dogs" (also on Hulu) was a brilliant character and location-centric series that should be shown in movie direction/production classes. An absolutely brilliant series that, in my opinion, should NOT have been marketed as a comedy.
Sterlin's obvious love of his home state of Oklahoma is evident in both series, and his direction makes us love it, too. The scenery brought me right into the story and kept me intrigued. He and Ethan Hawke obviously worked well together during the final few shows of "RezDogs", and I'm happy to see Ethan leading this cast. He has a great "everyman" sense that engages us viewers and keeps us interested in the next scene. The casting department brought in some really impressive characters for Ethan to work with, too. I feel safe in saying Sterlin is an "actor's director" and maintains an enjoyable, open-input type set. I predict a huge future ahead for him.
Sterlin has also surrounded himself with a talented behind-the-scenes crew. As of this writing there are only three episodes avaliable (of the eight in the season), but I'm already a big fan of the cinematography, scoring, and set direction. All three of those departments nicely maintains the same feel of the script and overall "dusty, lower-middle class Midwest" storyline.
I'm hooked! Great job, Sterlin Harjo and crew.
