Like Mare of Easttown before it, American Rust is yet another show trying to show the plight of a blue-collar community in America’s rust belt through the framing device of a murder investigation being conducted by a gruff sheriff with regrets. Except this one is poorly written and overly bleak. The cast does what it can, but it seems the only direction tossed their way was "Your character is miserable." Furthermore, the investigation doesn't have an interesting enough hook to matter, and it's often ignored for subplots about unionization and learning how to be homeless. It's an all-around gloomy bore.