First look at J.J. Abrams’ ‘Duster,’ ‘The Last of Us’ to stream in ASL, and more of today’s top stories

Gold Derby's top news stories for March 19, 2025.

Max sets release date, drops trailer for J.J. Abrams' Duster

Duster, J.J. Abrams' new retro series that reunites him with Lost star Josh Holloway, will premiere Thursday, May 15 at 9/8c. on Max. Created by Abrams and showrunner LaToya Morgan, the eight-episode season will debut new episodes weekly through July 3. Set in the 1970s Southwest, the series "explores the life of a gutsy getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate that goes from dangerous to wildly, stupidly dangerous when a tenacious young agent comes into town hellbent on taking his crime family down," per the logline. Besides Holloway, Duster stars Rachel Hilson, Keith David, Sydney Elisabeth, Greg Grunberg, Camille Guaty, Asivak Koostachin, Adriana Aluna Martinez, and Benjamin Charles Watson. Watch the teaser trailer:

HBO to launch The Last of Us to with ASL

The Last of Us will be available to stream in American Sign Language (ASL) on Max, HBO announced Wednesday. Season 1 in ASL will be available starting Friday, March 31, allowing fans to catch up before the Season 2 premiere on Sunday, April 13. ASL episodes for Season 2 will be released simultaneously with each episode's premiere. The ASL is performed by CODA star Daniel Durant and Leila Hanaumi, who performed ASL for Barbie, the first film available on Max with ASL interpretation. "We are thrilled to expand our ASL program and debut our first HBO Original series in ASL with The Last of Us," said Naomi Waibel, SVP of Global Product Management at WBD. "This debut brings the show to life in an authentic and fully accessible way for Deaf audiences and is another meaningful step towards our goal of offering an inclusive streaming experience."

Golden Reel Awards set 2026 date

The 73rd Annual Golden Reel Awards will be held on Sunday, March 8, 2026, the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) announced. The date is one week before the 98th Academy Awards. A submission and voting timeline will be released in the coming weeks. "The MPSE Golden Reels is anticipated by sound professionals worldwide, and we are thrilled to announce the date of our 73rd Annual Awards," MPSE President David Barber said in a statement. "We look forward to the gathering of our colleagues and friends from around the world, celebrating the very best of the year’s sonic artistry."