'Reservation Dogs' returns for Season 2 of acclaimed Oklahoma Native comedy

TULSA — Before sitting across from Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America" and making his late-night debut on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Lane Factor stood on a red carpet in his home state and pondered how much his life has changed.

"I'm really just taking everything one step at a time and just trying not to get, I guess, overwhelmed. ... Not because it's all happened so fast — well, I guess it IS all happening so fast," Factor told The Oklahoman with a chuckle.

"I don't think anything could have prepared me for what being an actor, working in this industry, has presented. ... I never even really thought I would be an actor three years ago. It's like this whole process has been so sudden, but it's been wonderful."

Not many Oklahoma teenagers can say they're one of the stars of a critically acclaimed hit television series, but even that is understating the significance of Factor's debut screen role as the mild-mannered Cheese on "Reservation Dogs." 

Last year, the coming-of-age comedy blazed trails with its first season, becoming not only the first mainstream TV show on which every writer, director and series regular performer is Indigenous but also the first full-time, scripted network television series to film entirely in Oklahoma.

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Now, the groundbreaking show's second season is premiering Wednesday, when the first two episodes start streaming exclusively on Hulu.

"I'm literally at a loss for words for being here. It's so mind-blowing. I never would have thought I would've been able to be part of a show like this — and it's on its second season, which still blows me away," Factor said on the red carpet at the Season 2 world premiere screening last Friday at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa.

'Reservation Dogs' building on remarkable acclaim with Season 2

The FX streaming series — co-created and executive produced by Oscar-winning New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi ("Thor: Love and Thunder," "Jojo Rabbit"), who is of Maori ancestry, and Tulsa-based moviemaker Sterlin Harjo ("Barking Water," "Love and Fury"), who is Seminole and Muscogee — earned a Peabody Award, two Independent Spirit Awards and a Gotham Award just in its first season.

"Reservation Dogs" also was honored as one of the American Film Institute's top TV shows of the year and recognized at the Television Academy Honors, which showcases “exceptional television programs and their producers who have leveraged the immense power of television to fuel social change.”

"We're here to celebrate the return of one of most remarkable series on television ... and the anticipation is great and growing," FX Executive Vice President of Communications John Solberg said at the Tulsa premiere event.

"'Reservation Dogs' broke out like few shows in recent memory. It instantly earned the admiration of critics and fans who connected with its refreshing mix of humor, honesty and authenticity. The first season was featured on more than 80 television critics' year-end best lists ... and the wait was worth it. These new episodes are fantastic."

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The series lenses primarily in Okmulgee, the headquarters of the Muscogee Nation, and additional filming has taken place in Tulsa, Sand Springs, Beggs, Inola and Terlton. The tribe owns Tulsa's River Spirit Casino, which hosted the premiere event.

"It was really important for me to have the premiere here to Tulsa," said Harjo, who was unable to attend the premiere in person after testing positive for COVID-19 but appeared in a pre-screening video.

"A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this season — still happening, still working on it, still finishing the rest."

Season 2 keeps following Native teens' small-town misadventures

The debut season of "Reservation Dogs" introduced audiences to its authentically appealing title characters, a close-knit band of four Native American teenagers trying to cope with the death of a good friend and figure out their lives in the small fictional town of Okern.

Heartbroken yet determined Elora Danan Postoak (Devery Jacobs, "Rutherford Falls"), sensitive and unsure Bear Smallhill (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, "Creeped Out"), big-mouthed and big-hearted tomboy Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife") and loyal and surprisingly wise Cheese (Factor) spent much of the series' first season plotting to escape their rez town for greener pastures in California.

By the Season 1 finale, though, that dream had fallen apart, with Willie Jack and Cheese choosing to stay in their hometown and Elora Danan ditching Bear and heading West with one-time rival Jackie (Elva Guerra, "Dark Winds").

Season 2 picks up with Elora Danan and Jackie on the road and running into plenty of misadventures — including a memorable encounter with a colorful character played by Emmy-winning Oklahoma-bred actor Megan Mullally — while Bear tries to figure out what it means to be a man, when he isn't trying to figure out the dubious wisdom of his spirit-warrior ancestor William Knifeman (scene-stealer Dallas Goldtooth).

Willie Jack is convinced that everything keeps going wrong because the curse she tried to put on Jackie bounced back, so she sets out to undo that bad medicine with the help of local elders Uncle Brownie (Gary Farmer) and Bucky (Oscar-honored Oklahoma native Wes Studi).

Season 2 also will see the return of one of the show's most heartwarming storylines, as Cheese reunites with the grandmother who isn’t really his grandmother (Casey Camp-Horinek).

"Both characters are so innocent. We're both such nice people," said Factor, who is based in the Oklahoma City area. "I think a lot of people can relate to something like that — especially on reservations ... or even just in general — people can come across people and they'll just be kind of adopted by them."

Oklahoma actors make screen debut on 'Reservation Dogs'

Not only does "Reservation Dogs" mark Factor's screen debut, but the teen, who is Creek-Seminole and Caddo, actually did his first audition to get cast in the series. Of the four actors in the main cast, he is the youngest, as well as the only Oklahoman.

"It's only just now that film has really started kind of exploding in Oklahoma, and now you're seeing a lot of projects happen here. So, it's been crazy," Factor told The Oklahoman. "I never would have thought that I would've been able to work on something like this — or even be an actor at all."

Following his breakout on "Reservation Dogs," Factor was cast last year in iconic director Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film "The Fabelmans," which will premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Fellow Oklahoma actor Dalton Cramer, who is Seminole, continues in Season 2 in his recurring role as Daniel, whose suicide haunts his cousin Willie Jack and the other Reservation Dogs, who were his friends.

"You're gonna see the kids finally dealing with Daniel's death," said Cramer, who hails from Seminole. "Taking this role, it's a big deal for me."

As with Factor, "Reservation Dogs" is Cramer's first acting project, and he credited his mom with encouraging him to audition after she saw a casting notice on Facebook.

"I've heard the name Sterlin Harjo — and I've definitely heard the name Taika Waititi — so I was like, 'Yes, I'll do it.' And from that first audition, it just seemed like I was meant for it," he told The Oklahoman.

He said he especially enjoyed the on-set atmosphere with so many Native American cast and crew working together.

"It's like working with a bunch of family members. ... I'm going to work with my uncle and cousin and aunties," Cramer said with a grin. "It's so much fun."

'Hopefully, it opens more doors,' says Native actor

The Tulsa premiere event drew more than 2,000 cast, crew and fans, many of them Native. On the red carpet, a large group of women and girls gathered just beyond the reporters, photographers and news camera operators to shout and wave to Alexis, the Canadian performer who plays Willie Jack.

"I love Oklahoma. It's so beautiful here — the people here, the vibes. It's always so fun to just go for drives with all the bros. When we filmed, we were riding horses, we were swimming in the lakes," she told The Oklahoman.

"My favorite part of playing my character is I get to play myself basically."

Alexis, who is a full-blood member of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Tribe in central Alberta, said she is hopeful that "Reservation Dogs" continues to resonate.

"I kind of knew it was gonna blow up, 'cause it's the first time it's ever been done before," she said. "Now, hopefully it opens doors to more Native people."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma-filmed 'Reservation Dogs' returns for Season 2 of Native comedy