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Paulina Alexis, who plays Willie Jack on “Reservation Dogs,” interacts with the media while walking the red carpet at a season two premiere Friday at the River Spirit Casino Resort.
Fans of “Reservation Dogs” flocked to River Spirit Casino Resort for a season two red carpet premiere event.
Bobby Wilson was among creatives from “Reservation Dogs” who attended a season two red carpet premiere Friday at River Spirit Casino Resort.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on “Reservation Dogs,” poses during a season two red carpet premiere event for the shot-in-Oklahoma series.
Dalton Cramer, who plays Daniel on “Reservation Dogs,” celebrated his 22nd birthday the day before attending a season two red carpet premiere event at River Spirit Casino Resort. Cramer’s character is deceased, but has appeared in flashback and dream sequences. Asked why the character means so much to the surviving rez dogs, Cramer said, “I think they all looked up to him as a hero and a leader and, now that he’s gone, it’s just like that missing puzzle piece that’s never going to be put back.”
Chad Charlie of “Reservation Dogs” looked at the assembled fans who showed up to watch the show’s writers and actors walk the red carpet at the River Spirit Casino and said this:
“This is dope. I think it’s dope because it shows the amount of people that are proud and are proud to see themselves on television. I love it. I love to be able to be a part of something that is iconic for our own people and our own community. Our people just want to feel loved. Our people want to feel represented, and I feel like this show has been doing that. It is creating a certain amount of representation that everyone can be proud of.”
A pioneering series that features an all-Indigenous cast and creative team, “Reservation Dogs” is shot primarily in Okmulgee. The show, co-created by Tulsa filmmaker Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, spotlights four youths who schemed to leave small town rez life behind and start anew in California.
Season one was met with acclaim. Season two was met by a crowd.
Fans of the show flocked to the River Spirit Casino for a season two red carpet premiere event Friday.
“Just looking out and seeing all the people who are here for the premiere, it really means so much to me that all these people love the show,” Lane Factor, who plays Cheese, said during his red carpet voyage.
“I’m really honored to be a part of this project and being someone who I think a lot of people can look up to.”
David Hill, principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, indicated that interest has “doubled and tripled” in “Reservation Dogs” since a season one premiere in Tulsa last year.
“That’s what Sterlin and they all have brought here,” Hill said. “The majority of it is shot on our reservation. It’s just a first step. It’s just a beginning. What’s going to happen next?”
From a episodic standpoint, what’s going to happen next is only one of the Rez Dogs kids (Elora Danan, played by Devery Jacobs) is going to head toward California. She and Jackie (Elva Guerra), a member of a rival gang, experience immediate road trip problems.
The season’s first two episodes were shown at the Cove, River Spirit’s concert venue. Keep an eye out for Oklahomans Wes Studi, Josh Fadem and Megan Mullally when the second season launches Wednesday on FX on Hulu.
The series continues to capture Oklahoma in a manner that hasn’t been accomplished previously, at least in the entertainment world.
Writer Ryan RedCorn, who is from Pawhuska and was born in Tahlequah, said, “Sterlin is from Oklahoma. He is from Holdenville, and Holdenville is not that much different than Pawhuska or Tahlequah.”
RedCorn continued, “Anybody who has grown up in any small town in Oklahoma, that experience is very unique. You have such a blend of different kinds of people all interacting with each other, and we are kind of left to our own devices here.
“A lot of people kind of talk that down, but we weren’t being entertained. We were the entertainers. From a very, very young age, it was incumbent on us to keep each other entertained. That’s you and your friends and your family. You don’t have cable TV or anything like that. You just sit around telling stories and getting into mischief and doing crazy stuff. If you grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, unless you went to church three times a a week — and even if you did, there is still plenty of time to get into trouble.”
RedCorn (who co-wrote season two’s first two episodes), Charlie (who wrote the third episode) and Factor were joined by co-producer and writer Bobby Wilson (Jumbo), Dalton Cramer (Daniel) and Paulina Alexis (Willie Jack) on the red carpet. Harjo tested positive for COVID-19 and did not attend the premiere.
Fans’ mobile phones were raised in unison when Alexis appeared (last) on the red carpet. Asked about the popularity of Willie Jack, Alexis said, “I mostly just play myself in the role. Yes, there is a script, but Sterlin really gave me a lot of freedom to say and do what I wanted — and how I would do it as well.”
Many of the red carpet walkers were asked to finish this sentence: People will love season two of “Reservation Dogs” because ...?
RedCorn: “It’s crazy. Like I said, if you lived in a small town in Oklahoma or any small town in America, you are basically subjected to a lot of weird uncles and weird aunties and weirder public officials and cousins and siblings and all that. Any time you put that many wild cards into an ecosystem, it’s going to get wild. That’s what the show is.”
Alexis: “Because it’s deadly. People are going to love season two because we have new characters and new stories coming out and they can find out who Uncle Charlie is. It’s going to be a wild ride.”
Factor: “People are going to love season two because of Cheese.”
Charlie: “I think people are going to love season two because it’s a roller coaster of emotion. There are moments of humor. There are heartfelt moments. There are moments where a lot of our own beliefs and culture and traditions are presented on screen, and we are able to finally see it visually in a very authentic and genuine way. And there are moments where we all are going to cry. There are moments where some of you all are going to laugh. Hopefully, all of you will laugh.”
Cramer: “People are going to love season two, I would say, because of Willie Jack. I have to take the safe bet.”
Paulina Alexis, who plays Willie Jack on Reservation Dogs, talks to media during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Dalton Cramer, who plays Daniel on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Paulina Alexis, who plays Willie Jack on Reservation Dogs, poses for a photo during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Bobby Wilson, who plays Jumbo on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Bobby Wilson, who plays Jumbo on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Dalton Cramer, who plays Daniel on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Bobby Wilson, who plays Jumbo on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Dalton Cramer, who plays Daniel on Reservation Dogs, talks to media during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Dalton Cramer, who plays Daniel on Reservation Dogs, talks to media during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Bobby Wilson, who plays Jumbo on Reservation Dogs, poses for a picture during the Reservation Dogs Season 2 Premier at River Spirit Casino Resort on Friday, July 29, 2022.
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I cover pop culture and work as a feature writer at the Tulsa World. A former Oklahoma sports writer of the year, I have written books about former OU coach Barry Switzer and former OSU coach Pat Jones. Phone: 918-581-8389
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Her team is competing on behalf of the Kristin Chenoweth Arts & Education Fund.
Season two debuted Aug. 3 on FX on Hulu. The road to California is paved with trouble.
Showrunner Sterlin Harjo and cast member/writer Dallas Goldtooth were members of the 1491s, an Indigenous sketch comedy group, prior to "Reservation Dogs."
It marks the end of a broadcast run that has spanned more than 14,000 episodes and began when Lyndon B. Johnson was president.
Season two will launch Wednesday, Aug. 3 on FX on Hulu. The first two episodes were previewed Friday at the Cove, the concert venue of the River Spirit Casino.
The Oklahoma-born Cherokee actor plays Bucky in the groundbreaking FX series.
When producers looked at the history of women in baseball, they realized “A League of Their Own” only scratched the surface.
There’s really no awards category that fits “Reservation Dogs.” Sure, it’s billed as a comedy but there are so many touching moments it could easily top the shows that are billed as dramas. Variety seeps in, too, and if you happen to hail from the rez, you probably think it’s a reality show.
Paulina Alexis, who plays Willie Jack on “Reservation Dogs,” interacts with the media while walking the red carpet at a season two premiere Friday at the River Spirit Casino Resort.
Fans of “Reservation Dogs” flocked to River Spirit Casino Resort for a season two red carpet premiere event.
Bobby Wilson was among creatives from “Reservation Dogs” who attended a season two red carpet premiere Friday at River Spirit Casino Resort.
Lane Factor, who plays Cheese on “Reservation Dogs,” poses during a season two red carpet premiere event for the shot-in-Oklahoma series.
Dalton Cramer, who plays Daniel on “Reservation Dogs,” celebrated his 22nd birthday the day before attending a season two red carpet premiere event at River Spirit Casino Resort. Cramer’s character is deceased, but has appeared in flashback and dream sequences. Asked why the character means so much to the surviving rez dogs, Cramer said, “I think they all looked up to him as a hero and a leader and, now that he’s gone, it’s just like that missing puzzle piece that’s never going to be put back.”
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