Reservation Dogs Season 3: Release date, trailer, cast, plot & more

Reservation Dogs Season 3 is just around the corner – so, here’s everything we know so far, including the show’s release date, trailer, cast, plot, and more. 

Reservation Dogs is a ground-breaking coming-of-age series, telling the story of four Native American teens living on a reservation in rural Oklahoma. Their goal? To honor their late friend by making it to California. 

The show has received widespread critical acclaim since its first season dropped in 2021, not least because it marks a significant milestone in Indigenous representation on the small screen, becoming the first series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors.

With Season 3 set to drop this summer, here’s everything you need to know about the next chapter in this heartfelt comedy drama. Warning: Spoilers ahead for Reservation Dogs Season 2!

Reservation Dogs Season 3 release date: When is it out?

Reservation Dogs Season 3 will premiere on Hulu on August 3, 2023.

The first two episodes will be available to stream on this date, followed by new episodes weekly thereafter, with the third chapter consisting of 10 episodes in total. 

FX confirmed the show would be returning for a third bout in September 2022, news that delighted the fans. However, in June 2023, this news became bittersweet…

Will Reservation Dogs continue into Season 4?

Sadly, Sterlin Harjo, who co-created Reservation Dogs with Taika Waititi, confirmed that Season 3 will be the last. 

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “Here it is: the coming third season of Reservation Dogs will be the final season. That’s a difficult line to write and a more difficult decision to make. However, it’s the correct decision creatively for the show. I always knew what the end of this story would be, I just didn’t know when it would arrive. 

“As we continued to break stories and write scripts this season, it became clear to the producers, Taika, and me that the season three finale is the perfect series finale. When we came up with the idea for Reservation Dogs, I didn’t think the show would ever get made, but thankfully it did.”

And thankfully we’ve still got 10 more episodes to look forward to. 

Reservation Dogs Season 3 cast: Who’ll be in it?

Over the past two seasons, we’ve grown to know and love the four main characters of Reservation Dogs, and so it’s no surprise they’ll be back for round three. They include: Devery Jacobs as Elora Danan, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Bear Smallhill, Paulina Alexis as Willie Jack, and Lane Factor as Cheese.

Other returning cast members include:

• Elva Guerra as Jackie
• Sarah Podemski as Rita
• Zahn McClarnon as Officer Big
• Lil Mike as Mose
• Funny Bone as Mekko
• Gary Farmer as Uncle Brownie
• Wes Studi as Bucky
• Kaniehtiio Horn as Deer Lady
• Tamara Podemski as Teenie
• Jon Proudstar as Leon
• Lily Gladstone as Hokti
• Richard Ray Whitman as Old Man Fixico
• Kirk Fox as Kenny Boy
• Jana Schmieding as Bev

Meanwhile, Graham Greene has joined the cast as a conspiracy theorist named Maximus.

Reservation Dogs Season 3 plot: What will it be about?

The official synopsis for Reservation Dogs Season 3 reads: “The Rez Dogs find themselves stranded in Cali and have to figure out their way back home. After making it back to Okern, Elora considers the idea of college, Bear comes across a conspiracy theorist named Maximus, Willie Jack grows more invested in healing her community and Cheese, well, he still lives with his grandmother who’s not his grandmother. 

“Meanwhile, the aunties, uncles and elders explore their pasts and try to heal old wounds. We learn more about tribal cop Big; cannabis-loving Brownie; physics-obsessed Bucky; the enigmatic Deer Lady; Bear’s mom Rita and her cousin Teenie; Willie Jack’s dad Leon; Daniel’s mom Hokti; medicine man Old Man Fixico; junkyard prophet Kenny Boy; gum-smacking Bev; and ride-less rap duo Mose and Mekko.

“Season 3 is full of road trips, bathroom wisdom, unexpected fathers, boarding schools, Bigfoot, rumors, revenge and healing.”

While the show is humorous and filled with light-hearted banter, it also provides an insightful look into contemporary Indigenous life, tackling issues such as poverty, crime, cultural identity, and the struggles of the Indigenous communities in America, while also dealing with subjects such as grief. 

And in Season 3, we can expect “some darkness”, according to Variety’s interview with Harjo earlier this year. “I think people were expecting them to go to California at some point,” he said. “The way we were able to surprise people was to have it happen at the end of Season 2.”

Harjo went on to say: “We’re not going to dilly-dally in California for too long. We have business to attend to back home. It’s a similar approach to Season 3, which is, ‘How do I make this feel like you’re not predicting where this is going?’ And honestly, I think that tonally, there’s some darkness coming.”

But the filmmaker went on to say that Reservation Dogs will stay true to its comedic roots, and the show is also set to receive a fitting end that continues to give voice to Indigenous creators and communities. 

“The things that were strikes against me in feature film, which was having Native lead actors, the stories that I wanted to tell were with Native people, and they would politely tell you that there are no Native lead actors that can sell movies,” added Harjo. “And then TV’s like, ‘We don’t care about that.’ 

“I wanted to make a show that was very culturally specific, but could resonate with the world and have very universal themes. I think that’s the best of storytelling when you can kind of hit that mark. I had an opportunity to do that.”

Is there a Reservation Dogs Season 3 trailer?

Yes, the trailer for Reservation Dogs Season 3 dropped on July 6, 2023, promising plenty more adventures with our beloved Rez crew:

That’s everything we know about Reservation Dogs Season 3. In the meantime, check out some of our other TV hubs below: 

The Last of Us Season 2 | Invincible Season 2 | The Boys Season 4 | Stranger Things Season 5 | Severance Season 2 | Harry Potter TV show | House of the Dragon Season 2 | The Night Agent Season 2 | Squid Game Season 2 | Heartstopper Season 2