Fresh off The Americans, Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields head for the equally thrilling world of high school rodeo
Having just finished up their six-year tenure on one of the most tense, critically beloved drama series of its generation, The Americans’ Joe Weisberg and Joe Fields are ready to take a break and rope a couple dogies. Which is to say, the producing duo has just announced their next project, teaming up with creator Steve Lerner for a new Freeform series about a bunch of drama at the ol’ buckin’ and a broncin’ rodeo.
We don’t know much about the new series—working title, Breckman Rodeo—but it does feature what might be the two most amazing character loglines we’ve seen in recent memory, teaming up Ashley—“a rodeo-as-hell sparkplug who refuses to stay within the lines that have been drawn for her”—with her boyfriend Brant—“a rodeo prodigy torn between a content, quiet life and the rocky climb to superstardom.” It’s that classic dramatic archetype, the romantic entanglement of rodeo nerd and rodeo sparkplug, playing out on our screens for the billionth time this year.
Weisberg and Fields issued a statement about their participation in the show, presumably as part of an effort to assure fans that they do still actually know what they’re doing:
We’re incredibly excited to partner with Freeform, FX Productions and the brilliant Steve Lerner on his one-of-a-kind coming of age gem, Breckman Rodeo (working title). When Steve, who grew up in Cheyenne, first showed us his amazing script, we asked him if there was really such a thing as a high school rodeo team. Steve has been bringing us up to speed ever since. His show is a heartfelt look at teenage life in Cheyenne—familiar to some, not to others, but sure to move and surprise everyone.