Network: SundanceTV
Episodes: 12 (hour)
Seasons: Two
TV show dates: February 27, 2014 — May 7, 2015
Series status: Cancelled
Performers include: Martin Henderson, Jason Momoa, Julianne Nicholson, Tamara Tunie, Kiowa Gordon, Allie Gonino, Annalise Basso, and Tom Sizemore.
TV show description:
A missing college student in rural Walpole, New Jersey brings longstanding tensions between the Native Americans and the local townsfolk to a rolling boil. Painful past tragedies between the populations now simmer with new conflicts in the desaturated landscape.
In this town, every exchange is mired in decades of discomfort. When every action seems doomed to birth yet another disaster, no one remains above distrust for long.
Reckless teenage lovers Rachel Jensen (Allie Gonino) and Junior Van Der Veen (Kiowa Gordon) pretend their passions cross the troubled water, but their relationship only drives further rifts between the two societies.
Jensen’s newly sober mother Jean (Julianne Nicholson) fights her own demons that can’t allow her daughter to date a Lenape. Her husband, local police office Harold (Martin Henderson), struggles to keep the consequences of Jean’s varied psychoses under wraps while upholding the law.
Hulking over this melting pot is Kiowa’s elder, estranged brother Phillip Kopus (Jason Mamoa). The returning ex-con is resurrecting his career in criminal activity, funded by his villainous father, Jack (Tom Sizemore).
Their intricate schemes to keep Harold in their pocket (or in the dark) only complicate relationships that are already strained by circumstance, history, and racial bias.
Episode #12 — Shadow Walker
Harold and Phillip catch up with Junior, who tells them Levi is not far behind.
Katie picks up pills for Jean to resume treatment while Rachel stays at a friend’s house, not yet ready to see her mother.
Phillip goes ahead to distract Levi and his men while Junior and Harold stay back.
Katie returns home to find her mother gone.
Jean visits her father, apologizing for her earlier accusations, convincing him to take her inside the house to “say goodbye.” Once inside, Jean confronts her father, who finally admits the truth about her brother and his own abusive attempts to treat Brian’s schizophrenia. Jean hooks a plastic bag over her father’s face like he used to do to Brian. He fights her off, but then suffers a heart attack. Instead of calling for help, Jean watches him die.
Harold and Junior make it to the highway and commandeer a passing truck. Junior begs Harold to wait for Phillip and he does, giving Phillip just enough time to hop into the truck bed and escape Levi’s men.
Rachel finds Jean sitting outside her childhood home and tries to take her away. Jean tells Rachel “the bag” is still inside and no one can see it. Rachel enters the house and finds her grandfather’s body as well as the plastic bag nearby.
Harold drops Phillip and Junior off at Marie’s, where they find Marie taking care of Mike’s baby; Sonya left the child when she fled. Phillip tells Marie that Levi will come after them, but they have to handle it on their own to avoid Junior going to prison for attempted murder.
Harold tries to comfort Jean and Rachel. Later, Jean asks Rachel what’s wrong, and Rachel shows her the bag. Jean confesses the truth about her father and Brian and the bag. Rachel wants to go to the police, but Jean says they don’t need to.
On the news, the Jensens learn that Jean’s father called the mayor’s office to voice his version of events, casting blame on the Lenape for polluting the mountains.
At work, Harold tries to prevent the force from promoting conflict between the people of Walpole and the Lenape.
Harold visits Marie, sharing Jack Kopus’s confession and asking her to visit Jack in prison and try to determine if he’s telling the truth.
In prison, Jack taunts Marie about her decision to leave him to join Levi’s cause and the effect it had on the young Phillip. Eventually, Jack tells Marie the truth: Walpole city officials were behind the dumping — the mob just supplied the drivers. Jack gives her the picture of a young Phillip posing with his soccer trophy, pointing out a Walpole sanitation truck in the background — evidence of the city’s complicity.
Harold pays Phillip a visit, revealing he’s pulled strings to keep Phillip out of prison despite violating his probation by traveling out of state.
Junior and Rachel reconcile and share a kiss, Junior telling Rachel he’d stay by her side if she started manifesting symptoms like her mother’s.
Marie shares the picture of the Walpole sanitation truck with Sky, asking if it will serve as compelling evidence in her planned lawsuit against the city.
Junior shows up at Phillip’s to help defend against Levi’s men. Phillip turns him away, reminding him that Mac was not the vengeful type.
The officer who responded to Rachel’s emergency call tells Harold that Rachel seemed “under duress” when she told him what happened.
Jean tells Rachel she doesn’t want her getting too close to Junior again, since it will make it hard for her to leave for college next year. Rachel tells her mother she’s not going to college, instead planning to stay in town and live with Junior. Jean tells Rachel she won’t allow it, but Rachel points out that Jean can’t tell her what to do anymore, implicitly blackmailing her over the bag.
Harold comes home and asks Rachel if anything happened he doesn’t know about, but she denies it.
Levi’s men try to kill Phillip, but he surprises them, killing one and forcing the other to call Levi inside. Phillip executes Levi and his remaining henchmen as sirens converge on the scene… and then pass by.
Phillip follows the sirens to Marie’s, where he finds Frank, Marie, and Junior all wounded by Levi’s men. Phillip cries over Marie and tells her he’s sorry. (Courtesy SundanceTV.)
First aired: May 7, 2015.
What do you think? Do you like The Red Road TV show? Do you think it should have been cancelled or renewed for a third season?
Please bring this back. We loved this show. You left us hanging!
Please bring the show Red Road back…you left us all wanting to see more ..and you left us hanging.
Thank You.
Great show! Very complex – just binged watched both seasons on Netflix. Never even heard it before. Now I’m hooked and just found out there will be no more episodes – very sad. I thought it was some of Jason Momoa’s best work!
it should have been renewed.
Loved it!! Please bring it back!! One of the best series I’ve watched!!
I’ve just watched this! Great show, gutted theres not another season. Please bring it back!
The Red Road is a great story of the haves and the have not. The fact that Season 2 left viewers with a cliffhanger is beyond unfair. It STINKS to high heaven!! I would love to see a true, good ending to this story.
I can’t believe this was cancelled. It was one of those shows that kept bringing you back in. Maybe if they had better advertising strategies they would’ve gotten the audience numbers they deserved
It should have more seasons. Was a great show. I loved it. Jason Momoa is amazing. Great actor.
This show is amazing. I didn’t even know about it until my sister told me. Needed more advertising. I need a third season!!
Should have made more episodes. It was getting more interesting. WTH.
It’s kind of absurd that a show based around native Americans has so few cast members with actual Native American blood.
Well, this makes at least 4 shows we thought was really good get cancelled. Stalker on ABC, The Glades, Longmire & The Red Road all cancelled. Very disappointed. All that is on is Reality shows. Rich ppl getting richer. We do not watch those. Television is over-run with this stuff. Enough already. Bring back the crime dramas & suspense shows…. Something with a real plot. Tired of seeing ppl buying new business or buying $2500 purses!!! Really…..??
Agree! Totally agree! Bring it back! Jason momoa- does he know his fans want it back?!
Another really good show cancelled; I may stop watching the first season of any new TV show, why get invested, just wait and see if it makes it to the third season, and just binge watch it; that’s a good way to screw over the advertisers who are paying the Nielsen’s rating system to screw us over and get our shows cancelled! Very few people in this country watch TV in real-time, THEY RECORD ON DVR AND WATCH LATER! The Nielsen’s system has been outdated for at least 10 years!
I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of The Red Road. And Have been waiting for its return for quite a while. Happy it’s coming back.
It was Sundance’s best show. A silly decision to cancel it. I’m still angry about that!