# One Dollar
Jason Mosberg created **One Dollar**, a streaming mystery thriller drama from the United States, which debuted on CBS All Access on August 30, 2018. Set in a small [Rust Belt](https://www.edgepedia.org/rust-belt) town in post-recession America, the series follows a single one-dollar bill as it changes hands and connects a group of characters involved in a shocking multiple murder.[1](https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/One_Dollar?hl=en_US&id=4C981DB6A7C3BCC0SH) • [2](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/) It ran for one season of ten episodes and was canceled on December 12, 2018, becoming the first original series dropped by CBS All Access since the streaming service launched in 2014.[3](https://www.thewrap.com/one-dollar-becomes-first-cbs-access-casualty-svod-service-scraps-mystery-series-1-year/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creator | Jason Mosberg; directed and executive produced by Craig Zobel[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/one_dollar/s01) |
| Network and run | CBS All Access, August 30 to November 1, 2018; 10 episodes of roughly 50 minutes; TV-MA[3](https://www.thewrap.com/one-dollar-becomes-first-cbs-access-casualty-svod-service-scraps-mystery-series-1-year/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7230898) |
| Premise | A one-dollar bill changes hands in the fictional town of Braden, Pennsylvania, connecting characters to a multiple murder at a steel mill; each episode is named for the character holding the bill[2](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-one-dollar-review-20180830-story.html) |
| Filming | Shot in and around Pittsburgh, with about 200 behind-the-scenes workers and 20 actors from the area; Carrie Furnace in Swissvale appears in four of the ten episodes[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/one-dollar-cbs-all-access-filmed-in-pittsburgh/) |
| Critical scores | Metacritic Metascore 64 from 6 critic reviews; Rotten Tomatoes season 1 Tomatometer 82% from 11 reviews[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/one-dollar/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/one_dollar/s01) |
| Cancellation | Canceled December 12, 2018 after one season, the first CBS All Access original to be axed[3](https://www.thewrap.com/one-dollar-becomes-first-cbs-access-casualty-svod-service-scraps-mystery-series-1-year/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and structure
The series is set in Braden, a fictional, struggling Rust Belt steel town with deep class and cultural divides. A multiple murder at Bud Carl's steel mill opens the story, and the path of a single dollar bill, marked with blue numbers written on it, links the town's residents as secrets surface.[2](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/) • [9](https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2018/10/31/one-dollar-mystery-season-finale-murders-revealed-cbs-all-access-pittsburgh/stories/201810300131) Each episode carries the name of a character into whose possession the dollar comes, and the point of view shifts with each transfer of the bill.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-one-dollar-review-20180830-story.html) • [10](https://www.tvinsider.com/712982/whats-on-tv-thursday-august-30/)
The crime at the center of the show is the "Seven Bloods" case: police forensics find the blood of seven different people at the mill, none of whom could have survived.[11](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/ashlie-atkinson-one-dollar/) The penultimate episode, a flashback, reveals what actually happened: a crime gone wrong at the mill left seven people's blood mingling at the scene. The blue numbers on the bill turn out to be a code written by Bud Carl with a Sharpie for former mill worker Rick Mitchell to access a security gate, setting an act of betrayal and greed in motion.[9](https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2018/10/31/one-dollar-mystery-season-finale-murders-revealed-cbs-all-access-pittsburgh/stories/201810300131)
### Cast and characters
The ensemble includes [John Carroll Lynch](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carroll-lynch) as Bud Carl, the genial owner of the family steel business Carl Steel; Nathaniel Martello-White as Jake Noveer; [Christopher Denham](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-denham) as Police Chief Peter Trask; Philip Ettinger as millworker and single father Garrett Drimmer; Kirrilee Berger as Danielle "Dannie" Furlbee; Joshua Bitton as officer Chewy; and N'ke Uche Kadri as officer Rook.[12](https://www.epguides.com/OneDollar/) • [13](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/one-dollar/) Other cast members include [Leslie Odom Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/leslie-odom-jr) as Randall "Rand" Abatsy, Greg Germann as Wilson Furlbee, Jeff Perry as con artist Charles, Aleksa Palladino as grocery cashier Chelsea Wyler, Sturgill Simpson, Ashlie Atkinson as steel mill worker Terri Mitchell, and Hamilton Clancy.[12](https://www.epguides.com/OneDollar/) • [13](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/one-dollar/) • [14](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/?ftag=IPP-23-10ahb6g&searchReferral=desktop-web&source=google-organic)
Lynch, playing a role based near Pittsburgh, called learning the local Pittsburghese accent "the most complicated accent I've ever been asked to do."[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/one-dollar-cbs-all-access-filmed-in-pittsburgh/)
## Production and filming
CBS All Access ordered the series on August 1, 2017, when it was titled "$1", with Jason Mosberg as creator and Matt DeRoss, Alexandre Dauman, and [Craig Zobel](https://www.edgepedia.org/craig-zobel) as executive producers; Zobel was also set to direct. Production companies included CBS Television Studios and [Anonymous Content](https://www.edgepedia.org/anonymous-content).
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began on March 27, 2018 in [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh). Producer Jonathan Starch listed filming locations including Arnold, Braddock, Apollo, New Kensington, Gibsonia, and Fox Chapel, and Carrie Furnace in Swissvale served as the setting for a pivotal scene in four of the ten episodes.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/one-dollar-cbs-all-access-filmed-in-pittsburgh/) Lynch shot the scene in which Bud writes the numbers on the bill at the Carrie Furnace set on a 95-degree day in August.[9](https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2018/10/31/one-dollar-mystery-season-finale-murders-revealed-cbs-all-access-pittsburgh/stories/201810300131)
## Reception
The season holds a Metascore of 64 on Metacritic, based on 6 critic reviews, classified as generally favorable, with a user score of 7.4 from 18 ratings.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/one-dollar/) On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has an 82% Tomatometer from 11 reviews and a 96% Popcornmeter from fewer than 50 ratings; the critics consensus describes the show as sifting "through the blue collar experience with a persuasive authenticity and an intriguing hook."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/one_dollar/s01) On IMDb the series holds a 6.7/10 rating from about 1,100 users.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7230898)
Reviewers divided over the dollar-bill device. Robert Lloyd, television critic for the Los Angeles Times since 2003, called the bill "a narrative gimmick, rather than a plot element" but judged the show a solid cop drama and singled out Martello-White's Noveer as what made the series fun to watch.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-one-dollar-review-20180830-story.html) [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide)'s review found the show less interested in solving the crime than in building a sense of place, addressing race, gentrification, addiction, poverty, and post-industrialization.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/one-dollar/) [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) was the most negative of the six reviews collected by Metacritic, scoring it 40 and criticizing the writing and character motivation.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/one-dollar/)
## Cancellation and availability
On December 12, 2018, CBS All Access canceled the series after one season. Julie McNamara, then executive vice president of original content for CBS All Access, said the service was proud of its "artistically presented 10-episode story," which would remain available for streaming. The cancellation made One Dollar the first original program dropped by the subscription service since its 2014 launch.[3](https://www.thewrap.com/one-dollar-becomes-first-cbs-access-casualty-svod-service-scraps-mystery-series-1-year/) The series later became available on Paramount Plus, the successor service, where all ten episodes stream with a subscription.[2](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/)
## References
1. [One Dollar - TV on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/tv/show/One_Dollar?hl=en_US&id=4C981DB6A7C3BCC0SH)
2. [One Dollar (Official Site), Paramount Plus](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/)
3. ['One Dollar' Becomes First CBS All Access Casualty, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/one-dollar-becomes-first-cbs-access-casualty-svod-service-scraps-mystery-series-1-year/)
4. [One Dollar: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/one_dollar/s01)
5. [One Dollar (TV Series 2018), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7230898)
6. ['One Dollar' uncovers human and murder mysteries in a Rust Belt steel town, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-one-dollar-review-20180830-story.html)
7. [Pittsburgh-Filmed Show 'One Dollar' Premieres On CBS All Access, CBS Pittsburgh](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/one-dollar-cbs-all-access-filmed-in-pittsburgh/)
8. [One Dollar Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/one-dollar/)
9. [Pittsburgh-shot 'One Dollar' flips the script heading into season finale, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette](https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2018/10/31/one-dollar-mystery-season-finale-murders-revealed-cbs-all-access-pittsburgh/stories/201810300131)
10. [Spend Time With 'One Dollar,' Two Times 'Take Two', TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/712982/whats-on-tv-thursday-august-30/)
11. [Ashlie Atkinson Talks 'One Dollar' On CBS All-Access, CBS Philadelphia](https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/ashlie-atkinson-one-dollar/)
12. [One Dollar (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides](https://www.epguides.com/OneDollar/)
13. [One Dollar TV Show on CBS All Access, TV Series Finale](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/one-dollar/)
14. [One Dollar (Official Site), Paramount Plus episode guide](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/one-dollar/?ftag=IPP-23-10ahb6g&searchReferral=desktop-web&source=google-organic)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Psychological and domestic thrillers*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license