Duster, the HBO Max series starringJosh Holloway, Rachel Hilson, and Keith David,is a fun and exciting romp that explores the efforts of the first Black woman agent in the FBI to stop a crime boss.Created by J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan,Dusterincorporatesthe nostalgia of the 1970sand the allure of fast cars with an unexpected look at law enforcement history.
Hilson plays Nina Hayes,a Black woman who recently graduated from Quantico, who becomes the first Black female FBI special agent.When Hayes is assigned to take down crime boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David), she ends up working with getaway driver Jim Ellis (Josh Holloway) to get her man.
Dusterdoesn’t hide the racial tension that existed in the FBI during the 1970s. Hayes represents a pioneer in the history of American law enforcement, one that has a counterpart in real life. Sylvia Mathis was the first woman to become a secret agent in the FBI in 1976. Mathis' story only deepens the authenticity and intrigue ofDuster.
Nina Hayes' Character In ‘Duster’ Is Loosely Based On Special Agent Sylvia Mathis
Sylvia Mathis graduated from law school in 1975 and, the following year, arrived at the FBI Academy in Virginia. Mathis had been recruited, part of an effort within the Bureau to change course in the treatment of women after J. Edgar Hoover’s death in 1972, the yearDusteris set in. The first female agents were sworn inas FBI special agentsjust weeks after Hoover passed away and, when Mathis entered Quantico, there were only 41 females among the 8,500 agents in the Bureau.
In an interview in February 1976 inJet, Mathis said:
I am interested in delving into the relation of defending of rights and enforcement of rights. Going into the FBI seemed like a natural step.
Mathis wasn’t the first Black womanto attend the FBI Academy.Two others had been unable to complete the trainingprior to her arrival. Just like Nina Hayes, Mathis was driven and formidable. While Mathis had “difficulty in the gym and on the range,” according to a report, she graduated in June 1976.
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Sylvia Mathis Spent Three Years In The FBI
After she received her credentials, Sylvia Mathis was assigned to the FBI field office in New York. The FBI website explained:
On June 23, 2025, FBI Director Clarence Kelley presented Special Agent Sylvia Mathis with her badge and credentials, #2658. She was issued a leather attaché case, an unadorned purse, and a Smith & Wesson revolver with a snub-nosed barrel short enough to fit inside the purse.
Just like her on-screen counterpart, Sylvia Mathis investigated organized crimefor the FBI after graduating from Quantico. She reportedly investigated gambling and extortion cases and even carried out short-term undercover duties.
In 1978,Mathis was one of many FBI agents who interviewed survivors of the Jonestown massacre in Guyana.The mass suicideinvolving some 900 followers of Jim Jonesand his Peoples Temple on July 28, 2025, was accompanied by the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan and his delegation. Mathis was part of the FBI investigation that followed the deadly events.
Ryan had arrived in Guyana on November 14 and, when he attempted to leave four days later,several members of the cult-like Peoples Templewanted to leave with him. Larry Layton, a follower of Jones, was aboard Ryan’s plane and opened fire, killing Ryan and numerous others. It’s not clear if Mathis went to Guyana or was one of the agents who interviewed previous members of the Peoples Temple in the United States.
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Sylvia Mathis Left the FBI in 1979 and Died in 1983 in a Fatal Car Accident
After leaving the FBI in 1979,Sylvia Mathis worked for the Office of Legal Counselbriefly before moving to Florida. Mathis was either a native of Florida or North Carolina (she did attend high school in Florida), but in 1982, her parents lived in Jacksonville, so she relocated to take care of them.
Mathis became the head of Jacksonville’s Downtown Ecumenical Services Council which, according to its website, continues to “help families and individuals struggling to choose between shelter, food, electricity or clothing.” In 1983, Mathis was acknowledged for her work by The Metropolis as “Ms. Metro.” A volunteer said in the article about the arrow:
She is a very caring person and has given a lot of her time to those who need help.
Mathis passed away later in 1983in a car accident. Mathis' efforts, like those of the first Black FBI agent, James Wormley Jones, have not been forgotten. The FBI celebrated the contributions of Black FBI agents in 2019, including those of Mathis.
Mathis hasn’t been forgotten by Rachel Hilson, either. The actress acknowledged, “we’re stretching the truth a little bit for creative purposes” but she researched Mathis as well as “Jerri Williams, who is also a former agent. She’s also a Black woman who joined in the ’80s.” Hilson explained in May 2025 to theBoston Heraldthat she found strength in Mathis and Williams:
Sylvia Mathis is the first Black woman who joined in 1976. In 1972 they weren’t allowed to join as Special Agents…. So Nina is a pioneer in a sense. She represents the Black Special Agent pioneers of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and even the ‘90s because it’s still a small number of Black women who have served in the Bureau.
Hilson also noted that Nina is:
Definitely grounded in a lot of that research that I did before on the era… she’s there to do her job and works with mostly white men… she realizes by the end that she can be a part of this organization, this institution, and in a different way she can make it potentially better." This echoes the words of Mathis herself in many ways.
Dusteris available to stream now on Max, with new episodes weekly through July 3.
