The Lowdown is a “Tulsa noir” crime show, says creator Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs), himself a proud Tulsan, about his new series. “A noir is at its best when there’s someone fighting for truth to uncover corruption that’s usually political and cultural and everything in between.” The perfect character to encapsulate Harjo’s vision is self-described Tulsa, Oklahoma “truthstorian” and citizen journalist Lee Raybon (played with wit and grit by Ethan Hawke), who’s like a dog with a bone once he sniffs out corruption and rot.
“I read stuff, I research stuff, I drive around and find stuff and I write stuff,” says Raybon about his calling. “Some people like it; others don’t. Let’s just say I am obsessed with the truth.” Raybon is a guy who lives in his rare-book store and draws in lots of friends, among them eccentrics and various sort of crooks — he’s not entirely on the up-and up himself — as well as the area’s many Native Americans like his tolerant ex-wife Samantha (Kaniehtiio Horn) and his feisty 14-year-old daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). Unfortunately, he also attracts lots of enemies who resent his exposure of the rich and powerful, as well as the racist and neo-Nazis. As a result, he gets plenty of threats often accompanied by brutal beatdowns, and worse. But despite Raybon’s near-death brushes, he won’t — and can’t — quit.
His latest venture exposed the corrupt history of Tulsa’s powerful Washberg family, which made him quite unpopular in the upper reaches of society. But he quickly finds himself embroiled with the family again, when Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), the brother of gubernatorial candidate Donald (Kyle MacLachlan), seemingly killed himself with a shotgun. Becoming suspicious after goosing his many sources for info about Dale, Raybon goes snooping around Dale’s home during a real estate showing and learns that Dale had secreted notes in his books including one he discovers that says, “If you’re reading this, I’m probably dead.” It seems the deceased has left “a trail of breadcrumbs” for someone to dig deeper into how and why he died. That someone, of course, is Raybon, who figures Dale knows exactly where his family’s bones are buried.
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“I think that [Raybon’s] fight for truth supersedes his need to be a journalist and sometimes that gets him in trouble but sometimes that puts the people that he loves in danger,” Harjo explains. “That’s sort of the dance that he does throughout the season. The fun is to see where that goes, how scary the crosshairs are, and what else he uncovers as he’s navigating the trouble he’s caused.”
That trouble could be causing consternation for Donald, the current Washberg family patriarch, as he has to make sure nothing stops his moves toward becoming Oklahoma’s chief executive. “I love working with Ethan, “says MacLachlan, who has now acted with Hawke four times, the last time in Tesla (2020), in which he played Thomas Edison and Hawke, his rival Nikola Tesla. “He maintains a sense of fun in the process and is extremely collaborative in the working relation.”
As for Donald, his gladhanding candidate, “there is more than meets the eye,” the Twin Peaks star says. “He is a political man out of necessity, and we come to realize,” MacLachlan adds, “he is at heart a sensitive man who has done what he needs to do to preserve his family and its name. He has weaknesses he doesn’t want exploited and Lee has an innate ability to hone in on exactly what Donald tries to keep from the public’s eye.”
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One possible secret could be an inappropriate relationship with his brother’s new widow, former rodeo queen and onetime stripper Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn). “Our show is inhabited by some very complex characters, all with different motivations,” MacLachlan explains. “Many of the main characters are not what they first appear to be, but ultimately reveal their true nature.”
Adding to growing tension regarding Raybon’s wellbeing, whose psychological and physical battering seem to be a constant, he is also being stalked by a mysterious, well-read man calling himself Marty (Keith David), who seems far too interested in Raybon’s latest Washberg investigation. Whether he’s friend or foe is not yet clear.
“There’s another character that we shouldn’t forget,” says MacLachlan. “The city of Tulsa. Sterlin has absorbed this city, with all its history, its highs and lows, and constructed a story with a beating heart that is ultimately a love letter to Tulsa.”
The Lowdown, Series Premiere, Tuesday, September 23, 9/8c, FX
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