What was my favorite stream of the week? Get ‘The Lowdown’
What was my favorite stream of the week? Get ‘The Lowdown’
Sterlin Harjo’s new show on FX and Hulu lives up to the high expectations set by ‘Reservation Dogs.’
In a week filled with blackout news, I turned to a show I expected to be great escapist entertainment based on one particular name attached. That would be “The Lowdown,” the series which debuted on FX on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Episodes stream on Hulu on demand the day after arriving on cable.
“The Lowdown” was created by Sterlin Harjo, the filmmaker responsible for “Reservation Dogs,” which also aired on FX and Hulu. Harjo is one of my favorite TV writers at the moment, and he pours some of his best writing into Lee Raybon, the man who knows too much but can’t keep his ear away from the ground.
Ethan Hawke portrays Raybon, who is a self-styled “thruthstorian,” working as a freelancing investigative reporter living in Tulsa, OK. Raybon is loosely inspired by Lee Roy Chapman, a real-life Oklahoma historian and citizen journalist who is credited with helping to reshape the understanding of the racial history of Tulsa. Raybon knows full well he’s rocking the boat of the rich and powerful, and he knows that’s the only way to get the answers people deserve to know — whether they care to learn them or not.
“The Lowdown” meets audiences at a time when journalists are actively discouraged from seeking the truth, and are instead almost exclusively employed in the furtherance of a narrative — be it political, corporate, or any other kind. The show dares to ask the question of what would happen if reporters still followed the ethos of figures like Murrow or Cronkite, even if their beat was no bigger than the mean streets of Tulsa.
The series veils this question in a mix of humor and outlandish violence, the latter of which serves to remind the audience that this is a mystery. “The Lowdown” loves flashing shots of pulp mystery paperbacks onto the screen, which also partially serve as a MacGuffin early in the series. The show is rooted in such stories as much as it is in its humor, or its earnest questions about what the viewer should expect of members of the press.
Watch a trailer for ‘The Lowdown’
Hawke turns in a fantastic performance as the charismatic, irresponsible Raybon, but he’s not the only one who draws an eye on screen. Keith David as private investigator Marty is absolutely magnetic, and it’s hard to miss Kyle McLachlan when he’s parading on screen as the affable candidate for governor, Donald Washberg.
The show is once again a chance for Oklahoma native Harjo to show off his roots. Produced and set in the Sooner state, Harjo’s signature style is all over the series, from the color palette to the continued use of incredibly talented Native American performers, including Kaniehitto Horn as Raybon’s even-keeled ex-wif,e Samantha.
There are plenty of uncomfortable parallels to reality in the show that might cause some to seek more deliberately escapist entertainment. But “The Lowdown” hits all the notes I’ve come to expect from Harjo: expertly crafted scripts full of humor, characters that jump off the screen, and a plot that keeps me wanting to peel back layer after layer. If you love mysteries, dark comedy, or just good TV, “The Lowdown” is definitely worth your time
New episodes of “The Lowdown” stream on FX on Tuesdays, and arrive on Hulu the next day. The eight-episode first season of the show will conclude on Nov. 4.
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