The new FX series The Lowdown “could be one of the best new shows of the fall” says SHIFTER’s Chris Harrison who recently watched the pilot at the Toronto International Film Festival.
FX might have a hit on their hands with their new series The Lowdown.
The new series, created by Sterlin Harjo (of the critically acclaimed Reservation Dogs), stars Ethan Hawke as a man obsessed with digging up the truth. Set in Tulsa Oklahoma, Hawke’s Lee Raybon runs a store specializing in rare books, and has a particular interest in the corruption in the city around him, which gets him into no small amount of trouble.
But Raybon, a sort of historian/journalist hybrid bold enough to label himself a “truthstorian,” is exactly the sort of character who enjoys drawing the ire of those he seeks to expose. Hawke has a gift for playing obsessives and men with irrepressible moral convictions, and he’s clearly having fun throughout the series premiere. While not quite as wide-eyed and rambunctious as his portrayal of John Brown in the stellar The Good Lord Bird, Hawke oozes charm in the role, leaving no wonder as to why Raybon’s loved ones, who have exhausted of him, choose to keep him around.
Despite its heavy premise—the “black sheep” of the wealthy family of an Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate dies by apparent suicide and foul play appears to be afoot—the show is frequently funny, and without coming across as one-note.
There are a few film noir cliches, sure, like a meeting in a diner between Raybon and a mysterious man who knows more than he’s letting on (played by an excellent Keith David), but the central mystery is intriguing enough, and the characters charming enough, that even those moments don’t feel dull.
The Lowdown has no shortage of characters with big personalities (Michael Hitchcock and Michael “Killer Mike” Render both have some great line readings as an antique salesman and the owner of a smarmy gossip paper, respectively), but Raybon’s relationship with his daughter daughter Francis, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, looks like the most intriguing plot going forward. The apple has clearly not fallen far from the tree, and an impromptu “stakeout” proves that she is just as drawn to salacious rumors as her father.
The show is beautifully shot and its portrayal of Tulsa feels alive, as it draws from the city’s recent past and the real-life story it’s based on (Lee Raybon is loosely based on Lee Roy Chapman, a journalist and activist who inspired the series).
It’s a strong premiere episode that teases a fresh take on the classic whodunit and a world teeming with oddballs and eccentrics. If the series is able to build on its promising beginning, it could be one of the best new shows of the fall.
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