With monsters, ghouls, witches, and werewolves ruling the month of October, it’s easy to overlook Ethan Hawke‘s latest TV show, The Lowdown. The southern-fried neo-noir from Reservation Dogs creator Sterlin Harjo takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Hawke plays Lee Raybon, a town historian who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery and a cover-up by a powerful local family with a sordid history.
Beyond Hawke’s stellar performance as a charismatic yet flawed “truthstorian,” Harjo strikes the perfect blend of crime and mystery with a cozy, comforting tone that makes the show so easy and enjoyable to watch. Granted, October may not have been the wisest month to release most of the episodes, given the horror competition, but The Lowdown is the best show on TV right now and deserves more attention.
‘The Lowdown’s Captivating Hook
FX
Created by Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs) as a wholly original IP, The Lowdown blends mysterious crime elements with black humor and neo-noir tropes. Ethan Hawke owns the frame as Lee Raybon, a muckraking rabble-rouser who ruffles all kinds of feathers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Lee is a self-proclaimed “truthstorian” who sells rare books in Tulsa and uses his historical knowledge of the city to investigate crimes as an amateur sleuth.
The dramatic stakes are set high from the get-go, with viewers learning that Lee once published a scathing expose on the local Washberg family. The Washbergs dispatch violent skinheads to quiet Lee and stop him from digging into their ugly past, prompting Lee to work with Marty (Keith David), a private investigator, to prove the Washbergs’ long-held ties to the Ku Klux Klan. With Donald Washberg (Kyle MacLachlan) running for Governor, the systemic corruption extends to the city’s top policymakers.
As Lee searches for more damning evidence against the Washbergs to use in a follow-up story, he’s assisted and resisted by several outsized characters. For instance, tabloid editor Cyrus (Mike “Killer Mike” Render) agrees to publish Lee’s follow-up story exposing the Washbergs’ KKK ties, and gives Lee a firearm to protect himself. Lee also trades favors with Ray (Michael Hitchcock), a local antiques merchant with extensive knowledge of Tulsa’s checkered past.
‘The Lowdown’s Real-Life Inspiration
FX
The Lowdown’s gripping premise alone is worth watching, but its true story basis makes it a must-see. Lee Raybon is based on Lee Roy Chapman, a local Tulsa folk hero who fought injustice and worked to expose local crime as a self-motivated investigative journalist.
In 2010, Chapman began contributing to This Land Press, a Tulsa‑based publication. In 2011, Chapman published the article, The Nightmare of Dreamland: Tate Brady and the Battle for Greenwood, which proved Tulsa founder W. Tate Brady’s affiliation with the KKK and his role in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. By exposing systemic racism at the top of Tulsa’s government, Chapman was vindicated when the city renamed Brady Street and changed the Brady Arts District to the Tulsa Arts District in 2013.
With a staunch dedication to truth and justice, Chapman also had a poetic and artistic sensibility that shines through in Hawke’s soulful performance. In FX’s The Lowdown, the Washbergs are analogous to the Brady family, lending the story a sense of authenticity that extends beyond mere fiction. As crazy and chaotic as the show gets, it’s rooted in reality, serving as a fascinating history lesson.
Sadly, Chapman took his own life in 2015 at the age of 46. The Lowdown serves as an affectionate homage to the Tulsa folk hero who ruffled feathers but always had a sharp focus on exposing the truth and making Tulsa a better place. Between the veracity of the show and its mission, the superb cast and performances, and Harjo’s tonal blend, The Lowdown is high up the TV ladder.
Why You Should Watch ‘The Lowdown’
FX
It’s impossible to heap praise on The Lowdown without beginning with Ethan Hawke’s magnetic, movie-caliber performance. With a disheveled charm, Hawke plays Lee with such flawed lovability that it’s hard not to root for his success in exposing the Washberg clan. What’s so admirable about Harjo’s writing and Hawke’s performance is that it never resorts to a hagiographic depiction of the late Lee Roy Chapman.
For a show based on a real-life deceased character, it would be easy to paint Lee as a saint through and through. On the contrary, The Lowdown leans into Lee’s faults, flaws, ineptitude, and mistakes made in pursuit of justice. This makes the shambolic character far more human and relatable by juxtaposing his moralistic views and admirable mission to expose the truth with his inability to get out of his own way. Hawke understands this dynamic and fully immerses himself in the role, one that audiences haven’t seen him play before.
Past Hawke’s must-see turn, Harjo deserves credit for seamlessly weaving classic noir tropes with dark humor and an incredibly cozy tone. The central mystery about the Washbergs’ KKK ties remains absorbing, but it’s the comforting pace and tangential hangouts with the colorful characters that really compel. Fusing real-life history and its high stakes with a supremely easy-watching pace gives The Lowdown a unique quality that’s hard to beat.
The Lowdown’s superb supporting cast also deserves applause. In addition to those mentioned, the show co-stars Tim Blake Nelson, Tracy Letts, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Peter Dinklage, Tom McCarthy, Tisha Campbell, Macon Blair, and the late Graham Greene, who passed away on September 1, 2025. These are terrific actors with proven movie and TV track records that breathe vivid life into The Lowdown’s colorful array of characters.
Perhaps the most important plaudit, The Lowdown shares a mission statement with Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. The show works to expose the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. By shedding light on past atrocities and rebuking modern-day skinheads, The Lowdown takes cues from history to warn about the future. The Lowdown is available to stream on Hulu.
Release Date
September 23, 2025
Network
FX
Directors
Sterlin Harjo
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