“On the Mean Streets of Tulsa: FX’s The Lowdown” by Anees Aref

Lee Raybon calls himself a “truth storian” [p]layed by Ethan Hawke as a cross between Hunter S. Thompson and Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe….

In the highly entertaining and timely FX series The Lowdown (2025), the protagonist Lee Raybon calls himself a “truth storian”. Played by Ethan Hawke as a cross between Hunter S. Thompson and Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, Lee is a writer-cum-investigator of sorts; a man with a van who describes what he does early on as thus: “I like to read about stuff, research stuff, and find stuff, then write about that stuff.” This “stuff” gets him into trouble with a lot of people around his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. When a member of a powerful local family dies under shady circumstances, this sparks Lee’s interest, and a journey down the rabbit hole of Tulsa politics, land, and moneyed interests.

The deceased man is Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), whose brother Donald (Kyle Maclachlan) is running for state governor with a campaign slogan that seems to be “beef and oil.” Donald wants to turn the page quickly on Dale’s death to avoid potential scandal, as does Dale’s widow Betty Jo (Jeanne Triplehorn), who we find is cozy with Donald. Surrounding is a colorful cast of characters including a cynical private detective, corrupt businessmen, a construction contractor/hit man, a proudly gay antiques dealer, neo-Nazis both inept and dangerous, as well as a pair of slacker Native Americans whom Lee hires as security outside his floundering rare books shop. There’s also Lee’s ex-wife (Kaniehtiio Horn) and daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), both frustrated by his ramshackle existence.

Created by Sterlin Harjo, The Lowdown gives Tulsa the Chinatown (1974) treatment, using a fictional mystery as a means to dig into the city’s dirty laundry. Harjo, whose previous work includes the acclaimed series Reservation Dogs (2021) and multiple feature films as a writer and director, is himself an Oklahoma native of the Seminole nation with Muskogee descent. He infuses The Lowdown with historic scope and a lived-in quality as it explores the legacy of land theft and the troubled race relations amongst Oklahoma’s various ethnic groups. There are elements of the journalism drama in The Lowdown as well, and indeed the show’s protagonist Lee Raybon was modeled on the late investigative journalist Lee Ray Chapman, with whom Harjo was a colleague at the Oklahoma-based media outlet This Land Press. Amongst his other work, Chapman brought to light historical research regarding the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, where white mobs attacked the prosperous African American neighborhood of Greenwood (nicknamed by some as “Black Wall Street”). Chapman also uncovered the Ku Klux Klan ties of Tulsa founder Tate Brady.

This is heavy stuff, but The Lowdown carries itself with confident swagger, hard-boiled and peppered with humor. It knowingly references pop culture, from movies to music and literature, including particular homage to pulp novelist Jim Thompson (The Grifters, The Getaway), whose books literally figure into the show’s storyline. At times evoking his earlier performance as muckraking abolitionist John Brown in the excellent historical drama series The Good Lord Bird (2020), Ethan Hawke is wonderful here as the shaggy dog Lee. His self-righteousness would border on arrogance were it not for his earnest integrity. When his daughter asks if he’s a failed writer, Lee replies “Ninety percent of writers are failed writers. What’s more important, success, or writing the book? I would say writing the book”—a sentiment which might bring a sheepish grin to many self-proclaimed writers, particularly in the increasingly bleak literary market of today’s world.

Hawke is ably supported by a strong supporting cast, which also features Keith David, Tracy Letts, “Killer Mike” Render, and the late Graham Greene in one of his final roles.

Oklahoma history and politics have proved fertile ground for storytellers of late. Journalist David Grann’s true crime book Killers of the Flower Moon–as well as its 2023 film adaptation of the same name– recounted the murders committed against the Osage community in 1920s Oklahoma by those who coveted their oil-rich land. Telling a story of contemporary crimes committed in the name of land, money, and power, The Lowdown can be viewed as a companion piece to that work.

For all the dark territory it explores, however, The Lowdown also carries a glimmer of hope, that truth and justice can prevail in the face of greed and corruption. As another character tells Lee, the world needs people like him.

Anees Aref is a writer on film, history, and politics based in the Los Angeles area who has published abroad as well as in the United States. His work has appeared in Film International and Noir City Magazine.