Has FX become the new AMC?
There was a time when AMC cranked out hit after hit. From Mad Men to Breaking Bad to The Walking Dead and more, the golden age of the channel cranked out some of the most memorable series of the 21st Century. But, in recent years, FX may be making a case for stamping their own legacy. With recent hits like Shogun, Dying for Sex and this summer’s stellar Alien: Earth, FX has stepped up their game in terms of their streaming series.
But, maybe, The Lowdown has the potential to be the best one of them all.
Created by Sterlin Harjo, The Lowdown follows Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke), a citizen journalist obsessed with truth who can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. After local magnate Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson) commits suicide, Lee can’t help but feel like something’s off. And the further he digs, the more dangerous things become for him, proving that he’s on to something big.
FX’s The Lowdown — “Pilot” Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Siena East as Deidre, Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon. CR: Shane Brown/FX
Harjo’s Lowdown is nothing short of compelling. Fueled by a grimy grit, the series feels like an homage to other iconic detective stories like Chinatown, LA Confidential and True Detective while infusing it with the sensibilities of a modern western. Set in Tulsa, there’s a dustiness to this world that feels like it almost sticks to the viewer. Bathed in warm colours, we are meant to feel the burn of the Oklahoma sun as Raybon delves into its darkest shadows. In short, this is a space where the sun is hot and the souls of its people are burned out.
As a mash-up of Mickey Spillane and Jack Gittes, Hawke’s Lee Raybon is on hard luck and hard-headed. Hawke has always had a soft spot for lost causes as his characters and he brings those sensibilities to the role. He plays him as a man who knows he’s broken but can’t seem to get out of his own way. Even so, there’s such a playfulness and compassion to his character, ensuring that one can’t help but fall in love with him. He doesn’t back down from a dangerous lead but he’s also father who cares deeply about his teenage daughter (even if he doesn’t get to see her very often). But, most importantly, Raybon is a man who simply can’t help himself when he smells a story. In fact, he considers himself more than a reporter.
He’s a truth-storian.
FX’s The Lowdown — Pictured: (l-r) Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon, Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Francis. CR: Shane Brown/FX.
(Editor’s note: ‘Truth-storian’ should also be the word of the year.)
Coming at a time when the relationship between ‘truth’ and the media taps into the cultural zeitgeist, The Lowdown feels exceptionally timely. Featuring a lead character that refuses to back down from bullies in his quest for the facts, the series carries a sense of furious accountability that seems both current and necessary. For this reason, Harjo’s series carries an energy that gives it extra meaning. Even though Lowdown is a simple crime thriller, it suddenly becomes something… more.
To be clear, detective thrillers are nothing new. (As a matter of fact, they’re one of the oldest genres.) However, The Lowdown burns with a fire in its belly that we haven’t seen in some time. There’s an urgency to Raybon’s quest for the story that makes him admirable, even if he’s anything but a knight in shining armour. He can barely pay his bills but he can’t help but keep going. He’s obsessed. Finding the truth is simply in his blood.
FX’s The Lowdown — “Pilot” Episode 1 — Pictured: (l-r) Michael Hitchcock as Ray, Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon. CR: Shane Brown/FX
What’s more, for Raybon, the truth is far from comfortable. With every exposé that he writes, he seems to put himself at risk. Whether he’s been targeted by those in scandals that he’s uncovered or accused of saying things that he didn’t (sort of), Raybon’s penchant for getting the facts to the people always seems to cause problems in his life. But it’s simply who he is.
And he knows it.
As Harjo and Hawke delve deeply into the underbelly of Tulsa, Oklahoma, they also tap into the heartbeat of our own modern culture, digging up truth that has intentionally been buried by those in power. And it’s that search for truth that makes The Lowdown feel like it matters to all of us.
The first two episodes of Lowdown are streaming on Disney+ now with new episodes on FX every Tuesday (and Disney+ the following day).
