FX's The Lowdown Debuts a Cowboy Noir Mystery in Tulsa

FX's The Lowdown, a new series from Sterlin Harjo, introduces Lee Raybon, a shaggy, relentlessly curious journalist who operates out of a used-bookstore attic in Tulsa. Hawke plays Raybon as a truthseeker who digs into the histories of the city’s powerful and the people around them, often for pay that barely covers his costs. The pilot establishes a mood that blends cowboy noir swagger with Harjo's attention to place and character.

The episode follows Raybon as he probes the fortunes of Dale Washberg and his clan. The supposed suicide of Dale Washberg comes soon after Raybon's reporting on him; Dale's brother Donald Washberg, played by Kyle MacLachlan, is running for governor, which complicates any motive to silence Raybon. The pattern of influence stretches to Frank Martin, the head of a development company purchasing Black-owned businesses in North Tulsa. A menacing encounter with a skinhead who burned down a synagogue underlines the real costs of Raybon's digging. The investigation is personal too: Raybon's ex Samantha and their daughter Francis are part of a custody dispute tied to his precarious living situation and his dangerous line of work.

At the estate sale that follows, Raybon gains access to Dale Washberg's study with help from an antique dealer friend and discovers a paperback containing a note in Dale's handwriting confessing some of his deeds. The case also pulls in Donald Washberg's political ambitions and Frank Martin's corporate ambitions, creating a nexus of power and money in North Tulsa. The episode also introduces a group of quirky locals who help or hinder Raybon: Deirdre, who works at the bookstore, Waylon, who volunteers to be his security and proves hilariously incompetent, and Dan Kane, a tax attorney who operates next door. These characters give Harjo a vivid ecosystem and a sense that every Tulsa storefront has a story.

Keith David appears as Marty, a man in town for the estate sale who appears loyal to Raybon but remains enigmatic about his true motives. The maroon Kia he drives becomes a recurring motif as Raybon follows leads through a city where old money, new money, and old grievances collide. The tone blends Reservation Dogs sensibility with Fargo-like coherence and wry humor, signaling a world where quirky personalities populate a serious investigation without ever tipping into parody. The show uses its setting to support a procedural frame while building a long arc about the relationships among Tulsa's power brokers, the people who challenge them, and the journalist who refuses to stop digging.

The Lowdown places Hawke at the center of a sprawling, atmospheric investigation that values character and place as much as plot. Raybon is both charming and morally ambiguous, a quality that makes the audience want to follow him even as the questions multiply. Harjo has built a world that feels lived-in and dangerous in roughly the same breath, a skill he demonstrated on Reservation Dogs and which he extends here into a more adult, noir-tinged storytelling mode. If the debut is any indication, the season will tilt toward a layered tension between accountability and obstruction, with Tulsa as a living, breathing character.

For viewers who enjoy complicated worlds and dialogue driven by character, The Lowdown offers a strong opening that earns its place among FX's prestige dramas. It is a show where the setup matters as much as the chase, and where the promise of more secrets to uncover is clear from the first hour. The call to stream it is strong, particularly for fans of Harjo's previous work and for those who appreciate a grounded crime drama shot through with a distinctive sense of place and character.