On the one hand, it wouldn’t be very apt for a show about a scrappy citizen journalist in a small heartland city to become a massive hit. On the other, FX’s “The Lowdown” was one of the great TV debuts last year, a follow-up from “Reservation Dogs” showrunner Sterlin Harjo that upped the star power and changed locations while keeping the warmth, humor and texture. The drama squeaked into a Season 2 renewal in January, but just barely: not even the presence of star and executive producer Ethan Hawke, who plays Tulsa-area “truthstorian” Lee Raybon, could make “The Lowdown” an objective breakout.
Which is why it is paramount — nay, essential — that those who value truth, justice and well-crafted television show out in force for Season 2. The world could use more shaggy hangouts and layered mysteries, let alone series that manage to be both at the same time. In Season 1, “The Lowdown” openly modeled itself after the kind of pulpy paperback Lee sells at the used bookstore he operates between freelance reporting gigs. Season 2 confirms the impression that, as in that earlier medium, Lee’s misadventures can easily be serialized: a new case, new characters and the same inimitable vibe.
In Harjo’s Tulsa, it’s been a few months since Lee published his story on the late Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), the black sheep of a powerful local family. The resulting piece was more of a considered tribute than a searing exposé, Lee having learned the hard way that airing dirty laundry could be more about feeding his ego than serving the public interest. But it was still well-received enough for Lee to earn some of the validation he not-so-secretly craves: a local journalism award, bestowed at a gala Lee turns into a captive audience for a drunken rant. While there, Lee also meets a public defender named Ginger (newly minted Emmy winner Betty Gilpin) who’s sure she’s being followed — a problem the smitten Lee is all too eager to help her solve, thereby giving “The Lowdown” its latest rabbithole to dive down.
Gilpin makes the perfect femme fatale for the show’s loose riff on a noir. Which is to say: not cool, coy or composed in the slightest, but still an understandably irresistible draw for Lee. Ginger is worried about her former client Mekko Dean, a Native convict she’s unable to get a hold of in lockup. The two shady guys on her tail only aggravate those suspicions; when Lee stops by the prison and a guy who’s definitely not Mekko shows up to the visit, a switcheroo she deems a “rupidoop,” they go into overdrive. Ginger shares Lee’s bleeding-heart empathy, panic-induced logorrhea and perceptive eye for human foibles. That’s why she has Lee dead to rights. “You’re a hypnotist,” she tells him in a fit of frustration. “You assault people with words until they do your bidding!”
This season, we learn where Lee gets it from. The venerable Tommy Lee Jones comes to town as Lee Sr., an itinerant con man as fluent in lies as Lee is obsessed with truth. (Oppositional defiance: undefeated as a psychological skeleton key!) The emotional bedrock of Season 1 was Lee’s relationship with his teenage daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), for whom he wants to be a dependable presence more than he actually is one. Season 2 puts Lee’s flawed parenting in context: He’s doing better than what was done to him, but still burdened enough by resentment to betray his own principles. As the adolescent Francis is quick to point out, it wasn’t very truthful of Lee to raise her believing her grandfather was dead. “He’s dead to me” falls flat as a defense.
As Lee and Ginger follow Mekko’s trail, a winding path that leads them to corrupt cops and a shady diversion program, “The Lowdown” settles back into the ambling rhythm of its first outing. Giving Lee a love interest and expanding his family lore are natural avenues of expansion, but the show also has a strong sense of its core competency. Lee sticks to his uniform of short-sleeved shirts, sunglasses and a Stetson, and last season’s persons of interest are now comfortable members of the ensemble. Keith David’s Marty, once a PI in the employ of Dale Washberg’s brother, is now managing editor of Lee’s occasional employer, The Heartland Press; not to be left out, Marty’s ex-boss Donald (Kyle Maclachlan), now governor, pops by for a midseason visit.
Harjo and his team — including directors Scott Teems and Rafael Casal, who also plays Francis’ stepdad — have an affectionate eye for Oklahoma and its people. Lee’s investigation takes him to 4H fairs and on horseback rides, and acquaints him with a rich tapestry of strong personalities. Some are funny, like the kooky prison guard who strong-arms Lee into trying his cheeseburgers (not a euphemism!) or the pervy attorney whose advances Ginger puts up with in exchange for a lead. Some are somber, like the single mom Mekko’s left in the lurch or a fellow journalist who prefers feel-good fluff pieces to muckraking. “The kind of truth you’re interested in gets people hurt,” he tells Lee. “Today, my truth is a hog contest.”
The question of what happened to Mekko and why comes into focus at a slow and steady pace. But “The Lowdown” isn’t a whodunit that lives or dies by its final reveal. This is a show that luxuriates in its environment — though Hawke’s frenetic, keyed-up performance ensures the audience never gets too comfortable. Like “Reservation Dogs” before it, “The Lowdown” has plenty of representational bona fides; I could argue that you should watch to support Native storytelling, or American film production as so much of the industry moves overseas. In truth, “The Lowdown” is anything but a virtuous bit of cultural vegetables. It’s a party that more people should join, and you’ll be glad you did.
The first two episodes of “The Lowdown” Season 2 will premiere on FX and Hulu on Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET, with remaining episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays.
