There's a certain dusty heaviness that hangs over the The Lowdown trailer. Maybe it's the pale, sepia-soaked cinematography, maybe it's the Oklahoma setting, or maybe it's Ethan Hawke, who always looks like a man who hasn't slept since the late '90s. Either way, FX clearly isn't selling glossy escapism here—it's selling paranoia, obsession, and the creeping dread of digging too deep.
Hawke plays Lee Raybon, a Tulsa bookstore owner who can't stop himself from turning citizen journalism into a blood sport. He calls himself a “truthstorian,” which sounds half like a crank and half like a prophet, but that's the point. In a town where corruption feels as deeply rooted as the old oil money, Lee's compulsion to expose the Washberg family—the city's powerful dynasty—turns him from local nuisance into public enemy.
The trailer makes one thing clear: this is not another Tulsa King. Where Stallone's show swaggered in with mob clichés, Sterlin Harjo's vision in The Lowdown feels scrappier, darker, closer to the twisted humor of Fargo. You see it in the quick cuts: Keith David's gravelly gravitas, Kyle MacLachlan's unsettling grin, Tim Blake Nelson already looking half-dead before his character's “suspicious accident.” Even Jeanne Tripplehorn pops with the weary smile of someone who knows exactly how power moves in small-town politics.
Visually, the trailer leans on dim interiors, overhead fluorescents, and cramped Tulsa streets that suggest claustrophobia more than wide-open prairie. It's a stylistic choice—this isn't about the grandeur of Oklahoma skies. It's about being trapped in other people's secrets. Harjo, himself a Seminole filmmaker, seems intent on reclaiming the Tulsa backdrop from shallow TV gloss, grounding it in history, grit, and his own offbeat humor.
What's striking is how personal the story feels. Lee's relationship with his daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is threaded through the chaos. She's curious, sharp, maybe reckless—the kind of kid who sees truth-seeking as noble rather than suicidal. The trailer spares just enough moments of warmth to remind us what Lee risks losing, which makes the shadowy pursuit more than just plot mechanics.
And then there's the marketing play. FX timed this rollout smartly: a mid-September streaming launch on Hulu (September 23, 2025) positions The Lowdown right before awards-season chatter heats up, while still far enough from Fargo's next season to avoid tonal cannibalization. Hawke's dual role as star and executive producer also signals confidence; he's not just cashing a check here, he's staking his name on it.
So, does The Lowdown look like another prestige-TV wannabe? Not really. It looks like a series that could catch you off-guard: part noir, part comedy, part family drama. And in a television landscape drowning in empty stylistic flourishes, that mix—if it holds—might be enough to cut through.
What Stands Out in The Lowdown Trailer
- Ethan Hawke's Transformation
He sheds movie-star polish, playing Lee Raybon as a stubborn, exhausted man whose obsession with truth feels equal parts heroic and self-destructive. - Tulsa as a Character
Rather than backdrop, the city feels alive with corruption, history, and claustrophobic tension—shot in a way that denies the myth of wide-open freedom. - An Ensemble with Teeth
Keith David, Kyle MacLachlan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Tim Blake Nelson bring decades of gravitas, promising layered performances rather than stunt casting. - Harjo's Distinctive Touch
Creator Sterlin Harjo's humor and perspective keep the series from sinking into grim self-seriousness, offering tonal balance closer to Fargo than True Detective. - A Timely Release Strategy
FX and Hulu's September 23, 2025 debut date feels calculated—aiming to land just as audiences start craving fall prestige dramas.
The Lowdown premieres on Hulu September 23, 2025. Trailer's below. Does this feel like the kind of crime drama that sticks, or just another entry in the prestige-TV sweepstakes?
