Fans of FX’s critically acclaimed three-season series “Reservation Dogs” saw firsthand how much creator Sterlin Harjo revered the art of cinema. Episodes would often contain nods to various genres and films; the series finale was even an homage to Robert Altman’s “Nashville.”
So, it’s no surprise that when Harjo set out to create his follow-up to “Rez Dogs,” he decided to tackle another one of his favorite film styles: Noir. “The Lowdown,” which premieres Sept. 23 on FX, stars Ethan Hawke as citizen journalist Lee Raybon, who calls himself a “truthstorian” while investigating the seedy underbelly of Tulsa, Okla.
“I just am such a fan of noir,” says Harjo, who exec produces “The Lowdown” in addition to writing and directing the pilot. “And I just had always thought that I could set one in Tulsa. Noirs that are set in LA, that’s kind of been done. But the underbelly of Tulsa, the conspiracy of Tulsa, places in the middle of America, they haven’t been explored yet.”
Harjo grew up in the area; he’s a member of the Muscogee Creek tribe, which founded Tulsa — so this is also personal for him, just as “Reservation Dogs” was. Harjo says he loves Tulsa — but doesn’t gloss over its terrible past. The story of the devastating 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, in which hundreds of Black residents were killed by mobs of white Tulsans, has become better known in recent years thanks to activists and even TV shows like “Watchmen”; it’s also referenced in “The Lowdown.”
“I think every place has a really dark history in America,” Harjo says. “A lot of people have brought more truths out about the history of Tulsa, especially when it pertains to the Tulsa race massacre. That truth and being honest with your past is healing, and it brings a community back together and wakes people up. You’re seeing that happen now. There’s still a long way to go, but it’s happening.
“The history of Tulsa, and the history of Oklahoma in general, is one of darkness, just like the rest of the United States,” he adds. “Specifically it was Indian Territory. My tribe and a lot of other tribes were marched here to Oklahoma, on the Trail of Tears… But then it’s also a story of survival. Those tribes rebuilt, and those tribes are thriving now. So as much as it is a story of the you’re touching on darkness, it’s also, you see survival in Oklahoma and in Tulsa.”
As a young independent filmmaker in the 2010s, Harjo worked with the local Tulsa muckraking journal This Land Press (and the spinoff This Land TV), which also played an important role in exploring the city’s history and future.
“They gave me free reign to make documentaries in Tulsa about whatever I wanted to make,” Harjo says. “We were talking about stories that happened locally, and we were really kind of holding a mirror up to our city. And really kind of presenting the city with a reflection of itself, for better and for worse, the good and the bad.”
It was there that Harjo met Lee Roy Chapman, who ultimately inspired Hawke’s character in “The Lowdown.”
“I did a series with him called ‘Tulsa Public Secrets,’ where I rode shotgun in his white van,” Harjo says. “He was a journalist. He was also a historian, a researcher. One thing that he was obsessed with was talking about things that a lot of people weren’t either interested in or didn’t want to talk about, involving the truth. I took a lot from him, was inspired by him.”
After Chapman died in 2015, Harjo considered making a film about him — but then he got busy with “Reservation Dogs.” After that show ended, Harjo started kicking around that noir idea — and soon realized he could adapt his take on Chapman into “The Lowdown.”
Sterlin Harjo, Ethan Hawke, “The Lowdown” (Shane Brown/FX)
Signing Hawke to executive produce and star in the project was a natural; Harjo and Hawke have known each other for years. (The two have written together, and Hawke appeared as a guest star in the final season of “Rez Dogs.”) But because they’re close, Harjo didn’t want to presume he could just ask his buddy to take part in “The Lowdown,” so he concocted a plan.
“You don’t want to hurt the friendship,” Harjo says. “So I just sent it to him under the guise that I wanted notes back from my script. I was just trying to see if he was into it, and what his reaction was. And luckily, he read it and said, ‘why am I not playing this guy?’ From that point on, I’m like, ‘Well, you are!’”
In “The Lowdown,” Hawke’s character, Lee, investigates the powerful Washberg family, including an Oklahoma state gubernatorial candidate (played by Kyle MacLachlan) whose brother (Tim Blake Nelson) kills himself under mysterious circumstances. Jeanne Tripplehorn plays the widow, while “The Lowdown” also stars Kaniehtiio Horn as Lee’s ex, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong as their daughter.
“So many people agreed to be in this show,” Harjo says. “Part of that is Ethan, part of that is other actors, but I think a lot of it is ‘Reservation Dogs.’ A lot of people were inspired and really liked that show. I think it’s a movie lover’s show, and they could see that I was also a movie lover, and they wanted to support me in some way.”
“The Lowdown” touches on other themes including Lee’s attempts to be a good father despite the taxing nature of his job — something Harjo says he could relate to. “When I was working for This Land Press, my daughter was around 13,” he recalls. “I had crazy living situations, trying to be an independent filmmaker and trying to make a living, and wondering if I had a future, wondering if I was actually hurting my daughter by doing this.”
And then there’s the topic of journalism and wading through facts, two things that appear to be in danger in modern society. “We need people fighting for truth, and we need people fighting for what’s righteous and leading us into the future,” he says. “I mean, our children literally depend on it.”
Harjo hopes to keep “The Lowdown” going in future seasons, with Hawke’s character investigating a different crime in each installment. Harjo is also working on more projects, including a comedic Western series and an undisclosed piece of American literature that he’s aiming to develop into a another show. He’s also busy with a feature that has been set up at Searchlight.
Meanwhile, Harjo also hopes to revisit the “Reservation Dogs” universe with a film idea he’s kicking around.
“It’s still on the horizon,” he says. “It’s a little bit away, but I’d love to make one of those. I just don’t want to screw it up!”
In the meantime, “Rez Dogs” fans will find plenty of Easter eggs in “The Lowdown” — starting with the very opening scene, when Hawke walks past “Rez Dogs” star Paulina Alexis (in character as Willie Jack).
“That’s a handoff,” Harjo says. “We were about to shoot the opening, and I got a call from Paulina. She’s like, ‘Uncle, I’m in town! I just came for a visit.’ And so she came to set, and I said, ‘you’ve got to be in this.’ So I have her walking by Ethan in the beginning, and she just does one of her Willie Jack nods at him. It was a really poignant, beautiful moment, this meaningful thing for me. ‘Reservation Dogs’ really is what leveled me up and got me here, and I want to honor that.”
“The Lowdown” premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 9 p.m. ET on FX, and streams the next day on Hulu.
