Ethan Hawke stars as a small town citizen journalist in the neo-noir crime drama, The Lowdown, which comes to Disney+ on 26 December

If, like me, you’re already lining up your watchlist for the Twixmas period, then you’re in for a treat this Boxing Day as the new crime drama, The Lowdown, arrives on TV screens via Disney+.

The FX series, which comes from creator, writer and director Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs), follows the “gritty exploits” of citizen journalist and bookshop owner Lee Raybon, who is intent on exposing local corruption in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ethan Hawke stars in The Lowdown

Ethan Hawke, who is perhaps best known for his big-screen roles like Training Day, Dead Poets Society and the Before trilogy, returns to TV in the role of “self-proclaimed ‘truthstorian’” Lee Raybon. The series reunites Ethan with director Sterlin, with the pair having worked together for one episode of Reservation Dogs.

Why I’ll be watching

The casting of Ethan Hawke alone is enough to have me tuning in on Boxing Day. The Oscar and BAFTA-nominated actor, who boasts a hugely versatile list of film and TV credits from indie dramas like Before Sunrise to powerful thrillers like First Reformed, is no stranger to playing complex, everyman characters faced with a moral dilemma, making him the perfect choice for The Lowdown. 

If the synopsis and trailer are anything to go by, viewers can expect a sharp, gritty neo-noir crime drama blended with mystery and dark humour. Sign me up!

What is The Lowdown about?

The story centres around citizen journalist and bookstore owner Lee Raybon, whose obsession with uncovering the truth is always landing him in trouble.

His constant sleuthing drags him into Tulsa’s underbelly, and away from his 14-year-old daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who has inherited his curiosity and longs to join her dad on his adventures. Meanwhile, his ex Samantha (Kaniehtiio Horn) is exasperated by Lee’s endless digging, but still sees the good in him – especially when it comes to Francis, the one thing they’ve never stopped showing up for.

The series comes to Disney+ on Boxing Day

The synopsis continues: “When the publication of Lee’s latest exposé – a deep dive into the powerful Washberg family – is immediately followed by the suspicious suicide of Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson), the black sheep of the family, Lee knows he’s stumbled onto something big. Following a trail of breadcrumbs Dale has left behind, urging someone to dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding his death, Lee does just that. What Lee finds is that Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the grieving widow, seems to be more interested in her brother-in-law Donald Washberg (Kyle MacLachlan), a gubernatorial candidate, than in her dearly departed. And powerful forces want to prevent Lee from learning anything more.”

The synopsis concludes: “Lee has also gained the attention of a mysterious stranger who seems to appear whenever Lee least expects it: refined and suave, Marty (Keith David) shares Lee’s appreciation of great literary minds, and seems unusually interested in his investigation into the Washberg family.”

What have viewers and critics said about the show?

The drama, which aired in the US in September, has been hailed as “brilliant” and “mightily engaging” by viewers, who praised Ethan Hawke’s performance as his “best in years”. One person described the show as “a delightful and engaging series with an uncannily comforting vibe”, adding: “It’s a 10/10 for me.”

Ryan Kiera Armstrong plays Lee Raybon’s daughter Francis

The series, which boasts an impressive 98 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, has also been met with rave reviews from TV critics. The Guardian hailed leading star Ethan’s performance as “terrific” in its five-star review, which described the series as an “excellent crime caper”.

Meanwhile, The Rolling Stone hailed the show as a “gloriously off-kilter noir” and compared the darkly funny series to Seventies crime fiction.

Is The Lowdown based on a true story?

The series is loosely inspired by a real-life Tulsa-based journalist and historian named Lee Roy Chapman, who died in 2015 at the age of 46.

Ethan Hawke has been praised by critics for his performance

He uncovered historical truths about Tulsa’s racial history, including Tulsa founder W. Tate Brady’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan and involvement in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. His research was published in the 2011 article, The Nightmare of Dreamland: Tate Brady and the Battle for Greenwood, for the Tulsa media company, This Land Press.

Show creator Sterlin Harjo first met Lee when they worked together at This Land Press.

How to watch The Lowdown

The Lowdown arrives on Disney+ this Boxing Day. The series is available to stream on Hulu and FXNow in the US.