I’m not one for promoting corporate things, but I must make an exception for the Disney series “The Lowdown” which features Ethan Hawke and a wonderful cast of supporting players as it unfolds a tale of murder, book collection, poetry, sex, deceit, land grabbing, and white supremacists in the state of Oklahoma and specifically Tulsa. The trailer below does not begin to unpack the quality of this production and barely hints at the musical delights that accompany almost every scene. Hawke is a revelation as a vape-crazed “truthstorian” book shop owner and part-time journalist. Jeanne Tripplehorn brings such relish to her role as the widow and femme fatale that you wonder why she hasn’t been a constant on our screens for the last 30 years. Kyle MacLachlan is superb as the duped and domineering scorned lover and potential Governor, Peter Dinklage is wonderful as the acerbic, drug-addled compadre of Hawke, and Keith David brings levity and brevity to his role as protector of truth and justice. Not to mention Tracy Letts, Tim Blake Nelson, and Michael Hitchcock all doing what they do brilliantly.
The other brilliant thing is the music, concentrating on but not exclusively the Tulsa sound and featuring the likes of JJ Cale, Kalyn Fay, Lee Hazlewood, JD MacPherson, Kay Starr, Mildred Bailey, Taj Mahal, Hayne Davis, and so many more. So if the January blues are creeping up on you, then this is, in my humble opinion, a perfect tonic. As is the latest radio show, which features Aimee Mann as the classic album, and there’s stuff from the likes of Fust, Nicolai Dunger, Margo Price, Greazy Alice, Dean Owens, and many more. As ever.
