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TV shows in the middle of a season can be tricky to assess, but of course by doing it gives others the opportunity to catch up before the season is over. Even in the streaming era that’s a good thing. All that is to say I have been really enjoying the FX (on Hulu) show The Lowdown.
Before the show debuted I was hearing The Big Lebowski comparisons, which I think is a bit inapt and may give the wrong sense of what to expect. While the show features somebody who isn’t a detective unraveling a mystery, it isn’t as funny as Lebowski, and intentionally so. The show is a noir-ish mystery show with a lot of jokes in it, but I would not call it a comedy. It’s probably more akin to The Long Goodbye from Robert Altman.
Ethan Hawke plays a citizen journalist in Tulsa who finds himself at the center of a storm. Like The Dude he’s a bit marginal and a bit on the fringes owing to his own predilections, but he’s more driven. Plus, he has a kid, and that’s part of the story as well.
The mystery is compelling enough, certainly enough to hang the jokes and the eccentric characters on. The Lowdown is perhaps a little overly reliant on eccentric characters, but the cast is so good I don’t mind. On top of Hawke, the likes of Keith David, Kyle MacLachlan, and Tracey Letts are around. The most-recent episode featured an Emmy-worthy turn from Peter Dinklage in a guest role.
If you like comedy-tinged noirs, I certainly recommend The Lowdown. Hey, now you can catch up!
