FX has set an October premiere date for season two of The Lowdown and offered up some details about the new story “truthstorian” Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) will be chasing. Not surpisingly, it’s complicated.
The series from Reservation Dogs showrunner Sterlin Harjo will premiere on Oct. 14 on FX and Hulu. The season will find Lee teaming with a public defender, played by Betty Gilpin, on a case while also dealing with complications in his own life, some of them self-inflicted.
Here’s the full description of the season from FX, which had previously kept details under wraps:
“Lee’s recent story on the life and untimely death of Dale Washberg (as seen in season one) earns him a local citizen journalist award. Unable to process things going well for a change, Lee self-medicates and, unsurprisingly, makes a less than stellar showing at the ceremony. But his wildly unfiltered speech grabs the attention of beautiful and brash public defender Ginger (Gilpin), herself a crusader for truth.
Betty Gilpin and Ethan Hawke in ‘The Lowdown’ season two.
FX
“Though uncommonly immune to his charms, Ginger does accept Lee’s help on a case. One of her clients has gone MIA from the state penitentiary — but how can a man go missing in prison? The situation turns out to have all of Lee’s favorite ingredients: power, corruption and malfeasance among the wealthy elite. It’s a perfect next story for The Heartland Press, where Marty (Keith David) is now managing editor, much to Lee’s chagrin.
“Bumbling his way through the investigation with Ginger, Lee reluctantly enlists the assistance of Johnny (Rafael Casal), a jujitsu-trained dentist with a heart of gold, who is also new husband to Lee’s ex Samantha (Kaniehtiio Horn), and co-parent to Lee’s teenage daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who longs for more time with her ever-busy father. Lee loves Francis more than anything in the world, but the urgency of this new case pulls him away from her more often than either of them would like. Things on the homefront get even more complicated when Lee’s estranged grifter father, Lee Raybon Senior (Tommy Lee Jones), unexpectedly arrives in town — especially awkward since Lee has always told Francis that her grandfather was dead.”
Harjo told The Hollywood Reporter after the first season finale that he’s thought about “many seasons” of The Lowdown. “I have ideas,” he said. “I was telling somebody, The Rockford Files did it every episode. We could do every season.”
FX Productions is the studio for The Lowdown. Harjo executive produces with Garrett Basch, Ethan Hawke, Ryan Hawke, Duffy Boudreau and Scott Teems.
