In 2025, television series offered many attractive titles, including great returns and new high-budget productions. In the midst of this crowd, however, some series of extraordinary quality have gone almost unnoticed. This is the case of The Lowdowna neo-Western crime drama which, despite its low media profile, proved to be one of the most solid, intelligent and surprising proposals of the year.
Produced by FX and available in Italy on Disney+, The Lowdown it fits into the contemporary crime genre but reinvents it through a very precise identity. The series is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a choice that is anything but random: the territory is not just a backdrop, but an essential narrative component. Here lives Lee Raybon, owner of a bookshop specializing in rare books and an independent journalist who defines himself as a “truthstorian”, someone who doesn’t just tell the facts, but digs into the folds of history to bring to light what has been deliberately buried.
When Lee begins investigating the suspicious death of Dale Washberg, he finds himself embroiled in a web of corruption that touches one of the city’s most powerful families. From that moment, The Lowdown it becomes a layered story that intertwines mystery, politics, extremism and historical memory, pushing well beyond the boundaries of the classic detective story. Neo-Nazi skinheads, family secrets, rewritten and removed truths: each piece contributes to building an increasingly disturbing narrative puzzle.
One of the great strengths of the series is its protagonist. Ethan Hawke offers one of the most successful performances of his recent career, giving life to a stubborn, ironic and deeply human character. Lee Raybon is a man who takes blows – physical and moral – but never backs down. He is threatened, beaten, mocked for his work, yet he continues to dig, driven by an unshakable belief: the truth matters, even when it hurts. It is impossible not to become fond of him, precisely because he is imperfect, stubborn and often out of place.
The Lowdown It also owes much to the vision of its creator, Sterling Harjoalready author of the acclaimed Reservation Dogs. As in that series, Harjo demonstrates great attention to cultural and historical context, describing Tulsa as a place marked by deep and never fully healed wounds. The Native American characters are not decorative figures, but central elements of the story, bearers of memories and perspectives that enrich the narrative enormously.
The writing is brilliant and sharp, capable of alternating moments of great tension with surprisingly ironic dialogues. The Lowdown it manages to be dark without being oppressive, thanks to a tone that recalls certain great crimes of the past but with a modern sensibility. It is no coincidence that it comes naturally to think of series like Justified, especially for that irresistible combination between a charismatic protagonist, a strongly identifying setting and over-the-top criminals.
The ensemble cast also contributes decisively to the success of the series. Keith David, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Kyle MacLachlan and Ryan Kiera Armstrong enrich the narrative universe with eccentric but never caricatural characters. But one of the most memorable moments comes with the participation of Peter Dinklagewho shares such immediate, sharp chemistry with Hawke that he steals the show every time he appears. Their interactions are among the funniest and most successful of the entire season.
What makes The Lowdown truly special, however, is his ability to talk about the present through the past. The series reflects on power, the manipulation of truth and the weight of history in contemporary communities, demonstrating that crime can still be a very powerful tool of social analysis. It is not just a mystery to be solved, but an investigation into why certain truths are continually covered up.
Now that all the episodes are available, The Lowdown it proves to be an ideal vision even in binge-watching: engaging, coherent, surprisingly intimate. It’s one of those series that doesn’t scream for attention, but that stay with you for a long time once finished. Perhaps very few have seen it, but those who have know they have discovered one of the best crime series of the year.
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