Sterlin Harjo on The Lowdown
Ever since Humphrey Bogart lifted the collar of his trench coat and walked through San Francisco’s shadowy streets, American audiences have remained captivated by film noir—its style, mystery, and raw emotion. Over the past seven weeks, Sterlin Harjo’s The Lowdown has embraced that tradition with style and moral grit, concluding its first season with a powerful finale on November 4.
A Modern Noir with a Moral Edge
The FX series from Reservation Dogs co-creator Sterlin Harjo follows Lee Raybon, portrayed by Ethan Hawke, a quirky journalist determined to expose Tulsa’s white-supremacist elite. In the final episode, “The Sensitive Kind,” Raybon brings to light the corruption surrounding femme fatale Betty Jo Washberg, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn.
Redemption and Reckoning
As the story unfolds, gubernatorial candidate Donald Washberg, played by Kyle MacLachlan, confronts the dark truths behind his campaign. Newly awakened, he severs ties with extremist backers and returns his family’s stolen land to the Osage Nation. This act of restitution delivers both narrative closure and a commentary on justice long denied.
Harjo’s Vision and Reality
“It’s a visceral pleasure to see racists brought low and Indigenous Oklahomans get the restorative justice they’ve been denied for so long,” the piece notes.
Still, in today’s world, such justice can seem like wishful thinking. Yet Harjo, a Tulsa resident himself, believes that change is within reach and stories like The Lowdown can spark that hope.
Author’s Summary
Sterlin Harjo’s The Lowdown reimagines noir through a contemporary lens, blending moral reckoning with style and offering both entertainment and quiet defiance.