The Lowdown review: Ethan Hawke is a messy neo-noir investigative reporter in Sterlin Harjo’s new series

Very early in the first episode, Lee Raybon declares he’s a truthtarian.

He says this in a room of semi-crusty white men sitting comfortably in their private members’ club, surrounded by a collection of artwork and artifacts procured through questionable means.

They scoff, you probably would too, because what in the world is a truthtarian?

In the case of Lee (Ethan Hawke, sublime as always), he’s like a truffle pig, hunting for the truth as Babe might be for fungi. That doesn’t always – or ever - make him popular.

Lee, inspired by real-life man Lee Roy Chapman, is an investigative journalist, bookshop owner and professional pain-in-the-arse. He’s grungy, dogged, unfiltered and in need of a proper shower and probably some scruples. But then he wouldn’t be half as compelling as he is.

The series is The Lowdown, a shaggy, zippy and oh-so-engrossing comedy-drama that is as specific in overall tone as its lead character with his singular personality.

Its setting is Tulsa, Oklahoma, a town best known for two things – the home of brotherly pop group Hanson, and the place of the 1921 race riots in white residents destroyed 35 square blocks of black-owned businesses and properties, with an official death toll of 39, although other estimates put the number much higher.

That dark history underpins the raison d’etre of the show and of Lee’s mission, to expose the underbelly, criminality and white supremacists lurking almost out in the open.

One of his targets is a prominent family, the Washbergs, whose son Donald (Kyle MacLachlan) is running for state governor. Lee has been writing a series of damning articles about the Washbergs’ history, stretching back generations.

The show opens with the apparent suicide of Donald’s brother Dale (Tim Blake Nelson), but Lee is convinced there’s something else at play, especially after he discovers a note left by Dale, hidden among the pages of a book. Also suspicious, Dale’s widow Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is schtupping Donald.

There’s a lot at stake, and not just the gubernatorial race, but also land developments involving Frank Martin (Tracy Letts), a member of that private members club, and the mysterious Allen (Scott Shepherd), who really gives added meaning to never trusting a man who wears chinos with a fleece gilet.

Then there is Lee’s observant teenage daughter, Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who is threatened by all the baddies out to get Lee, but her knowing eyes suggest she may be the one who will be a threat to them.

The Lowdown was created by Sterlin Harjo, the force behind the underwatched but highly acclaimed series Reservation Dogs. When it comes to putting marginalised stories at the centre of his work, Harjo is a master.

Hawke’s Lee may be a middle-aged white guy but he’s an underdog, always pissing off the wrong people and never backing down when there’s a righteous fight to be fought. And what really pisses him is the exploitation of power by those who already have it.

He’s particularly good at balancing tricky tone combinations – The Lowdown is spiky and warm, so that no matter what loose things Lee is doing, you still love him. He’s like a film noir private eye, but much less put together.

Harjo has populated The Lowdown with lowlifes, some of them in suits with a veneer of respectability, and oddballs, creating a world with a texture that blends comedy, thrills and action while barrelling its way through a sticky mystery.

All in the pursuit of a truth that not everyone wants to confront.

The Lowdown is streaming on Disney+