Jimmie Tramel
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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Best guess: People everywhere may find something to love about “The Lowdown,” a new shot-in-Tulsa series starring Ethan Hawke that premieres Sept. 23 on FX.
Not a guess: Tulsans who watch the show will be treated to “Easter eggs” from the city’s history.
Here are some things to note after watching the first five episodes to help you get ready for the series, Tulsa-based filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s follow-up to “Reservation Dogs,” which was shot primarily in Okmulgee. In a recent Los Angeles Times story, Harjo, who is from Holdenville, described “Reservation Dogs” as a love letter to rural Oklahoma and “The Lowdown” as his love letter to Tulsa:
A character is shown watching “Mazeppa” on television. “Mazeppa” is a beloved local late-night TV show from the early 1970s that showcased antics from pre-fame Gailard Sartain, Gary Busey and Jim Millaway (alias Sherman Oaks).
Hawke’s character experiences a fishy misadventure near Lake Keystone. Keep an eye on background visuals and you’ll spot an artifact reminiscent of Bell’s Amusement Park, which operated at Expo Square until 2006.
Michael “Killer Mike” Render plays the publisher of a local crime tabloid. Look past the many QT cups on his office desk and you’ll see a poster of The Gap Band, a Tulsa music group that got its name from three Tulsa streets (Greenwood, Archer, Pine). That’s two Easter eggs in one.
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Sweet Emily’s is the name of a diner in “The Lowdown.” “Sweet Emily” is a track on Tulsa-raised Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell’s 1971 album “Leon Russell and the Shelter People.”
The show follows citizen journalist and Tulsa “truthstorian” Lee Raybon (Hawke) as he looks for truths and finds trouble. The actual inspiration for Raybon is Lee Roy Chapman, a Tulsa citizen journalist who died in 2015.
On the show in the Touch of Vinyl store, you’ll find Tulsa actor Josh Fadem.
The cast includes native Tulsans Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tim Blake Nelson and Tracy Letts, plus Fadem, Tulsa-based music artist Ken Pomeroy and Tulsa music artist Johnny Polygon.
A scene takes place at Magic City Books, where a Jim Thorpe biography is among books on display. Later in the series, a meal takes place at Coney I-Lander, a Tulsa coney chain with a 99-year history.
A scene also was shot at Circle Cinema. Be on the lookout for an Oklahoma City-born actress with sitcom history.
Brookside gets a mention from the show’s characters, as do the communities of Avant, Sand Springs, Tahlequah, Skiatook and McAlester.
Hawke had this to say about Tulsa: “There’s a sense of life here. One of the problems with some of the larger cities is everything becomes so much about people in their own little chamber trying to make money. I just sense people trying to help each other out.”
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com
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Jimmie Tramel
Tulsa World Scene Reporter
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