The Lowdown Season 2: Ethan Hawke Returns With Tommy Lee Jones and Betty Gilpin in FX's Tulsa Noir

FX has set Wednesday, October 14 as the premiere date for Season 2 of The Lowdown, with new episodes dropping weekly on FX and Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ internationally. The season runs eight episodes, arriving each Wednesday after the debut. Deadline

Ethan Hawke returns as Lee Raybon, a self-proclaimed Tulsa citizen journalist and "truthstorian" who lives and works out of a rare books store. Created, written, executive produced and directed by Sterlin Harjo, the series is described as a western-noir — a genre mash-up that grafts crime-fiction atmosphere onto Oklahoma's plains. FX Networks

Two major names join the cast for Season 2. Tommy Lee Jones plays Lee Raybon Senior, Lee's estranged grifter father who unexpectedly arrives in town. Betty Gilpin plays Ginger, a public defender who accepts Lee's help on a case involving a client who went missing from a state penitentiary. Deadline

The supporting cast fills out with familiar faces. Keith David plays Marty, now Managing Editor of The Heartland Press. Rafael Casal plays Johnny, a jujitsu-trained dentist. Kaniehtiio Horn returns as Lee's ex Samantha, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong plays Lee's teenage daughter Francis. Deadline

Production on Season 2 takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the show's world is rooted. Harjo executive produces alongside Garrett Basch, Ethan Hawke, Ryan Hawke, Duffy Boudreau and Scott Teems. The series is produced by FX Productions. Variety; Deadline

Season 1 left a mark. It received an AFI Award as a TV Program of the Year and earned a 98% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes — meaning near-universal positive reviews from critics tracked by the aggregator. Deadline

For Hawke, the return carries a personal footnote. In a June appearance on On the Red Carpet, the actor said The Lowdown is the first show he has ever worked on for a second season. For a performer with a career spanning decades across film and television, that makes the October 14 premiere something of a first. On the Red Carpet / Facebook

For viewers who missed the first round, all of this means a critically acclaimed series is coming back with a bigger cast and a clear launch date. The missing-prisoner case at the centre of Season 2 gives Gilpin and Hawke a shared thread to pull, while the arrival of Jones as Lee's father adds a second, more personal mystery. Eight Wednesdays, starting October 14.