News - Crafting Noir: Blending 'The Lowdown' with Tulsa’s Charm

In an industry often dominated by the familiar cityscapes of Los Angeles and New York, 'The Lowdown,' an FX series created by Sterlin Harjo, dares to chart untrodden narrative territory in the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This detective series features Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon, a scruffy truth-seeker embroiled in unraveling local mysteries and conspiracies. Creating a world that thrives without the conventional trappings of soundstages or prop houses posed unique challenges that were met with innovative solutions by production designer Brandon Tonner-Connolly. He leveraged his extensive experience from working on the acclaimed 'Reservation Dogs' to capture the essence of Tulsa’s lesser-known locales. 'We wanted Lee's journey to cut through the tapestry of Tulsa’s varied settings rather than recycle the conventional backdrops TV often showcases,' Tonner-Connolly said, highlighting their intent to put the city’s distinctive life on the visual map. The production's visual aesthetic took cues from Tulsa’s climatological extremes, embedding authenticity reflective of the surrounding environment—the city's dusty and weather-beaten charm infused the show with a 'dust bowl noir' quality. Key to the storytelling were meticulously crafted settings that didn’t rely on soundstages. Embracing authenticity, the crew turned a dormant block of Tulsa into a seamless film set featuring Lee’s musty bookstore, a typically chaotic law office, and a local diner, ensuring fluid transitions and a tangible sense of place. The absence of traditional prop houses led to rich collaboration with the local community. Instead of settling for repetitive rented items, Tonner-Connolly scouted unique props through marketplaces and local businesses, discovering hidden treasures within the fabric of Tulsa. The approach infused the series with distinctive textures and nuances absent from more metropolitan productions. One standout set—a disguised caviar operation nestled by a lake—demonstrates how Tonner-Connolly infused narrative plausibility and character empathy into design choices. By reviving objects from a defunct theme park, the setting told a story of its own, inviting the audience to explore the lives and motives of its occupants. 'What truly shines is how each element speaks to the character's stories, like pieces of a puzzle telling the who, what, and why of the people living there,' noted Tonner-Connolly about his engrossing set designs. In 'The Lowdown,' the textures of Tulsa’s real streets elevate the noir into a richly layered narrative—one where the city is not just a backdrop, but a vibrant character in its own right. Welcome to an Oklahoma masterpiece.