ArtsWhen Cree director and writer, Danis Goulet was asked to direct for FX’s neo-noir dramedy, The Lowdown, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. When Danis Goulet was asked to direct for FX’s noir dramedy, The Lowdown, she didn’t hesitate to say yes.Aajah Sauter · CBC News · Posted: Oct 10, 2025 3:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 10Ethan Hawke stars as Lee Raybon in FX’s The Lowdown Pilot Episode. (Shane Brown/Courtesy of FX Networks and Disney+)There were two reasons writer-director Danis Goulet wanted to work on The Lowdown: its noir influences and her relationship with creator Sterlin Harjo. The new FX series is a crime dramedy, starring Ethan Hawke (who’s also an executive producer) as Lee Raybon, rare-bookstore owner by day, meddling citizen journalist by night.In the show, there are echoes of the 1998 noir parody The Big Lebowski, Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye and films by John Cassavetes.Raybon declares himself a “truthstorian,” uncovering the secrets and corruption of Tulsa, Okla.’s elite and getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. Though his sleuthing teeters between a thirst for justice and white saviourism, he means well. Kyle MacLachlan, left, as Donald Washberg and Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon in FX’s The Lowdown. (Shane Brown/Courtesy of FX Networks and Disney+)Goulet met Harjo over 20 years ago at a film festival, and the two later worked together on seasons 2 and 3 of Harjo’s coming-of-age series Reservation Dogs. “What I love about his work is that he manages to find this beautiful interplay between light and dark,” Goulet says. “This series — although it’s completely different from Reservation Dogs — still has this kind of heart. And it also deals with really relevant and serious issues of our day, but then also finds this ridiculous absurd comedy in it. And it’s just such a beautiful mix.”Much of Harjo’s work is rooted in his own experiences and community, so it makes sense that the main character is loosely based on Harjo’s late colleague and friend, Lee Roy Chapman, the citizen journalist who dedicated his life to preserving Tulsa’s history. The Lowdown is a love letter to that city, where Harjo currently lives, and Goulet and Harjo spent hours nerding out on camera lenses so everything would feel gritty and lived-in. Director and writer Danis Goulet. (Samuel Engelking)“When we had made the Deer Lady [Indigenous mythological figure] episode for Reservation Dogs together, we were sort of going off of these influences of ‘70s horror movies,” Goulet says. “So to be back in that kind of esthetic space was really exciting.” But she also felt the weight of the production as Harjo’s followup to Reservation Dogs, on top of the multiple shoot locations, packed schedule and cast of A-list actors — like Keith David and Peter Dinklage as well as Hawke. “I felt like we were scaling this mountain and I felt completely dug in at all times,” she says. “There were so many big days of shooting, with over 100 extras or, like, this huge set piece. That is intimidating, as much as it is so exciting to get the opportunity to do and take on.”And those challenges came with rewards. Goulet was moved to tears during the late actor Graham Greene’s first take. “He was a master at his craft,” she says. “To see someone that was aging, but still so sharp and at the top of his game, it was so beautiful.” And Goulet says Greene’s “calming presence” helped with the pressure she was feeling.“It felt like I was working with a relative or someone that felt really familiar to me,” she says. “He was this kind of grandfather figure on set, but kind of a trickster and a jokester in the best way. And his energy was just such a gift to me during production.”Siena East as Deidre and Ethan Hawke as Lee Raybon in FX’s The Lowdown. (Shane Brown/Courtesy of FX Networks and Disney+)Goulet, who was born in Saskatchewan and is Métis and Cree from Cumberland House Cree Nation, always felt her existence and, thus, her body of work was political, and that’s something she embraces. So when Harjo approached her to work on The Lowdown — which examines how corruption, power and racism coalesce in Tulsa’s moneyed class — she didn’t hesitate. “As an Indigenous filmmaker and creator, any time we get to have a go at existing power struggles in the way that they subjugate people, I’m totally in.” she says. For her, the show is a reminder we should all strive to be “truthstorians.” She hopes audiences come away from it not only entertained, but also reflective. “I think what the show does really well is it interrogates the power structures that exist and the forces of white supremacy,” she says. “And I really hope that people can enjoy the show, but also reflect on the times that we’re in.”In a “tumultuous time” for her industry, Goulet believes Canada is uniquely positioned to support diverse voices and Indigenous storytelling. These stories aren’t just about representation to her — they also communicate resistance. “Right now, it’s a really important time for us to stay vigilant in this political moment,” she says.“We all are hungry to hear stories that resonate with us and at this time when it’s so clear what we should be holding dear, which are the values of taking care of one another and not of division and hate. This is the time to reassert our sovereignty and our voices because it’s under attack.” The Lowdown is airing on FX and available to stream on Disney+.ABOUT THE AUTHORAajah Sauter is a recipient of the CJF-CBC Black Journalism Fellowship. An Edmontonian based in Toronto, Aajah holds a bachelors degree in Communications from MacEwan University. You can reach her at aajah.sauter@cbc.ca
Why this Saskatchewan-born director believes we should all be “truthstorians”
