Inside the Creative Collaboration Behind THE LOWDOWN
About this Spotlight
Spotlights feature conversations with high-profile film and television industry professionals who share helpful advice and insights on their career experiences and creative processes.
Join Sundance Collab for this exclusive Spotlight event with actor, director and producer Ethan Hawke and Sterlin Harjo, the creator, executive producer, writer and director of hit TV series Reservation Dogs and The Lowdown. Currently in its second season, the Tulsa noir comedy received universal acclaim after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and then on Hulu and Disney+ in September 2025. The show was one of AFI’s top-ten television programs of 2025 and earned Hawke an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series.
The Lowdown follows the gritty exploits of citizen journalist Lee Raybon (Hawke), a self-proclaimed Tulsa “truthstorian” whose obsession with the truth is always getting him into trouble. In the second season, Lee must balance owning his rare bookstore, his ongoing investigative journalism, co-parenting his teenage daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), and an unexpected visit from his estranged father, who Francis thought was dead. Season two’s stellar cast also includes Keith David, Kaniehtiio Horn, Tommy Lee Jones and Betty Gilpin.
In this live online event, Hawke and Harjo will discuss working at the intersection of comedy and crime, crafting the perfect tone, and filming the show on location in Tulsa. You won’t want to miss this discussion about the show the BBC deemed #1 of 2025.
Season 1 and 2 of The Lowdown are currently streaming on FX.
A recording of this Spotlight will be posted to Sundance Collab's Event Recording Library within two business days of the live event. All registered attendees will receive an email with a link to view the recording at no cost for two business days after it is posted. After that, on-demand access to the recording can be purchased for $10.
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Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Submit our Request Accessibility Support form to arrange for services.
People
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke is an acclaimed actor, writer, and filmmaker. He currently stars in the FX series The Lowdown. His acting credits include Dead Poets Society, Training Day, Boyhood, the Before trilogy, First Reformed, The Good Lord Bird, and The Weight. As a filmmaker, he has directed Blaze, Wildcat, The Last Movie Stars, and Seymour: An Introduction, among others. On Broadway, he has starred in True West, Macbeth, Henry IV, and The Coast of Utopia, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. He is the author of three novels, a young adult book of fables, and two graphic novels. This year, he earned his fifth Academy Award nomination, as Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon, his ninth collaboration with Richard Linklater.
Sterlin Harjo
Filmmaker
Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Mvskoke) is a MacArthur Genius award-winner, writer, director, and showrunner from Holdenville, Oklahoma. Most recently, Sterlin created, wrote, directed and is the executive producer of The Lowdown, currently airing on FX and Hulu, starring Ethan Hawke. Previously, he was the showrunner, co-creator with Taika Waititi and director of the Emmy-nominated Reservation Dogs for FX. The series ran for three seasons and received numerous awards including a Gotham Award, a Peabody Award, two Independent Spirit Awards and honors from the Television Academy.
Erica Elson
Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer, Sundance Collab
Erica Elson is a Producer, Writer and Educator based in the mountains outside Los Angeles. Her short film, WING NIGHT, premiered at Method Fest in Los Angeles. She is the co-author of the book THE AWKWARD HUMAN SURVIVAL GUIDE and co-hosted a podcast by the same name on the 5by5 network for five years. Elson's articles have been published by HuffPost, Lifehacker, and Reader's Digest. Prior to working in education, she worked in television development and writers’ rooms such as VH1’s HINDSIGHT, where she had the chance to write for the spinoff web series PLANET SEBASTIAN.
Elson joined the Sundance Collab team in October 2021 and produces courses, Master Classes, and events in the areas of screenwriting, television writing, directing, producing, and documentary filmmaking. She has moderated conversations with Sofia Coppola, Richard Linklater, Alexander Payne, and Susannah Grant, among others.
Prior to Sundance, Elson was the Thesis Production Supervisor at the American Film Institute for five years. She oversaw several award-winning graduate thesis films, notably the 2021 BAFTA student film winner APART, TOGETHER and the 2023 Sundance Film Festival short WE WERE MEANT TO. While at AFI, Elson developed a passion for sustainable production and created the Green Film School Alliance, which includes forty schools on four continents. She holds a BA in Communication and Film Studies from Concordia University and an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute.