The Lowdown Season 2 Gives Ethan Hawke a Missing Prisoner—and Tommy Lee Jones as His Dad

Lee Raybon has earned an award, but he is about to get much more trouble than praise. The Lowdown returns October 14, with Ethan Hawke’s Tulsa journalist searching for a missing prison inmate while his estranged father walks back into his life.

Tommy Lee Jones plays Lee Raybon Sr., and Betty Gilpin joins as public defender Ginger. FX’s new Season 2 trailer introduces the pair as Lee tries to juggle an investigation with the family responsibilities he already struggles to keep up with.

The eight-episode season follows Lee’s reporting on Dale Washberg. If you missed the first season, all eight episodes are available on Hulu in the United States before the new run begins.

An award ceremony leads to Lee’s next case

Lee’s work earns him a local citizen-journalism award. His acceptance speech is another matter: the unfiltered, self-medicated performance attracts Ginger’s attention, and she asks him to find one of her clients who has disappeared from a state penitentiary.

The missing person is Ginger’s client, not a relative Lee has suddenly discovered. That gives the two newcomers different parts to play. Ginger brings him a job; his father brings a history he would rather avoid.

Hawke described Lee and Ginger’s relationship in a September interview with TV Insider:

“Lee is an unreliable friend, but he’s the only friend she has.”

— Ethan Hawke, speaking to TV Insider about Season 2.

That is a useful way to understand why an attorney would turn to someone as messy as Lee. He may not make life easier for her, but he is willing to follow a case that other people might prefer to leave alone.

Tommy Lee Jones complicates Lee’s family life

Lee has told his daughter Francis that her grandfather is dead. Lee Sr.’s arrival makes that lie impossible to maintain. He is an estranged grifter, so a visit from Dad is not an uncomplicated family reunion.

The father-and-son pairing also gives Hawke someone who can challenge Lee before they even discuss the investigation. In the same interview, Hawke said Jones had enjoyed The Lowdown and Reservation Dogs. Hawke and creator Sterlin Harjo saw an opportunity to cast him as the sort of father who could have a strong effect on Lee.

Francis, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong, wants more time with her father. Lee’s new case keeps demanding the opposite. Her mother Samantha has married Johnny, a dentist with jujitsu training, and the new household is part of the second season too.

That setup gives Lee more to lose than his standing as a reporter. Finding Ginger’s missing client will not automatically make him a better presence in his own daughter’s life.

The newsroom has changed too

Keith David returns as Marty, now managing editor at Heartland Press. Lee may have won an award, but he still has to deal with other people if he wants his reporting to reach readers.

His other familiar workplace is the rare-book shop. The first season established a lead whose curiosity frequently takes him away from the counter and into Tulsa’s problems. The new prison case offers another reason for him to disappear when someone expects him to be available.

Harjo created the series and writes, directs and executive produces it. Hawke is also an executive producer. The show comes from FX Productions, and the second season keeps Lee’s reporting and family story together rather than replacing him with a new lead.

Who plays the new and returning characters?

Jones and Gilpin are the major additions. Hawke, David, Armstrong and Kaniehtiio Horn return, while Rafael Casal plays Johnny. The names below help separate the people working on the missing-prisoner case from those waiting for Lee to come home.

Where to watch before October 14

Season 1 is streaming now on Hulu in the United States. Season 2 premieres October 14 on FX and Hulu. The new episodes are an upcoming release, not part of the currently available first-season run.

The trailer is a preview of that return. For the series cast, rating and current U.S. viewing details, visit our The Lowdown page.