We now have a date for the return of FX‘s The Lowdown. Sterlin Harjo‘s noir series starring Ethan Hawke and new cast members Tommy Lee Jones and Betty Gilpin, will premiere its second season on Wednesday, October 14 on FX and Hulu and Disney+ internationally. New episodes of the eight-episode season will drop weekly each Wednesday. FX also released two new images for Season 2 featuring Jones and Gilpin, which you can see above and below.

Created, written, executive produced and directed by Harjo, 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. Lee lives and works in a rare books store tucked in the heart of Tulsa – a local refuge and unofficial community hub. While Lee’s no idealist, he’s fiercely committed to exposing corruption and unearthing the city’s hidden rot, even when it puts him at risk. 

Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

As Season 2 begins, Lee’s recent story on the life and untimely death of Dale Washberg (as seen in season one) earns him a local citizen journalist award. Unable to process things going well for a change, Lee self-medicates and, unsurprisingly, makes a less than stellar showing at the ceremony. But his wildly unfiltered speech grabs the attention of beautiful and brash public defender Ginger (Gilpin), herself a crusader for truth.

Though uncommonly immune to his charms, Ginger does accept Lee’s help on a case. One of her clients has gone MIA from the state penitentiary – but how can a man go missing in prison? The situation turns out to have all of Lee’s favorite ingredients: power, corruption and malfeasance among the wealthy elite. It’s a perfect next story for The Heartland Press, where Marty (Keith David) is now Managing Editor, much to Lee’s chagrin.

Bumbling his way through the investigation with Ginger, Lee reluctantly enlists the assistance of Johnny (Rafael Casal), a jujitsu-trained dentist with a heart of gold, who is also new husband to Lee’s ex Samantha (Kaniehtiio Horn), and co-parent to Lee’s teenage daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who longs for more time with her ever-busy father. Lee loves Francis more than anything in the world, but the urgency of this new case pulls him away from her more often than either of them would like. Things on the homefront get even more complicated when Lee’s estranged grifter father, Lee Raybon Senior (Jones), unexpectedly arrives in town – especially awkward since Lee has always told Francis that her grandfather was dead.

The show’s debut season was honored with an AFI Award as a TV Program of the Year and rated 98% Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes.

Harjo executive produces with Garrett Basch, Ethan Hawke, Ryan Hawke, Duffy Boudreau and Scott Teems. The series is produced by FX Productions.

EXCLUSIVE: Vincent Young has wrapped on the Los Angeles shoot for his directorial debut, Small Talk, a period music drama starring Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars), Conor Husting (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia), Rio Mangini (Wolf Pack), Sophia Del Rio (72 Hours) and Austin North (Outer Banks).

Set against the late ’70s Los Angeles rock scene, Small Talk follows a young band on the edge of success as ambition, romance, and addiction threaten to destroy the music that brought them together. The film traces the relationships surrounding the band as their sudden rise begins testing the friendships and loyalties that helped create it.

Young directed from a script written with RJ Zabasky, based on a story he conceived with Douglas Young, also producing alongside Kristifor Cvijetic and Zabasky. Douglas Young exec produced, with Brian Yuran, Evan Sorlien and Chris Kim serving as co-producers.

The supporting cast includes Sophie Swiszcz, Shaun Holmes, Ruben Vernier, Doug Locke, Jamison Jones, Ross Gallo, Kavan Reece, Maury Morgan, Liam Martinez and Michael Paré. Dean Fronk and Donald Pemrick handled casting.

Young told Deadline, “At its core, Small Talk is really about what we leave behind in other people. The title came from this idea that so much of life can become noise, such as the things we say, the things we chase, and the way we present ourselves. However, none of that carries the same weight as what we actually do for someone we love. I was drawn to exploring characters who are still figuring that out, and I wanted to tell that story inside a world that felt completely alive and specific, as though we had stepped into Los Angeles in the late ’70s rather than recreated it from a distance.”

Allen is repped by IAG, Creative Talent Group, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Husting by Brave Artists Management and CESD; Mangini by LBI and Pallas Management Group; Del Rio by Luber Roklin Entertainment; and North by Buchwald, Luber Roklin and Myman Greenspan.