If a former rodeo queen riding an old money Oklahoma family for dear life sounds over the top, well, buckle up! Jeanne Tripplehorn brings a bold, fun performance as Betty Jo Washberg to The Lowdown, the noirish Tulsa TV show that’s already bursting at the seams with funny capers, cartoonish characters, and murky politics inspired by our goofy ass city.
Viewers who tune in to FX and Hulu this week get a lot of screen time with Betty Jo, an alcoholic mom whose nuclear family’s reputation gets upended by the suspicious death of her oddball husband played by Tim Blake Nelson. I got to speak with Jeanne before the show premiered about the time she got starstruck as a teenager at a Tulsa party, working with Sterlin Harjo and her love for a certain local publication. Enjoy!
Matt Carney: Hi, Jeanne. It's great to get to speak with you. I've watched the first five episodes of [The Lowdown], so I did my homework, I’m ready to chat.
Jeanne Tripplehorn: I love The Pickup.
Matt Carney: Oh, that's so kind of you to say! I really appreciate that.
Jeanne Tripplehorn: I mean, I love This Land Press. I was a subscriber. I had all the issues [of This Land] when they were really big.
I had that great Gaylord Herron issue. I saved that. And even in my office—now it's considered old-school—but on the magazine rack that I have in my office, I have a This Land magazine with … what's his name? Heron Blank. With a little crayon drawing of Leon [Russell], I think.
Matt Carney: Harold Blank.