Crime
The Lowdown
FX’s show ‘The Lowdown’ features an all-star cast, but its all-problems content makes it unapproachable for families.
Two decades ago, Owen Strand and his firefighting unit charged towards the World Trade Center to rescue civilians during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. On that day, Owen became the only one of his unit to return.
He rebuilt the Manhattan unit from the ground up, and life moved on. But when an explosion in Austin, Texas, leaves Judd the only survivor of his fire station, the experienced Owen is recruited to move to Texas to help him rebuild it, too.
By Season Three, Owen and his crew have experienced plenty together, much of which have nothing to do with fighting fires: cancer, PTSD and depression, ice storms and more. The team has become a family, and its members include police officers, dispatchers, paramedics and more.
But now Owen and his love interest, Catherine, the chief of staff to the governor of Texas, are receiving ominous threats from an unknown person. And after Catherine receives a biochemical scare and Owen finds a bloodied dead pig in his bed, they realize that this anonymous enemy may be more serious than they thought.
9-1-1: Lone Star presents a group of people desiring to protect and serve their city of Austin through fighting fires, arresting criminals and keeping the city as safe as possible. Though they’re by no means perfect, the members of Station 126 genuinely want what’s best for the community. The characters we meet are diverse people with diverse backgrounds, and despite their differences, they are able to put them aside to work together.
The team combats wildfires, criminals, tornadoes and more. As such, the audience will be subjected to all the ups and downs of the gig. People get hurt and even die. And the members of Station 126 deal with deep issues in their personal lives as well. A Muslim firefighter grapples with her mosque after her hijab falls off in a rescue mission. A firefighter-turned-EMS struggles with overcoming a previous drug addiction. One man grapples with PTSD, and another struggles with depression and cancer.
Owen prides himself on being a progressive man. Unfortunately, however, that often leaves the audience exposed to subjective moral views that don’t align with the objective moral truths of Scripture. For instance, Owen expresses concern when his gay son TK tells him that he’s going to propose to his boyfriend. The gripe he has? The two haven’t moved in together yet (even though studies show cohabiting before marriage is more likely to lead to divorce). Plenty of unmarried people have off-screen sex, and a transgender character kisses a woman before telling her the truth that she’s genetically a woman, too. A brief subplot mentions abortion.
Viewers will also see and hear other content concerns, including plenty of drinking and lots of vulgar language, including multiple instances of misusing God’s name. There’s also plenty of passionate kissing between both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
Captain Owen Strand and his son, T.K., relocate from New York City to Austin, Texas to repair the town’s fire station after a devastating explosion takes the lives of multiple firefighters.
We see the explosion that claims the lives of these firefighters. One lies on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth. A woman and her baby are rescued from a car after a deadly accident. A man is revived after eating a toxic pepper (his chest is cut open and blood seeps from the incision). A firefighter struggles with anger issues and PTSD and another gets into a fistfight. A woman accuses a man of murdering her sister.
Captain Strand is hired to promote inclusivity and hires a transsexual firefighter. Heterosexual and homosexual couples kiss once each. Men at the fire station are seen shirtless and wrapped in towels. A man makes a sex joke and comments on how a vegetable resembles male genitalia.
T.K. overdoses on opioids and nearly dies (we see him vomit after CPR is performed). Later, he references a former drug addiction to oxycodone. A group of firefighters drink beer at a bar. God’s name is misused twice. “A–” is heard five times as is “d–n,” and “b–ch” and “h—” are used a few times each.
The team is called on a “swatting” call (prank calls which bring armed police officers to someone else’s house), which results in the death of a man. Catherine receives a threatening note that sprays an unknown white power at her.
A woman calls 9-1-1 claiming her drug-dealing boyfriend is on meth and going to kill her and her baby by burning them alive. Police officer Carlos tasers a man wielding a knife, and the man falls onto the knife, which sticks into his neck. Blood gushes from the wound, and the man dies.
Owen and Catherine drink beers together at a bar. Owen references male prostitution from Midnight Cowboy. A man insults Catherine, and Rob punches him. Catherine is hit in the face with an unknown white powder that shoots from a note which reads “Now you’re really toxic.” Owen and Catherine hold each other close while they dance, and Catherine drinks a glass of wine. The two kiss and begin to move into the bedroom to have sex, but they find a dead pig in the bed with the words “Toxic Pig” written in blood on the wall.
While investigating a string of swatting calls, Carlos and 9-1-1 dispatcher Grace reference a swatting call which found a man asleep “next to his boyfriend” and with five kilos of marijuana.
A person collapses with a bloody nose. Someone calls a group of people a crude phrase for male genitalia. People shoot each other in a video game.
“B–ch” is heard eight times, and “a–” is uttered or seen written five times. “D–n” is used twice, “h—” is used once and “p-ss” is used three times. The acronyms “B.S.” and “SOB” are used once each. Someone calls another a “skank,” and some yells “douchebag” at another. A person calls another person a “whore,” and someone tells someone to “burn in hell.” God’s name is misused 14 times.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
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