BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JULY 28: (L-R) Matthew Lowe, executive producer Rob Lowe, John Owen Lowe of ‘The Lowe Files ‘ speak onstage during the AE Networks portion of the 2017 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 28, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Lifetime Television)
I’ve been weirdly excited about The Lowe Files. Something about the combination of charming, ageless actor Rob Lowe; a family road trip; and hunting for Bigfoot sounded like television gold to me (and I emphasize “to me” here, I understand that combination maybe sounds pretty random to a lot of people). The A&E series premiered on Wednesday night and I’m sorry to say: I was disappointed.
Rob Lowe gets points in my book for playing two of the greatest TV characters of all time: sharp, ambitious deputy White House communications director (you know, back when that was an impressive job title to hold) Sam Seaborn on The West Wing; and absurdly perky parks department staffer Chris Traeger on Parks and Rec. So, not being super familiar with Rob Lowe the actual IRL man, I was hoping for big things from him in his natural element. And he was…fine. Maybe I was putting too much pressure on him. He seemed very aware of the fact that they were on camera at all times and, likely because of that, a little hammier and more canned than I would have liked.
IT SUCKS