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Sterlin Harjo bringing Ethan Hawke back to Oklahoma for new project ‘The Sensitive Kind’

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Sterlin Harjo bringing Ethan Hawke back to Oklahoma for new project ‘The Sensitive Kind’


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Sterlin Harjo is bringing four-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke back to Oklahoma for a high-profile new project.

Deadline reports that FX has given a pilot order to “The Sensitive Kind,” a drama that will star and be executive produced by Hawke and created and executive produced by Harjo.

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Harjo previously brought Hawke to his home state to work on “Reservation Dogs,” the trailblazing made-in-Oklahoma FX series on which Harjo worked as co-creator, executive producer and showrunner.

During the celebrated coming-of-age series’ third and final season, Hawke made an impression in his guest-starring turn as Rick Miller, the father whom prospective college student Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs) meets for the first time. One of the main characters of “Reservation Dogs,” Elora Danan has grown up without her father, but tracks him down so that she can apply for financial aid.

Titled “Elora’s Dad,” the penultimate of “Reservation Dogs” was written by Jacobs and directed by Harjo.

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‘He loved Tulsa’: Sterlin Harjo teases new project with Ethan Hawke during OKC event

An acclaimed Tulsa-based producer, writer and director, Harjo teased his reunion project with Hawke at an event last month at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, where the “Reservation Dogs” showrunner was presented with the “ArtNow 2023” Focus Award.

“What is happening next: I’m gonna say this, even though they haven’t told me for sure. I’m on the half yard line right now for a TV show starring Ethan Hawke that will be shot in Tulsa. So, I’m very excited about that,” Harjo said at the Jan. 11 OKC event.

“He’s great. He loved Tulsa. … I haven’t brought him to Oklahoma City yet — sorry.”

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“The Sensitive Kind” sounds like a much different project for the pair. Deadline describes it as “a Tulsa noir about a guy (Hawke) who knows too much.”

“What an exciting time to be in this industry in Oklahoma right now. The Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture is thrilled for Sterlin Harjo. What he has done for film and television in our state, our region and for Native storytelling thus far is nothing short of amazing,” said Meg Gould, executive director of Tulsa FMAC, in an email to The Oklahoman.

“We can’t wait to see how this project progresses, but I can say with certainty, it just added fuel to the momentum shared by so much talent across the state.”

The new project falls under the overall deal Harjo signed in 2021 with FX. Harjo is working as the pilot’s writer and director, while he and Hawke are executive producing with Garrett Basch, also an executive producer on “Reservation Dogs” and another acclaimed FX series, “What We Do in the Shadows.”

The pilot order for “The Sensitive Kind” comes as FX is trying to replace several of its hit shows that are ending, including “Reservation Dogs,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Archer” and more.

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“We have glaring needs for new dramas and comedies, starting in 2025,” John Landgraf, chairman of FX Content and FX Productions, told Deadline in a recent interview. “We have critical needs, but we have to fill them with things that are worth being successors to the past 20 years of shows that we just made.”

‘Reservation Dogs’ showrunner planning a slew of projects after acclaimed series’ end

“Reservation Dogs” — co-created and executive produced by Taika Waititi, an Oscar-winning New Zealand moviemaker who is of Maori ancestry, and Harjo, a longtime independent filmmaker who is Seminole and Muscogee — earned widespread critical acclaim and blazed new trails for Indigenous storytelling during its three-season run on Hulu.

Since the FX series’ finale bowed in September, speculation has swirled about what Harjo will do next, and at last month’s OKC event, he talked about a slew of planned projects in addition to his Hawke reunion.

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Harjo said he is working with “Reservation Dogs” writer-director Danis Goulet on adaptating for FX the popular Canadian podcast “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s” as a limited series, writing a Jim Thorpe script based on the book by Dave Maraniss called “Path Lit by Lightning” and executive producing a documentary about fellow Oklahoman and former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.

“I’m in development to do a spin-off of this ‘Spider-Verse’ thing with this Native character that’s pretty cool. … There’s also an animation that I have that is a show that is based on a very, very important old Native film, but we’re turning it into an animation and book,” Harjo said.

“Then, I think, oh, two documentaries — this is all in a year; I don’t know how I’m gonna do it all, but I’m gonna hire a lot of people — a Jesse Ed Davis documentary about the guitar player and a documentary on Richard Oakes, who was the activist that spearheaded the takeover of Alcatraz and died in very suspicious circumstances.”



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Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

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Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026


Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.





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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason


Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

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Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

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For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

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Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

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OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

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For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason. 

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

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“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

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Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.



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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion


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The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament. 

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match. 

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For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task. 

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.” 

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line. 

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books. 

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title. 

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An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction. 

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.” 

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A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December. 

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way. 

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.” 

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over. 

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.” 

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This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.





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