In workplace sitcom Unstable, John Owen Lowe plays Jackson Dragon, the even-keeled foil to his dad Ellis Dragon’s (Rob Lowe) constant dreamlike pep. But one subject fills the younger Lowe with the kind of energy that would make Ellis jealous: the music of Unstable. The series’ score is composed by first-time collaborators Mark Foster, of Foster the People pop fame, and blockbuster composer Sven Faulconer, who’s worked his magic in Top Gun: Maverick, Red Notice and much more. 

“They’re so fucking talented. I’m so grateful for them,” John Owen tells Tudum, his passion visible. “There are shows where the music detracts. Then there are shows where the music simply helps you fill gaps. Then there are those rare shows where the music elevates it and becomes a character of its own.” 

Foster and Faulconer were tasked with helping create a show in the third category. They turned to a mix of percussion, “a whole swath of recorders” and a well of “childlike” wonder to get the job done. 

Despite the three Grammy nominations under his belt, Foster — whom John Owen loves “like a brother” — was still nervous to tackle TV scoring, especially since co-creators John Owen, Rob and Victor Fresco were looking for something completely “different” from traditional sitcom tunes for Unstable. “That was something that was interesting to them, but also equally terrifying to me because I’m like, ‘How do you approach comedy differently?’ ” Foster says with a laugh. 

Sven Faulconer and Mark Foster

Kenny Laubbacher

The answer was using Latin, African and Haitian music as an inspiration, along with “minimalist, repetitive” tunes, Faulconer says.  

“One night all those elements came together in my head. I could hear it,” Foster recalls. The musician then shared his plans with the Unstable creative team, who approved his sonic vision. “They were really encouraging. That gave us the freedom to explore and push the score further than we would have if we felt like there was fear or if they were micromanaging us,” Foster continues.  

Soon enough Foster and Faulconer were buying a small percussive army of instruments to play live in the latter’s studio for the soundtrack with “total trust and creative freedom to explore.” Congas, bongos, temple blocks, claves, cabasas, güiros and even a glockenspiel were all on the menu, along with recorders so large one needed to stand up to play them.  

“We let the collaboration shape itself,” Faulconer explains. “Mark grabbed a glockenspiel and started tapping on it rhythmically. We were like, ‘Ah, let’s just record that.’ ” Initially, the pair assumed the sound would simply serve as an introductory “mess around” — the product of judgment-free jamming. Instead, it ended up becoming a musical idea that appears throughout Unstable, particularly in scenes with unorthodox therapist Leslie (Fred Armisen). 

“Sven and I just immediately felt safe to where we could start doing really weird stuff and then flipping it,” Foster says. “Screaming into a microphone, singing and using our voices in really strange ways. I can hear it when I listen back to the music — it sounds like we’re having fun.” 

That open feeling ultimately speaks to the attitude of Unstable’s cast of zany characters. “There are elements that feel very childlike [in the series], like the relationship between Ellis and Leslie,” Foster continues. “They’re like kids. They’re fighting over hot chocolate — who gets the marshmallows and stuff like that.” 

The main section of Ellis’ theme — and arguably Unstable as a whole — is a youthfully energetic “arpeggiated flute.” Re-creating the sound of the instrument reduces both Foster and Faulconer into giggles. The theme came “organically,” says Faulconer, as the duo played around with woodwinds. “That was a really a great example of how we were just feeding off of each other,” he says.  

John P. Fleenor/Netflix

While Foster and Faulconer are proud of what they created, they strove to ensure the score wasn’t so catchy that it became distracting. The pair used polyrhythms to achieve that goal. A clave, which is an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument, would be on its own rhythm, while congas would have their own rhythm, and “something else is playing dotted eighth notes or something,” Foster says.  

“Then you put those three elements together and it feels really alive. You can hear the room, you can hear the hand hit the conga,” he continues. Without a singular earworm of a rhythm to follow, the audience can take in the full aural world of Unstable rather than focus on bopping their head to the music. 

Still, Foster and Faulconer swear they’re not musical wizards. “If you saw a video of us actually making this, I think that you’d totally [doubt that],” Foster says. “You’d be like, ‘These guys have no idea what they’re doing. They’re just having a lot of fun.’ ”

Nothing would make Ellis Dragon happier.

Unstable TeaserWatch Lowe and his son/co-star John Owen explain how their off-screen dynamic led to their new show.