Why Eastbound & Down Is Danny McBride’s Best HBO Show (& Vice Principals Is Second)

Danny McBride seems to be on very good terms with HBO at this point, having created and starred in three series on the network. His stint as an HBO leading man began with Eastbound & Down, the story of disgraced pitcher Kenny Powers’ long journey back to Major League Baseball, and it’s still arguably his best show on the network.

While McBride’s most recent series, The Righteous Gemstones, has plenty of colorful characters, his second-best TV effort is arguably Vice Principals, the tale of a newly appointed principal and the underlings who try to usurp her.

10 Eastbound Is Best: Every Season Feels Like A Different Show

In season 1, Kenny is a substitute gym teacher in his hometown. In season 2, he’s a cockfighter down in Mexico. In season 3, he’s a single father living it up in Myrtle Beach. In season 4, he’s a suburban family man who wants a taste of his old hard-partying lifestyle.

Every season of Eastbound & Down feels like an entirely new show, with a different setting and supporting cast. Most importantly, there’s always a new rival, just like the Rocky series.

9 Vice Principals Is Second: It Was Planned As A Self-Contained Story From The Beginning

Technically, Vice Principals wasn’t a limited series, because it had two seasons, but it was limited to those two seasons. Every episode was written from the very beginning and there was never any intention of producing a third season. Unlike most TV shows, which go on for as long as possible while the creators figure out the story along the way, Vice Principals was planned as a self-contained story from the start.

While Eastbound & Down was revived for a fourth season after its third season already wrapped up the story, Vice Principals just told its story as it was intended and got out of there.

8 Eastbound Is Best: Kenny Powers Is The Quintessential Danny McBride Character

Going back to his breakout role Fred Simmons in The Foot Fist Way, Danny McBride’s on-screen persona has been defined by characters who are obnoxiously confident on the outside while hiding deep-seated insecurities on the inside.

Kenny Powers is the pinnacle of this persona. He makes one terrible snap decision after another and pushes away anyone who shows him affection. But it’s always clear that under the abrasive, self-important facade, Kenny is a broken guy.

7 Vice Principals Is Second: Neal Gamby Is One Of McBride’s Most Vulnerable Characters

At the beginning of Vice Principals, Neal Gamby is introduced as a loud-mouthed, down-on-his-luck loser with anger issues — in other words, another typical McBride role (which would be perfectly fine, because he plays that type brilliantly) — but over the course of the first season, he developed into one of McBride’s most vulnerable characters.

From his strained relationship with his daughter to his professional failures, Gamby’s vulnerability makes him unusually likable for a McBride character.

6 Eastbound Is Best: Steve Little Is The Perfect Foil For McBride

Kenny Powers has a loyal sidekick in the mold of Don Quixote’s trusty squire Sancho Panza named Stevie Janowski. Played by Steve Little, Stevie has idolized Kenny since high school and starts dressing and talking like him when he hits rock bottom and moves back to town.

Little was the perfect foil for McBride’s portrayal of Kenny. They created a hilarious and oddly sweet on-screen dynamic of Kenny hating Stevie while knowing deep down that he needs his friendship.

5 Vice Principals Is Second: The Season 1 Finale Offered A Shocking Plot Twist

Since Vice Principals was planned from the beginning to only ever have two seasons, the first-season finale was a crucial point in the story. The midpoint of any good story needs to raise the stakes significantly, like the chest-burster scene in Alien or the shower murder in Psycho or the T. rex’s escape in Jurassic Park.

The season 1 finale of Vice Principals, “End of the Line,” offered a shocking midpoint twist of its own. Just when things are going well for Neal Gamby, he’s shot by a mysterious masked assailant.

4 Eastbound Is Best: Each Season Escalates The Outrageousness

Every season of Eastbound & Down escalates the outrageousness. The first season is wild, but the subsequent seasons make it look tame. In season 3, Kenny shoots fireworks into the middle of a 4th of July party and has to rescue Stevie from a Southern plantation while cannonballs are fired at them.

In season 3, a depressed Stevie shaved his entire head (eyebrows included). By the fourth and final season, when he had a prosthetic chin and smoldering contact lenses in his eyes, a fully shaved head seemed like a normal look.

3 Vice Principals Is Second: McBride’s Chemistry With Walton Goggins Is Unparalleled

While Danny McBride and Steve Little enjoyed a hysterical Don Quixote/Sancho Panza dynamic in Eastbound & Down, the co-star that McBride has shared the most palpable chemistry with is Walton Goggins.

First as foes and later as allies, the complicated on-screen relationship shared by McBride and Goggins made all their scenes in Vice Principals hilarious.

2 Eastbound Is Best: The Final Season Wasn’t Superfluous

The third season of Eastbound & Down gave the show a perfect ending. Kenny gave up a life of fame and fortune by faking his own death, bleaching his hair, and returning to Shelby to live with April and Toby. It was the most Kenny Powers way to end the show on a sweet note. The creators even announced that this was the conclusion of the series.

But then, HBO surprised fans with a fourth-season renewal. This new final season risked compromising the original ending and feeling unnecessary, like Toy Story 4. Luckily, it avoided that by building on the idea of Kenny settling down. His return to Dustin’s house in the penultimate episode brings the series full circle.

1 Vice Principals Is Second: Pitch-Black Comedy Is Perfect For A High School Setting

Jody Hill and Danny McBride’s pitch-black brand of comedy — which they brought to the baseball field in Eastbound & Down and the televangelist community in The Righteous Gemstones — is perfect for a high school setting.

The ruthlessness of teenagers, the power dynamic between students and teachers, and evergreen evils like bullying make high schools the ideal location for dark comedy. Just look at Heathers, Election, Better Off Dead, etc.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3458 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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