Vice Principals

I watched this right after having watched The Righteous Gemstones, which was an OK show. Vice Principals was funnier. Just like The Righteous Gemstone, the first season is better than the second.

Danny McBride does his usual shtick which he is very good at, but it's a little one note with him playing the exact same character in every show. Edi Patterson is just as funny (and crazy) as she is in The Righteous Gemstones. But the one who truly shines is Mr. Cletus Van Damme himself, Walton Goggins.

I thought Vice Principals was absolutely hilarious! Danny McBride and Walton Goggins are two of the most underrated comedians in Hollywood. They're both at the top of their game in this. I promise that you'll laugh out loud several times per episode. The only bad thing about this show is that it only went for two seasons. It wasn't canceled, it was written only as a two seasons series so it doesn't end on some cliffhanger. It has a very satisfying ending. You have to give it a few episodes as they build the story the first few episodes but after you past that it's hilarious for the rest of its run. This is a show that is even better if you binge watch it.

Oh how I wish there were more seasons of this show.

Neal Gamby (Danny McBride) is a vice principal at North Jackson High School in South Carolina. He is the disciplinarian of the school and not liked by the staff or the students. When the current principal retires early, he is desperate to get the job. His main competition is fellow vice principal Lee Russell (Walton Goggins). When the job goes to outsider Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Hébert Gregory), the two rivals join forces against Brown. Neal is a divorced dad trying to maintain his connection to his daughter while pursuing sweet cute English teacher Amanda Snodgrass (Georgia King).

This is an HBO comedy. It starts off like a simple workplace sitcom with the outrageous Danny McBride comedy. Walton Goggins adds a wild foil to his character. I would suggest avoid showing a teen character's boobs in a sex scene. Otherwise, the first season is super great. It does end with a what-the-f cliffhanger. The second season takes that and runs with it. It runs all the way to its second season conclusion.

I have to start by saying that some of the negative reviews are as funny as the show itself, if not only for the fact that they clearly miss the humor and unironically point to exactly the cringe-inducing moments of black comedy as examples of mean-spiritedness or unredeemable characters.

Duh. That's kind of the point.

Also, be wary of any review that is almost entirely predicated on one person's opinion that a particular actor is being misutilized - especially if it's obvious that this person holds that actor in inflated esteem. The acting, so far - only one episode in - is pretty spot on.

Danny McBride has a gift for depicting totally unrelatable, yet not entirely unsympathetic misanthrope. He delivers extremely inappropriate dialog without cracking the thin veneer of believability. Walton Goggins, in his characteristic Alabama accent, plays foil to McBride as a character who the viewer can believe actually likes his fellow human beings. Both of them are, in their own ways, shameless self-promoters and viciously ambitious career climbers who totally overlook the fact that they've abandoned their moral compass in pursuit of a less than lofty goal.

The only weakness I can really point to is the family scenarios and the relatively unbelievable ex-wife's new husband - a character in his mid to late 40s who dresses and acts like a one-dimensional talking Hot Topic mannequin.

I'm interested in where they take the next several episodes and I'd recommend checking it out if you like dark humor or any of the actors involved.