Entertainment

Danny McBride's new show might look familiar

by Caroline Pate

After less than a year, Danny McBride is making a comeback. His previous show, Eastbound and Down, ended its run last fall in its fourth season on HBO. Now, he's already back on HBO with yet another show: Vice Principals .

There's little information released about the show so far, but if you've watched Danny McBride in anything, you know the types of characters he typically portrays: tough talking, down-on-their-luck manchildren, usually from a small rural town in North Carolina. Eastbound and Down's Kenny Powers was the ultimate distillation of this persona, but how will McBride's character in Vice Principal stack up?

Back to School

Just like Eastbound and Down, Vice Principals takes place in school. But this time, McBride has upgraded from middle school to high school. Sure, middle school is arguably the tougher, weirder time in most people's young lives. But think of all the classic, rural high school scenarios that can be wrung out of vice principals: dip in the school parking lot, bring your tractor to school day, putting farm animals in the school as the senior prank. (Actually, these are all real things that happened at my actual high school so if McBride takes one of these I want royalties.)

Administration

Just like the upgrade to high school, McBride is also getting a promotion in his new show. Although Kenny Powers was just a gym teacher in Eastbound and Down, in Vice Principals he'll, of course, play a vice principal. There's little known about the show right now, so it's hard to tell if the vice principal role will be as funny as Kenny Powers' transition from a major league baseball player to a middle school gym teacher. But c'mon, what profession has more ridiculous things happen in it than a public school gym teacher?

Getting it Together

Eastbound and Down was a show about a man trying to right his past wrongs, but continuing to mess things up anyways. It seems like the vice principals of Vice Principals won't have their lives together either: they're described as the people who "almost" run the school. But hey, the comedy of desperation is something Danny McBride does best.