Eastbound & Down 

Many years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach Physical Education at his old middle school.

Creators:

Ben Best, Jody Hill, Danny McBride

Stars:

Danny McBride, Steve Little, Katy Mixon

6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Danny McBride	...	Kenny Powers 29 episodes, 2009-2013
Steve Little	...	Stevie Janowski 28 episodes, 2009-2013
Katy Mixon	...	April Buchanon 20 episodes, 2009-2013
Elizabeth De Razzo	...	Maria 20 episodes, 2010-2013
John Hawkes	...	Dustin Powers 16 episodes, 2009-2013
Jennifer Irwin	...	Cassie Powers 16 episodes, 2009-2013
Ethan Alexander McGee	...	Dustin Jr. 16 episodes, 2009-2013
Bo Mitchell	...	Wayne 15 episodes, 2009-2013

Storyline

Kenny Powers was poised to rule the Big Leagues, but two things got in the way: his fading fastball and his insufferable personality. After a spectacular career flame-out, Kenny goes home to Shelby County, NC, to nurse his wounds and work as a gym teacher at his old middle school.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | former baseball player | north carolina | sitcom | punctuation in title | 

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Taglines:

Every kid has a baseball player to look up to. Kenny Powers is not that guy. (Season 1)

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

P.E.

Filming Locations:

Scotts Hill, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Enemy MIGs Productions,Gary Sanchez Productions,Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the season three finale, Kenny yells "I'm in a f***ing Cameron Crowe movie!" after abandoning his baseball career for April. Danny McBride appeared in the Cameron Crowe film, Aloha (2015).

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Quotes

Casper: Hey, Stevie. Did you get cancer?

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Connections

Referenced in Conan: And the Wind Whispered 'Balls' (2011)

User Reviews

A superb comedy

Is Kenny Powers an obnoxious pontificating self-glorifying pri*k? Well yes, and that's what makes the show so enjoyable. The entire premise of the show is fantastic; a washed up, out of shape former ball-player still clings on to his days of glory, refusing to think of himself as anything less than a star athlete. That being said, he still possesses a deadly arm.

I would say the writing of Jody Hill is among the best of the current comedic script writers. For Eastbound, Jody writes a very plausible scenario and brings life into all of the characters. None of the humour, although vulgar times, is recycled like so many other modern comedies where an interchangeable plot-line is strung together with a bundle of awkward characters who all but fall over their own feet. I find with Eastbound there is a lot originality in the interaction between characters and all of the events that transpire between them. You can find something to laugh at in almost every scene depending on your own interpretation. It really comes down to the little things with Jody Hill, he avoids punch-lines and instead draws his comedy from how an individual(like Kenny Powers) reacts to a situation as his own person, consistently being true to the characters he develops. This is what for me spawns true comedy, not obvious attempts by the writer where characters become overly awkward for the sake of being funny or where there is a sacrifice of individuality altogether allowing all characters to employ the identical kind of humour(Judd Apatow). This for me is why Eastbound is genius, and truly a show with a lot of potential to become a long running HBO hit.