What I’m Watching: Eastbound & Down (Season Premiere)

Eastbound & Down: Season 2, Episode 1 “Chapter 7” (B+)

Is there any other show like this on the air? Part two of the fantastic new Sunday night HBO comedy pairing is back for its second season after a short six-episode run way back in the winter of early 2009. The difference between this show and lead-in “Bored to Death” is that I didn’t actually get a chance to cover this series on TV with Abe at all because I was out of the country and not watching live. I also neglected to rank it in my Top Ten New Shows of 2009 series, though it would certainly have placed high had I remembered to include it. This is a wildly original show that has much to offer than might be apparent on the surface. Now, in its second season, most of the original cast has been dropped with only the incomparable Danny McBride leading the way as temper-prone Kenny Powers. I cracked up every time Kenny started whining about the “language barrier” keeping him out of a conversation because he was in Mexico and refused to even try to learn the language. He’s managed to accumulate new disciples who are just about as ridiculous as his unwitting helper from last season. That scene at the end of the episode where he gave the lengthy speech on the baseball field was absolutely terrific, and on any other show it would seem wholly preposterous. Yet this show has always been more than a bit offbeat, and I’m so very eager to see where the wild and crazy Kenny Powers takes us this season.