The Agency's Posts

HAVING IT ALL: 10 WAYS HOLLYWOOD'S POWER WOMEN MAKE IT ALL WORK: Super-busy A-list producers, studio executives, agents and managers swear by these strategies for....
Read More>

The Book Thief Entertains and Educates: In recent years, Hollywood, for better or worse, has played a significant role in educating the....
Read More>

The Big Picture Strikes Back: By A. O. SCOTT Like a character who develops a discreet but noticeable cough at the end of....
Read More>

It's All About the Squinch!: Ever wondered if you're missing out on some of the basic tricks of modeling, and if you could be....
Read More>

Last Chance to sign up for this Workshop!: LAST CHANCE to sign up!"Work as a Model" Commercial Print Workshop on November 23rd....
Read More>

Review: 'Ender's Game' captures the now in its futuristic tale: The 1985 youth novel 'Ender's Game' uses a tale of a misfit hero to relay enduring truths about....
Read More>

Nicole Kidman: From 'intoxicating' fame to low-key Nashville life: Nicole Kidman had her share of an "intoxicating" level of fame when she was married....
Read More>

Lisa Kudrow calls nose job at 16 'life-altering,' talks 'Friends': While other kids were out getting their driver licenses when they were 16, Lisa Kudrow did....
Read More>

As Elton John in 'Rocketman,' Tom Hardy's big switch: After playing beefy tough guys in films such as"The Dark Knight Rises"and"Bronson
Read More>

Paul McCartney sounds revitalized in 'New': 71-year-old Paul McCartney comes off effortlessly contemporary as well as hummably Beatle-esque....
Read More>

Robert Redford shows why he's a star in 'All Is Lost': "All Is Lost" begins in darkness. There is a voice, though. Weary, almost apologetic,....
Read More>
Stability, a Real Suburban Curve Ball
Posted on: 10/05/13
Share/Save/Bookmark
 

‘Eastbound & Down’ Is Back for a Fourth Season



Last week, on the season premiere of “Eastbound & Down,” Kenny Powers was back, sort of. A schlub in a company-issued shirt and a would-be Michael Scott for a boss, he was a shell of the boorish ex-big leaguer he once was. The first words he uttered, sitting in his car on the way to work, were, “Love NPR.” He might as well be dead.

Over its three previous seasons, “Eastbound & Down,” seen on Sundays on HBO, has often appeared to exist solely for the purpose of devising appropriate contexts to utter the completely inappropriate. Kenny (Danny McBride) has been an antihero, foulmouthed and smug and bigoted and concerned with his own celebrity above all. The show has served as an implicit rebuke to those who want television to grapple with unlikable, complicated characters. Kenny isn’t complicated, and that’s exactly what made him likable.

So it’s odd that in this fourth season, the show’s last, he’s threatening to become an anti-antihero or, Heaven forbid, an actual hero. The square job; the gorgeous wife, April (Katy Mixon), whom he finally settled down with after faking his death and quitting baseball; the two kids; the NPR — by other peoples’ rules, he’s a king.

But here are some phrases from later this season, presented without context: “Ignore this Taliban cleric over here,” and, “The only thing that would make me happy was if all these kids had AIDS.”

No recent television show has toggled so violently between brilliant and execrable as “Eastbound,” which at its heart is about pieties and their uselessness. In its best moments, it has made Kenny a magical figure, while he thumbs his nose at propriety at every turn. It upends the usual moral frameworks.

Whether Kenny is evil or just a numbskull is always a question, one that this final season of “Eastbound” intends to clarify by introducing a foil with bad intentions: Guy Young (Ken Marino) is a former baseball player who now hosts a rowdy sports-talk show, and gives Kenny a shot at on-air career redemption.

For Kenny, the casual prejudice of the show’s banter is a comfort, and after he takes a few lumps, he finds his old rhythm of awfulness. Of course, the price is his wife’s happiness, though even beleaguered April, the breadwinner during Kenny’s hiatus, comes around to his new life, after admitting, “I’m scared that I can’t have my husband, Kenny, and the famous Kenny at the same time, and I don’t wanna lose you.”

Only she knows the truth, that the suburban sandpapering of Kenny’s rough edges has had a real effect. As Guy inevitably becomes Kenny’s nemesis, a showdown looms, with Kenny probably on the side of right, of family, of NPR. Which means this series will probably end with a question: If Kenny Powers doesn’t speed off into the sunset, middle fingers in the air, did he really win?


COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal