“We show some promise…maybe?”

Eastbound & Down isn’t perfect but it’s a promising start to what could be wholly entertaining series.

Now I’m not a big fan of Danny Mcbride; I always thought he was kind of a one trick pony after seeing him in Pineapple Express and then in Tropic Thunder. While he was funny in both, the characters he was playing were essentially the same dude and maybe I’m the only one but I thought after a while, the bits with him started to wear thin.
Going into Eastbound & Down,  I was expecting more of the same. Now I was right but within the framework of the show it works. His character is a moron but watching his character’s supersized ego deal with the normalcy of a normal life is hilarious. The jokes are fast and the range of humor is pretty good; you’ve got one liners, weird situations, stupidity and r-rated jokes. A lot of the bases are covered in terms of humor.  The show is funny and Danny McBride is front and center.
The rest of the cast is fairly good with Jennifer Irwin and Andrew Daly making the most of their limited time. There’s an odd quirkiness to each of the characters but Irwin and Daly manage to give their characters a little more depth than the rest of the cast. I think with some time, the other characters can really shine and it wouldn’t hurt. John Hawkes and Katy Mixon would benefit most from having a little more time and story thrown their way. I understand the show is about McBride’s character but without a stronger characters around him, the show will get old.
The show’s pacing is pretty solid and allows for jokes and story to work hand in hand to move things along. It’s pretty well done and so far, for a thirty minute show, none of the time feel wasted.  Everything feels like it’s moving towards a conclusion and I like it.

All in all, the humor of Eastbound & Down isn’t for everyone but it’s worth a shot.

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