Eastbound & Down back on the mound for HBO

The most recent addition to HBO’s rogue gallery of lovable losers is former baseball pitching sensation Kenny Powers, whose gaffe-induced fall from grace is summed up bluntly in the flashback montage of the intro episode: “Several Shitty Years Later.” Reviews for Eastbound & Down appreciate the spectacle of shit-kicker Danny McBride barely maintaining his teetering balance with oblivious misfired bluster:

“McBride’s new sitcom about a broken-down ex‚Äìpro baseball player, is the funniest thing he’s done to date.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“…there’s a winning, vox-populi tone to much of the comedy that has elements of Frank Capra and Preston Sturges lurking within, even though it has no qualms about stooping to potty humor.” (Washington Post)

Production on the series’ second season has been underway since May. This time around the sports comedy is taking the team on the road to Mexico (pinch-hitting for Mexico locations: Puerto Rico). Fresh faces recruited for season two include Michael Pe√±a as the owner of a Mexican baseball team, and Ana de la Reguera as Kenny’s new paramour. Most of the first season’s Shelby County cast stays behind in North Carolina, but Steve Little returns as star-struck follower Stevie Janowski — because behind every assholing Ari Gold stands a loyal Lloyd. Providing a wickedly disturbing twist on Eve Harrington’s character arc, Janowski’s transmogrification is one of the many unrepentant misfit pleasures of Eastbound & Down. Returning to HBO in September.