“Eastbound & Down” Gets Second Season

This is the kind of news that makes sticking in the AOL CD-ROM and hearing the two-minutes of screeching as your computer dials up to the Internet all worthwhile. HBO has decided to bring back the ultra-hilarious show “Eastbound & Down” for a second season. For those of you unwilling or unable to throw down the necessary funds to add HBO to your cable, here’s a brief synopsis from the official press release:

Starring Danny McBride, EASTBOUND & DOWN tells the story of Kenny Powers, who used to be a star pitcher until his self-destructive behavior knocked him out of Major League Baseball. In the first season of the series, he returned home to North Carolina to teach Phys Ed at the middle school he once attended, and eventually scored another big-league job offer.

You’ll remember McBride as the guy with the shotgun and neck brace who high-pitchedly says “Thug Life!” in the “Pineapple Express” previews. If you thought he was unlikable in that movie, that’s nothing compared to this show’s Kenny Powers, who can be summed up as “John Rocker, but without a soul”. He’s racist, misogynist, doesn’t really like kids, can’t stop talking about himself, and loves more than some stone-cold drinking and driving. In other words, he’s the funniest person on television.

The first season was a perfectly-paced, six episodes of hilarity, and the creators would be wise to follow the same brisk length for the second; the harsh comedy of this show works best in small doses. To give you a sense of what I’m talking, here’s some videos of the show. Be warned, there is plenty of foul, dirty, and disgusting language included below.