Support NeoGAF

[Cornballer]

Vice Principals is an upcoming American television comedy series starring Danny McBride, Walton Goggins, Georgia King, Busy Philipps, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, Sheaun McKinney and Shea Whigham. The co-creators are Danny McBride and Jody Hill. The series was ordered by HBO in May 2014 with an 18-episode pickup, which will be split into two seasons and conclude the series. It will premiere on July 17, 2016. Season 1 consists for 9 episodes.

The trailers look hilarious. The same team from Eastbound & Down is back, this time with Goggins in the mix, too. Note that this is a closed series that will only have 2 seasons and 18 episodes total.

From Danny McBride and Jody Hill, Vice Principals is a dark comedy telling the story of North Jackson High School, and the two people who almost run it -- the Vice Principals. The series stars Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as the school administrators in an epic power struggle for the top spot of school Principal. Told over the course of a single school year, the first season takes place during the fall, with the second and final season to covering the spring term, each with nine episodes. Joining McBride and Hill as executive producer and director is longtime collaborator David Gordon Green.

Trailers:

• Trailer
• Promo
• Promo #2
• Tease
• Teaser #2
• Danny McBride and Walton Goggins in Conversation

Promo pics

Posters

 

[TheOddOne]

This looks great!

Again, fantastic OT Mr. Baller.

 

[jett]

I'm giving this one a look.

 

[Zaph]

Awesome, can't wait. The whole 18 episodes thing is slightly bittersweet though.

 

[Haloid1177]

I almost don't wanna fall in love with this because of it only being 18 episodes, but McBride and Goggins are so goddamn good I can't help it. Hype!

 

[Bad_Boy]

They were filming this down the street from me in charleston. I think a couple friends were extras. Regardless, this looks hilarious. I'm so in.

 

[SirClinksAlot]

Yessss. Can't wait till Sunday.

 

[Dennis]

Definitely want to check this out.

 

[ezekial45]

So the entire series has already been filmed?

 

[Sloane]

Looking forward to it, trailers seemed alright, and the whole 18 episodes thing sounds good in my book -- Eastbound & Down probably took a bit more time than it should have.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Really looking forward to this.

 

[Cornballer]

Comments from McBride on the length in Variety:

“The whole series is only 18 episodes and that’s it. We just wanted to make a really long movie. It’s one school year and a complete story,” McBride said at the show’s premiere. “This was an old screenplay that Jody [Hill] and I wrote back in 2006. But we needed it to be longer so we added and reworked it and broke it up into 18 segments.”

“HBO trusted us to make those episodes without anyone watching them, so they really, really trust us,” McBride said.


When asked if they would be interested in making more episodes if the first two seasons go well, executive producer and director Hill had a very simple answer.

“No,” he said. “We already shot the 18 episodes and that’s it.”

 

[Matty77]

Cannot wait, Danny is my favorite Comedy actor especially when working with Jody.

Subscribed.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

I'm here and I'm hyped.

 

[Lonestar]

in for Shane Crowder Boyd Vendrell. Walton does fantastic drama work, but he does seem to have a good knack for comedic performances.

 

[Ninhead]

Shea Whigham is awesome. Can't wait to see Murray does in this. Super pumped.

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club interview: Jody Hill and Danny McBride on bros, baseball, and Vice Principals

AVC: Why did you want to work with Walton? He’s great in this, as you guys know.

DM: He’s amazing. I’ve always been a fan of his work. And this show is a very tricky show. It’s comedic but there are dark elements and very strange dramatic elements. And I think who I was going to be paired with was important. We had to make sure that it’s not what audiences have seen before, where it’s some bro thing where it’s just a bromance between two meatheads. Casting Walt makes it a little bit more dangerous and a little more unexpected, and quite frankly, he just has the chops to pull off the things that we need Lee Russell to do during the course of the series.

JH: Walton’s one of these actors who can be dramatic in a traditional sense, but he’s also funny. He’s my favorite kind of actor in that he’s really interesting in no matter what he chooses and his performance defies genres. We never wanted to make a super genre show. You know what I mean? Walton is like Michael Peña or Shea Whigham or some of these guys we’ve worked with before. He just fits in that world.

 

[metsallica]

Comments from McBride on the length in Variety:

Eh, ya drive a dump truck filled with money up to somebody's house and plans change real quick. If this turns out to be some giant success who knows... EB&D was supposed to end before it did too. More than once, I think!

 

[Cornballer]

- NYT: Danny McBride’s New Mission: Setting Off Sparks in the Faculty Lounge

Naturally, Mr. McBride would have to play some sort of self-aggrandizing character, with a heart of gold far, far beneath.

“We’re not these bruiser Southern guys, so I think we’re always amused by guys like that,” Mr. McBride said of himself and Mr. Hill.

Mr. Hill said: “When I’ve met people like that in real life, it’s always coming from a place of insecurity or some hole that they’re trying to cover up. Danny is good at that because he lets that bit of him show through.”

“It buys you all the cockiness,” Mr. Hill added. “What this guy has that Kenny Powers doesn’t is that he cares about the school, above everything else.”

For Mr. McBride’s slick, bowtie-clad nemesis, Lee Russell, the creators turned to Mr. Goggins, a star of “Justified,” “The Shield” and “The Hateful Eight,” who had once auditioned for an “Eastbound & Down” role that went to Jason Sudeikis of “Saturday Night Live.”

(As Mr. Goggins recalled of that encounter: “I got to the meeting, and it was me and five ex-‘S.N.L.’ guys. What am I doing here, really?”)

Eh, ya drive a dump truck filled with money up to somebody's house and plans change real quick. If this turns out to be some giant success who knows... EB&D was supposed to end before it did too. More than once, I think!

As noted in this interview:

The story of “Vice Principals” is almost certainly complete after two seasons — “I won’t be silly enough to say you’ll never see another ‘Vice Principals’ again,” Mr. McBride said.

 

[Strax]

So the entire series has already been filmed?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

This has the makings of a classic. Can't wait!

 

[vatstep]

Subscribing to HBO Now for this.

 

[Epcott]

My hype for this is higher than Goggins' hairline.

But only 9 episodes per season? Awwww :.(

 

[World SkiFree]

Looks great! Count me as someone who loves the closed series concept. Gervais' Office made me a believer.

 

[ZeroX03]

Goggins!

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Good, we need more closed stories in our entertainment. Too often the alternative is writers winging it until eventually ratings drop and the whole thing ends in a manner that is unsatisfactory and with insufficient closure.

 

[World SkiFree]

Good, we need more closed stories in our entertainment. Too often the alternative is writers winging it until eventually ratings drop and the whole thing ends in a manner that is unsatisfactory and with insufficient closure.

Preach!

 

[gdt]

Can't wait for this. Will probably rewatch Eastbound.

 

[many places]

All of the previews for this have cracked my shit up lol. Can't wait.

 

[Matty77]

Good, we need more closed stories in our entertainment. Too often the alternative is writers winging it until eventually ratings drop and the whole thing ends in a manner that is unsatisfactory and with insufficient closure.

Yup, or it drags on too long. EAD is my all time favorite comedy but you can tell it was extended. Don't get me wrong I love all four seasons but they were not all necessary, especially the fourth.

 

[chaislip3]

I'm in. McBride and Goggins should be a fun combo.

 

[Maintenance]

In for Goggins.

 

[Dan]

I think I'll give this a try even though I typically can't stand McBride. It seems a little more restrained or grounded than his usual schtick. The setting and Goggins have a lot of potential.

 

[kingocfs]

This looks incredible.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sioux City Journal review

Created by McBride and Jody Hill, “Vice Principals” is as profane and outrageous as HBO comedies get. Once you realize where this is headed, you’ll want to stay after school just to see how it all plays out.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Good, we need more closed stories in our entertainment. Too often the alternative is writers winging it until eventually ratings drop and the whole thing ends in a manner that is unsatisfactory and with insufficient closure.

This is what I'm looking for. Limited run TV series are amazing when they set out to do exactly what McBride suggested: making a really long movie. You can really capture all the detail and storytelling akin to a novel in a 9-hour series over a normal 90 minute movie.

I really hope this becomes the norm in the future.

 

[Cornballer]

- Sneak peek scene from the premiere



I'm headed to check out the first two episodes on the big screen tonight. Should be fun.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

This is what I'm looking for. Limited run TV series are amazing when they set out to do exactly what McBride suggested: making a really long movie. You can really capture all the detail and storytelling akin to a novel in a 9-hour series over a normal 90 minute movie.

I really hope this becomes the norm in the future.

I think as we're seeing a number of Anthology shows, and other shows ending before the network wants them to, it's going to be a growing trend.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I'm headed to check out the first two episodes on the big screen tonight. Should be fun.

:O Have fun!

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club interview: Vice Principals’ Walton Goggins on why he’s usually cast as a loose cannon

AVC: You’ve been cast a number of times as a guy that’s a bit of a loose cannon. Why do you think producers, directors, or casting people look at you and think, “This guy can do that”?

WG: I take it as a real compliment that people believe that I can in some ways mine the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the somewhat off-center—psychologically speaking—people in our society, and bring a real humanity to them, and make people see what would otherwise be a person that you would hate. Find a reason to love them and see the world from their point of view.

:O Have fun!

Thanks!

 

[Weckum]

McBride & Goggins, this should be glorious.

 

[Cornballer]

I saw the first two episodes last night with another GAFfer at the Alamo Drafthouse preview. The show is hilarious and hews closely to the things that made EB&D successful. It's the cauldron of mayhem and crude humor that you'd expect with some darkness and depth lurking beneath the surface. McBride's Neal Gamby is a similar character to Kenny Powers with a few key differences, and Goggins is a great addition to the ensemble and fits in naturally. The two of them play off each other really well.

I was surprised with how out of hand things got within the first couple episodes, so it'll be amusing to see where they take it from here as things continue to escalate. Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of the season soon.

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club review

In tone and setting, it’s a spiritual sequel to their previous premium-cable outing, the mostly uproarious Eastbound & Down. There’s even a blustering man-child at the center of the story. But while the profanity reliably reaches virtuosic levels, it rarely does so at the cost of more meaningful discussion. What Hill and McBride end up with is as much a meditation on disillusionment with life as it is a clash of would-be titans.

Grade: A-

 

[Cornballer]

- TVWise: Sky Atlantic Sets UK Premiere Date For ‘Vice Principals’

HBO’s newest comedy series Vice Principals will receive its UK premiere on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday July 26th at 9:35pm, it has been announced.

 

[DirtyManos]

Oh man, totally forgot about this show.

Goggins and McBride will be dynamite, can't wait.

 

[Cornballer]

- Daily Beast interview with Danny McBride

 

[Cornballer]

- Medium review

This isn’t just guy-gets-the-girl comedy: this is guy’s-one-step-away-from-snapping comedy. It feels dangerous, unpredictable, and alive with possibility.

While the show’s s unorthodox sensibilities is unlikely to win over any viewers who are not already Hill/McBride converts, the result turns out to be that rarest of things: a T.V. comedy that’s actually emotionally engaging, and not just a clothesline off which to hang jokes.

Grade: B+, A-

 

[Cornballer]

- Deadline review

If you were a fan of Eastbound & Down, then I’m pretty sure you’ll love Danny McBride and co-creator Jody Hill’s new HBO series Vice Principals — which goes even meaner and cuts closer to home than Kenny Powers almost ever did.

Starring McBride and Justified’s Walton Goggins as the scheming, underhanded and ambitious VPs of North Jackson High, the nine-episode first season that debuts July 17 is about as fun and foul-mouthed far from the likes of Degrassi High and most Big 4 sitcoms as you can get.

 

[kevin1025]

Loving everything I hear about this one. Also really cool that it's already filmed and done, both seasons and all. Let it be Sunday now!

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I saw the first two episodes last night with another GAFfer at the Alamo Drafthouse preview. The show is hilarious and hews closely to the things that made EB&D successful. It's the cauldron of mayhem and crude humor that you'd expect with some darkness and depth lurking beneath the surface. McBride's Neal Gamby is a similar character to Kenny Powers with a few key differences, and Goggins is a great addition to the ensemble and fits in naturally. The two of them play off each other really well.

I was surprised with how out of hand things got within the first couple episodes, so it'll be amusing to see where they take it from here as things continue to escalate. Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of the season soon.

Sounds good! Thanks for the impressions. This + the positive reviews have me pumped.