Eastbound & Down

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For the Jerry Reed song, see East Bound and Down.
Eastbound & Down
Eastbound&Down Season3 Poster.jpg
Season 3 promotional poster
Genre Comedy
Created by Ben Best
Jody Hill
Danny McBride
Written by Jody Hill
Shawn D. Harwell
Danny McBride
Ben Best
Directed by Jody Hill
David Gordon Green
Starring Danny McBride
Steve Little
Katy Mixon
John Hawkes
Andrew Daly
Jennifer Irwin
Ana de la Reguera
Michael Peña
Marco Rodriguez
Efren Ramirez
Ike Barinholtz
Opening theme "Going Down"
by Freddie King
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 21 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Will Ferrell
Adam McKay
Chris Henchy
Ben Best
Jody Hill
Producer(s) Stephanie Cone Laing
Running time approx. 28 mins/episode
Broadcast
Original channel HBO
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original run February 15, 2009 – present[1]
External links
Website

Eastbound & Down[2] is an American comedy television series broadcast on HBO, starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher, who after an up and down career in the major leagues is forced to return to his hometown middle-school in Shelby, North Carolina, as a substitute physical education teacher.[3]

Producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay received an order for six episodes for the first season from HBO.[4] The series was produced by Will Ferrell's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions. The show premiered February 15, 2009, at 10:30 p.m.[5] Its second season, consisting of seven episodes, began on September 26, 2010. On October 27, HBO announced they were renewing the show for a third season.[6] At PaleyFest 2011, it was announced that the third season, which premiered on February 19, 2012, would be the last.[7] However, on July 2, 2012, it was announced that HBO had picked up the comedy series for a fourth season, which will consist of eight episodes.[8] It is unknown when season 4 will air.

The show's theme music is "Goin' Down" by Freddie King.

Contents

Plot [edit]

Years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach physical education at his old middle school. Still trying to reclaim his fame he starts on a comeback, righting his previous wrongs, but ends up messing everything up for himself in the end.

While not based on the life of former Major League Baseball relief pitcher John Rocker, the show's creators do cite Rocker's attitude as an inspiration.[9] Former major league pitcher Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams has often been cited as the inspiration for the Powers character.[10]

Cast [edit]

Starring [edit]

Recurring [edit]

Series overview [edit]

Season Episodes Originally aired DVD release
Season premiere Season finale Region 1 Discs
1 6 February 15, 2009 (2009-02-15) March 22, 2009 (2009-03-22) June 30, 2009 (2009-06-30) 2
2 7 September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26) November 7, 2010 (2010-11-07) August 2, 2011 (2011-08-02) 2
3 8 February 19, 2012 (2012-02-19) April 15, 2012 (2012-04-15) December 4, 2012 (2012-12-04) 2

Episodes [edit]

Main article: List of Eastbound and Down episodes

Production [edit]

Seasons 1 through 3 [edit]

Production on the second season of the show began in May 2010. The setting moved to Mexico, with shooting actually occurring in Puerto Rico. The new season brought several changes to the cast, including new faces Michael Peña and Ana de la Reguera, who play the owner of a Mexican baseball team and Kenny's new love interest, respectively. Don Johnson appeared in the role of Kenny's father, who Kenny and Stevie managed to track down in Mexico. All of the supporting cast from the first season are absent or only make cameo appearances, with the only exception being Steve Little as Stevie Janowski, who follows Kenny to Mexico. Ben Best is not a writer for Season 2 but returns in a small role as Clegg.[12] Adam Scott returns in two episodes as the now cocaine-free baseball executive Pat Anderson.

Actor Deep Roy joined the cast as Aaron, one of Kenny's new Mexican sidekicks.[13] The Mexican baseball team owned by Pena's character Sebastian Cisneros, the Charros, is coached by a man named Roger played by actor Marco Rodriguez. Co-director Jody Hill described the season as "a cross between the films Amores perros and The Bad News Bears". Hill directed four episodes in season two, while David Gordon Green directed three.[14]

Season 2 premiered on September 26, 2010.[15] Vice magazine reported on August 31, 2010 that "it's worthy of the original and is its own different, more somber beast."[14] The writers had considered setting the second season in America; according to McBride, "at one point, we considered opening on a shot of the big sombrero at South of the Border, so you think Kenny’s in Mexico. And then he would have said [voice-over tone], ‘I went down to the butthole of the Carolinas.’ [laughs] We actually thought about setting the entire season in Myrtle Beach instead of in Mexico. I gotta say, the Myrtle Beach idea was pretty brilliant. It would have really been something. Maybe he ends up there next season. [beat] Who knows?"[16]

It was later revealed at the end of the season that Kenny would be heading to Myrtle Beach to play in the minors for a second chance at playing American baseball and an attempt to get back into the Majors.

Season 3 saw Jason Sudeikis join the cast,[17] and the returns of Matthew McConaughey as Texas scout Roy McDaniel, and Will Ferrell who reprised his role as car salesman Ashley Schaeffer.[18] Ike Barinholtz also joined the cast as Ivan, a Russian pitcher Kenny tries to take under his wing.[19] The show was filmed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at TicketReturn.com Field and features Kenny as a member of a team called Myrtle Beach Mermen.[20] The third season premiered on February 19, 2012 at 10:00 pm.[21]

Season 4 [edit]

In a July 2012 surprise announcement, Danny McBride and Jody Hill confirmed that Eastbound & Down would return for a 4th season.[22] Danny has confirmed that the season will start filming at the end of May.

Reception [edit]

Metacritic gave Season 1 a "generally favorable" average score of 62% on reviews from 16 critics.[23]

International syndication [edit]

Country Broadcasters Time slot Notes
 United States HBO 10:30pm Premiered February 15, 2009.
 Canada HBO Canada/The Score 10:30pm Premiered February 15, 2009.
Portugal Portugal MTV Portugal 11:00pm Premiered July 9, 2009.
 United Kingdom Fox 10:00pm Premiered October 1, 2009.
 New Zealand Comedy Central 9:30pm Premiered October 27, 2009.
 Sweden C More 8:00pm Premiered August 11, 2009.
 Mexico MaxPrime 10:30pm Premiered November 17, 2009.
 Netherlands Comedy Central 10:30pm Premiered April 30, 2010.
Romania Romania HBO Romania 11:00pm Premiered May 29, 2010.
 Norway NRK 10:25pm Premiered September 15, 2010.
 Australia showcase/7mate 7:30pm Premiered October 27, 2009.
 Finland YLE 00:20am Premiered June 5, 2011.
 Turkey e2 11:00pm Premiered June 20, 2011.
 Brazil HBO 2 20:05pm Premiered March 13, 2012.

References [edit]

  1. ^ eastbound & down on hbo
  2. ^ "Eastbound & Down: Homepage". HBO. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  3. ^ "New HBO TV series 'Eastbound and Down' unites old friends". StarNewsOnline.com. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  4. ^ "Talk: Home". HBO. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  5. ^ [1] – HBO – February 2, 2009.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "HBO Renews Series ‘Bored to Death’ And ‘Eastbound & Down’ –". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  7. ^ Wright, Adam (2011-03-11). ""Eastbound And Down" To End After Third Season". Tvdonewright.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
  8. ^ Levine, Stuart (2012-07-02). "HBO asks for more ‘Eastbound & Down’". Variety. Retrieved 2013-02-06. 
  9. ^ All Things Considered (2009-02-15). "HBO Debuts 'Eastbound And Down'". NPR. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  10. ^ 5 Real-Life Players Who Inspired 'Eastbound & Down' http://www.complex.com/sports/2009/02/5-real-life-players-who-inspired-eastbound-down
  11. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1499462/
  12. ^ "BRING IT ON HOME – The Southern Boys Behind Eastbound & Down Send Kenny Powers' Ass to Mexico – Vice Magazine". Viceland.com. 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  13. ^ "EB&D IN PR – Viceland Today". Viceland.com. 2010-06-21. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  14. ^ a b "Eastbound & Down Season Dos Is Almost Here – Viceland Today". Viceland.com. 2010-08-31. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  15. ^ "Eastbound and Down Season Two is F*cking In". Tv.gawker.com. 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  16. ^ "BRING IT ON HOME – The Southern Boys Behind Eastbound & Down Send Kenny Powers' Ass to Mexico – Vice Magazine". Viceland.com. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  17. ^ Sneider, Jeff; Levine, Stuart (July 7, 2011). "Sudeikis set for 'Eastbound & Down'". Variety. 
  18. ^ Schillaci, Sophie A. (July 12, 2011). "Matthew McConaughey, Will Ferrell Return for 'Eastbound & Down' Season 3". The Hollywood Reporter. 
  19. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 1, 2011). "'Eastbound & Down': 'Mad TV' Alum Takes the Mound (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 
  20. ^ "Myrtle Beach Mermen". 
  21. ^ "Eastbound & Down Episode Guides Season 3 at Kenny Powers Fan Club". Kennypowersfanclub.com. Retrieved 2013-02-06. 
  22. ^ "Eastbound & Down Season 4". 2012-07-04. 
  23. ^ "Eastbound & Down - Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-06. 

External links [edit]

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