Eastbound & Down Chapter 6 (2009–2013) Online

Kenny Powers once had the fastest arm in the Majors, a fact that only fed his big mouth and arrogant streak. It was only a matter of time before it all caught up with as he burnt bridge after bridge and heaped excess on top of excess. Now he is back in his small home town, sleeping in the front room of his brother's house and forced to take a job teaching physical education – a role he considers far below him. He dreams of a return to the Majors but the reality is that he is a far from that as anyone else.

Eastbound and Down got good reviews even before it reached the UK and the names made me decide it was worth checking out. After a couple of episodes of the short six-episode season, I got the impression that the show aspired to something it was falling short of. Maybe it was just me having watched the Alan Partridge sitcom recently, but that seemed like a show that this one could take a lesson from. The differences are there of course but essentially both of them are character pieces of celebrity living a deluded life full of an arrogance that is not deserved – both are monsters but both allow us to laugh at them. The reason I contrast them is because I'm Alan Partridge was an excellent character piece with really well observed moments (well, season 1 for sure) and Eastbound could really have benefited from having stronger writing of the main character. As it is Kenny is far too consistent in his arrogance and he does not come over as real so much as an exaggerated comedy character.

Of course this is not a bad thing because this broad character allows for plenty of good solid laughs as the show uses him well. The smart lines and really good laughs do not come that often but they come often enough to make each episode worth seeing. McBride is on really good form with a character that puts me in mind of his turn in The Foot Fist Way. However, as with that film, it doesn't seem like he is able to get below the superficial stupidity of his character and make him as strong as a David Brent or an Alan Partridge. He is hard to fault though because he nails the arrogant Kenny, embracing the total lack of self-awareness that comes with it. Mixon is good but causes me a conflict. On one hand the way she slims down and becomes sexy in the second half of the season is pleasing on the eye, but then on the other hand it makes her less believable as a character. Little is brilliantly geeky, while Daly is a lot of fun. Ferrell steals every scene he is in though, with a great turn as a wonderfully unhinged car salesman.

Overall Eastbound and Down was a very good sitcom built on the back of larger-than-life characters. It is not as sharp or well observed as I would have wished but it funny, broad, enjoyable and clever. It isn't as hilarious as I hoped but it was good enough to make me give it another go if there is a second season.