Note: May contain minor spoilers, but will try to keep them to a minimum.
Vice Principals is a comedy on HBO, starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins. The premise of the show is that these two vice principals have been waiting for the principal (played by Bill Murray) to retire so that they can have their shot at becoming principal. However, they are destined to set each other up for failure so that they get it over the other one, which ends up leading to the school board bringing in someone from outside of the school to take over. This eventually leads them to team up to take out the new principal so that they can get back to fighting each other for the position.
The premise isn't anything spectacular, but considering this is primarily a comedy first, that doesn't really matter much. These two guys are both terrible people, and so they spend pretty much the entire season doing terrible things to try to get rid of the new principal, which leads to some very funny moments. There are some jokes that miss, but for the most part, the show delivers on the comedy bits it sets out to accomplish. Where the show surprised me a bit was when the show would take some darker, more serious turns. Just when the show has you laughing out loud, they will throw something in there to make you feel sorry for the different characters, even though you know that they bring most of their problems upon themselves.
The two main characters certainly carry the show, but the supporting cast does a pretty good job as well. Danny McBride pretty much plays the same character from his last show on HBO (Kenny Power from Eastbound and Down), but by a few episodes into the season, he starts to set himself apart a bit as the bitter and mean Neal Gamby. If you are already a fan of McBride, you are getting exactly what you are looking for here, but if you don't already like him, his performance here isn't going to do anything to change your mind. The real star here though, in my opinion, is Walton Goggins as Lee Marshall. He is eccentric, very metrosexual, and he is dark and twisted in ways that you have to see to believe. As messed up as he is, he still finds ways to make you feel sorry for him, even as he completely ruins the new principals life on more then one occasion.
Overall, I liked the show very well, but I can't quite place my finger on just why. It was very funny, well acted, and the serious moments don't feel out of place, and even seem to carry you on to the next episode wondering what will happen next. But I still felt like maybe there was more to be had, and sometimes it felt like the show couldn't quite make up its mind what it wanted to be. The first season ended in a way I was certainly not expecting, and it really makes me wonder just where the show will go from here. It was renewed for another season, and from what I can tell, that will be its final season, as they only planned out 18 episodes. I honestly think that is a smart way to go with the show, as I think they can only go on so long with the pace they have, so it's best to not try to stretch the show out unnecessarily.
My rating for the season is 7/10
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