Eastbound & Down

:

Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 15, 2009
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
Metascore
61

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
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Critic Reviews

  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    91
    What lifts Eastbound & Down away from mere crudball humor is McBride's ongoing love affair with the lower middle class.
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Tom Shales
    90
    Working something of a miracle, Danny McBride, who plays Kenny and is one of the creative talents behind the show premiering tomorrow on HBO--the most recklessly funny comedy of the year--makes us kind of like Kenny Powers.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Linda Stasi
    88
    If you thought "Tropic Thunder" was the funniest movie of the year and that everything Will Ferrell touches makes you laugh until you squirt Diet Pepsi out of your nose, then you will love Eastbound & Down.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Ray Richmond
    80
    What further elevates the half-hour is the deadpan, deer-in-the-headlights fashion in which his co-stars orbit around McBride, who seems instinctively to understand that being a delirious bastard means never having to say you're sorry.
  6. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Nancy Franklin
    80
    McBride is comfortable improvising, and in Eastbound there’s a lot of pleasurable tension in watching Kenny create difficult situations with his poor judgment and get out of them with his escape artist’s quick brain.
  7. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    75
    Powers, the central character in the strangely compelling new HBO series Eastbound & Down is a down-on-his-luck pitcher whose glory days in the Major League are well behind him.
  8. Philadelphia Daily News
    Reviewed by: Ellen Gray
    70
    I generally don't place myself in that crowd [viewers who think there's nothing funnier than an overweight guy with a jock-strap tan line], being more "Elf" than "Old School," but McBride's Powers exudes a Mitch Williams-meets-John Kruk vibe that's hard to resist, and, hey, I laughed more than once.
  9. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Reviewed by: Rob Owen
    70
    The humor in Eastbound is a far cry from the cerebral comedy currently en vogue on shows like "The Office" and "30 Rock," but that doesn't mean Eastbound can't do sly humor that falls left of center.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    60
    I can't say the pilot struck me as especially funny, but there are good things and talented people in it, and it looks good.
  11. Time
    Reviewed by: James Poniewozik
    58
    Eastbound & Down, is a funny show if you don't expect too much.
  12. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Ginia Bellafante
    50
    Eastbound & Down feels static.
  13. Newark Star-Ledger
    Reviewed by: Alan Sepinwall
    40
    Maybe McBride has more pitches in his arsenal than he's shown so far, but the repertoire on display in Eastbound & Down feels too limited for a long stint on HBO's mound.
  14. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Glenn Garvin
    40
    Drugs. Pratfalls. Bodily excretions. Sexual crudity. Shock-jock ethnic humor. Four-letter words flying like lead in a matineee Western. Character development and story? Not so much.
  15. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    30
    Even with the promise of a Ferrell cameo in future episodes, it's a tired premise--a more profane version of the kind of low-swinging sitcom that could easily have wound up on TBS.
  16. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Matthew Gilbert
    30
    HBO's new series Eastbound & Down falls into the grating category of totally obnoxious dude comedies.
  17. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    25
    It seems like a middling Fox series with a monotonous glut of obscenities and some nudity tossed in to make it pay-cable worthy.

Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best TV Season of 2009
12
#12 Most Discussed TV Season of 2009
37
#37 Most Shared TV Season of 2009

User Reviews

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User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 205 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 191 out of 205
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 205
  3. Negative: 10 out of 205
  1. drlowdon
    Aug 28, 2021
    7
    When his party lifestyle eventually gets the better of him, Kenny Powers is forced to give up his career as a major league ballplayer andWhen his party lifestyle eventually gets the better of him, Kenny Powers is forced to give up his career as a major league ballplayer and return to his home town. In need of money, and something to occupy his time, he accepts a job teaching physical education at his old middle school. But he still hasn’t truly given up on his dream to one day reclaim his place in the majors.

    Eastbound & Down certainly won’t be for those that are offended by crude humour and much of the comedy is mined from the outrageous behaviour of Danny McBride’s role as Kenny Powers. Personally, I found this first season is a little hit and miss, but it did provide enough laughs for me to want to see out the season, and I’ll certainly check out season two to see if it can develop into a show I’ll want to stick with.    … Full Review »
  2. Iggyshow4351
    Nov 23, 2017
    9
    Thumbs up.Thumbs up. Great.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999… Full Review »
  3. iCronic
    Jul 11, 2014
    8
    Great Show, great Season start. Danny McBride again in hisGreat Show, great Season start. Danny McBride again in his Parade role… Full Review »
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