Vice Principals

Vice Principals is an American dark comedy television series starring Danny McBride, Walton Goggins, Kimberly Hébert Gregory, Dale Dickey, Georgia King, Sheaun McKinney, Busy Philipps and Shea Whigham. The co-creators were Danny McBride and Jody Hill. The series was ordered by HBO in May 2014 with an 18-episode pickup,^[1] and the series was split into two seasons for a designed finite run.^[2] The series began to shoot in 2015 and wrapped in mid-2016, and premiered on July 17, 2016.^[3] The second and final season premiered on September 17, 2017,^[4] and concluded on November 12, 2017.

Vice Principals
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Danny McBride Jody Hill
Starring	Danny McBride Walton Goggins Kimberly Hébert Gregory Dale Dickey Georgia King Sheaun McKinney Busy Philipps Shea Whigham
Composer	Joseph Stephens
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	18
Production
Executive producers	Danny McBride Jody Hill David Gordon Green Jonathan Watson Stephanie Laing
Producers	Brandon James Adam Countee Hayes Davenport Ben Dougan Tim Saccardo
Camera setup	Single-camera
Production companies	Rough House Pictures HBO Entertainment
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	July 17, 2016 (2016-07-17) – November 12, 2017 (2017-11-12)

Synopsis

Vice Principals focuses on ill-tempered, dogmatic, and disliked vice principal of North Jackson High School, Neal Gamby (Danny McBride), and his ambitions of being promoted to the principal's chair when the principal is due to step down. However, when the current principal (Bill Murray) retires, he reveals that he trusts neither Gamby nor his scheming and seemingly sociopathic co-vice principal Lee Russell (Walton Goggins), and so has recommended neither of them as his successor; instead, outsider Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Hébert Gregory) is hired. When Gamby's attempt to get the school faculty to veto the appointment backfires (as Brown quickly makes a positive impression on the staff with her goal-oriented agenda and amicability with students), he conspires with Russell to find some way of ruining Brown's reputation and installing himself as principal. The show chronicles the schemers' gradual self-destruction as their own biases and unlikable personalities increasingly alienate Brown and the rest of their co-workers.

Cast

Main

• Danny McBride as Neal Gamby, the divorced, self-important, authoritarian vice principal in charge of discipline at North Jackson High.
• Walton Goggins as Lee Russell,^[5] vice principal of curriculum at North Jackson High, a conniving politician who enters into an unholy alliance with Gamby.
• Kimberly Hébert Gregory as Dr. Belinda Brown, North Jackson High's "confident and powerful" school principal.^[6]
• Georgia King as Amanda Snodgrass, the idealistic new English teacher at North Jackson High.
• Sheaun McKinney as Dayshawn, a cafeteria worker^[7] who Gamby frequently confides in.
• Busy Philipps as Gale Liptrapp, Neal's ex-wife and Ray Liptrapp's new bride.
• Shea Whigham as Ray Liptrapp, the new husband of Gamby's ex, and frequent target of his hostility — despite being a genuine and supportive guy.
• Dale Dickey as Nash (season 2), the new Vice Principal then Principal of NJHS.

Recurring

• Maya G. Love as Janelle Gamby, Neal and Gale's daughter, of whom Gale has primary custody.
• Edi Patterson as Jen Abbott, a Civics teacher at North Jackson High with a one-sided crush on Gamby.
• Ashley Spillers as Janice Swift, the new secretary for North Jackson High.
• Susan Park as Christine Russell, Lee's wife.
• June Kyoto Lu as Mi Cha, Lee's mother-in-law.
• Mike O'Gorman as Bill Hayden, a history teacher at North Jackson High.
• Madelyn Cline as Taylor Watts (season 1), Spirit Captain at North Jackson High.
• James M. Connor as Martin Seychelles, a drama teacher at North Jackson High
• Robin Bartlett as Octavia LeBlanc, an English teacher at North Jackson High
• Brian Howe as Jeremy Haas (season 1), Superintendent of the school district.
• RJ Cyler as Luke Brown, Brown's older son.
• Jennifer Gatti as Mrs. Deets
• Brian Tyree Henry as Dascious Brown (season 1), Belinda Brown's estranged husband.
• Marcius Harris as Officer Terrence Willows (season 2), the school security guard.
• Alexandra McVicker as Robin Shandrell (season 2), a delinquent student who Gamby expelled from North Jackson prior to the beginning of the series.
• Fisher Stevens as Brian Biehn (season 2), Amanda's new boyfriend, a successful novelist and lecturer.
• Christopher Thornton as Mr. Milner (season 2), a science teacher and amateur cartoonist at North Jackson.

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	9		July 17, 2016 (2016-07-17)	September 18, 2016 (2016-09-18)
2	9		September 17, 2017 (2017-09-17)	November 12, 2017 (2017-11-12)

Season 1 (2016)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	1	"The Principal"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & Jody Hill	July 17, 2016 (2016-07-17)	1.15[8]
After their principal resigns, Vice Principals Neal Gamby and Lee Russell face off for the newly opened position. Both, however, are distraught when they meet the new principal, Dr. Belinda Brown, and agree to team up to take her down.
2	2	"A Trusty Steed"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri	July 24, 2016 (2016-07-24)	0.794[9]
Dr. Brown begins to get under Gamby's skin as she hires someone to evaluate both him and Russell.
3	3	"The Field Trip"	Danny McBride	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Adam Countee	July 31, 2016 (2016-07-31)	0.889[10]
In an attempt to get closer to teacher Amanda Snodgrass, Gamby agrees to go on an out of town field trip.
4	4	"Run for the Money"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Jeff Fradley	August 7, 2016 (2016-08-07)	0.708[11]
As their homecoming football game approaches, Russell uses it as an opportunity to take down Dr. Brown, though Gamby is worried it will have negative consequences for the school.
5	5	"Circles"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Hayes Davenport	August 14, 2016 (2016-08-14)	0.819[12]
After Gamby sabotages their latest venture, he and Russell cut ties. Dr. Brown works with Gamby to tone down his disciplinary methods. Russell faces some problems at home.
6	6	"The Foundation of Learning"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Ben Dougan	August 21, 2016 (2016-08-21)	0.854[13]
Gamby and Russell create an elaborate scheme to turn the school against Dr. Brown. Gamby, eager to get closer to his daughter, learns motocross, with the help of Snodgrass.
7	7	"The Good Book"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Hayes Davenport	August 28, 2016 (2016-08-28)	0.620[14]
At teacher workday, Dr. Brown has Russell watch her mischievous sons. Gamby and Snodgrass get closer. Dr. Brown's ex-husband returns.
8	8	"Gin"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Tim Saccardo	September 11, 2016 (2016-09-11)	0.630[15]
Gamby must decide who he is loyal to as Dr. Brown offers him a new, more respectable role and reveals she plans on firing Russell. His relationship with Snodgrass is complicated as he learns that she used to sleep with a different teacher at the school.
9	9	"End of the Line"	Jody Hill	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri	September 18, 2016 (2016-09-18)	0.555[16]
Gamby and Russell blackmail Dr. Brown, resulting in a shake up on the school staff. Gamby and Snodgrass are still not talking.

Season 2 (2017)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
10	1	"Tiger Town"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Tim Saccardo	September 17, 2017 (2017-09-17)	0.711[17]
Recovering from his wounds, Gamby returns to a very different North Jackson High School.
11	2	"Slaughter"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Ben Dougan	September 24, 2017 (2017-09-24)	0.670[18]
Gamby fingers a suspect, with Dayshawn's help. Russell tests out a kindness strategy at school.
12	3	"The King"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Adam Countee	October 1, 2017 (2017-10-01)	0.892[19]
Gamby confronts Snodgrass' new boyfriend. Russell tries to find out who drew a cruel picture of him.
13	4	"Think Change"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Jeff Fradley	October 8, 2017 (2017-10-08)	0.654[20]
Gamby is principal for the day while Russell attends his father's funeral. The teachers complain about the new fitness instructors.
14	5	"A Compassionate Man"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Jeff Fradley	October 15, 2017 (2017-10-15)	0.700[21]
Russell's birthday party ends in disaster when Christine invites an old friend; Gamby tries to show his charitable side.
15	6	"The Most Popular Boy"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Hayes Davenport	October 22, 2017 (2017-10-22)	0.647[22]
Gamby discovers the other teachers except for Snodgrass are planning to get Russell fired.
16	7	"Spring Break"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Jeff Fradley	October 29, 2017 (2017-10-29)	0.604[23]
Gamby and Russell accompany Janelle and her friends on spring break.
17	8	"Venetian Nights"	Danny McBride	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Jeff Fradley	November 5, 2017 (2017-11-05)	0.610[24]
Tensions come to a head for Gamby and Russell as prom approaches.
18	9	"The Union of the Wizard & The Warrior"	David Gordon Green	Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri & Jeff Fradley	November 12, 2017 (2017-11-12)	0.792[25]
The school year comes to a roaring end; Gamby's shooter is revealed.

Production

On June 15, 2015, the Charleston City Paper reported Vice Principals filming in the North Charleston, South Carolina neighborhood of Park Circle.^[26] The newspaper added that comic actors Will Ferrell and Bill Murray would make cameo appearances in the series.^[27] Scenes that take place in the school were shot on the campus of R. B. Stall High School^[28] and also filmed on campus of West Ashley High School.

Music

The score was composed by Joseph Stephens. The soundtrack was released by Waxwork Records in 2019 on a double LP pressed to 180 gram vinyl. The release included liner notes by McBride and Stephens.^[29]

Reception

Vice Principals received positive reviews from critics in season 1 and reviews for season 2 in general highly praised the show. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has a rating of 64%, based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 6.48/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Vice Principals is sporadically amusing and benefits from its talented stars, but its mean-spirited humor sometimes misses the mark."^[30] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 56 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[31] Season 2 has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.0 out of 10 based on 10 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Danny McBride and Walton Goggins return to settle unfinished business in a Vice Principals season two that is both obscenely funny and more satisfying than its predecessor."^[32]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Episode	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Walton Goggins	Won
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Best Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation	"The Union of the Wizard & the Warrior"	George Haddad, Dale Chaloukian, Karyn Foster, Chad J. Hughes, Marc Meyer, Jim Gallivan, Michael Brake, Louie Schultz, Gregg Barbanell, Nancy Parker	Nominated	[33]

Home media

The complete first season of Vice Principals was released on DVD and Blu-ray by HBO Home Entertainment (which is distributed through Warner Home Video) on February 7, 2017.^[34] The complete series was released on DVD by HBO Home Entertainment on April 10, 2018.^[35]

References

1. Goldberg, Lesley (May 28, 2014). "HBO Orders New Danny McBride Comedy Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
2. Lawrence, Derek (July 8, 2016). "Danny McBride says Vice Principals will last only two seasons". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
3. Pederson, Erik (April 19, 2016). "HBO Books Summer Dates For 'Ballers', 'Vice Principals' & 'The Night Of'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
4. "'Vice Principals': HBO Sets Final-Season Premiere For Back-To-School Time". Deadline Hollywood. July 6, 2017. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
5. Goldberg, Lesley (February 9, 2015). "'Justified's' Walton Goggins to Star in HBO's 'Vice Principals'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
6. Goldberg, Lesley (May 29, 2015). "HBO's 'Vice Principals' Adds 'Devious Maids' Alum (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
7. Henne, B.G. (December 17, 2014). "Da'vine Joy Randolph and Sheaun McKinney join Danny McBride in Vice Principals". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
8. Porter, Rick (July 19, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Power' Season 3 premiere sets a record for Starz". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
9. Metcalf, Mitch (July 26, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.24.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
10. Metcalf, Mitch (August 2, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.31.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
11. Metcalf, Mitch (August 9, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.7.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
12. Metcalf, Mitch (August 16, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.14.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
13. Metcalf, Mitch (August 23, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.21.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
14. Metcalf, Mitch (August 30, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.28.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
15. Metcalf, Mitch (September 13, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.11.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
16. Metcalf, Mitch (September 20, 2016). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.18.2016". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
17. Metcalf, Mitch (September 19, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.17.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 19, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
18. Metcalf, Mitch (September 26, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.24.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
19. Metcalf, Mitch (October 3, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.1.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
20. Metcalf, Mitch (October 10, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.8.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
21. Metcalf, Mitch (October 17, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.15.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
22. Metcalf, Mitch (October 24, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.22.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
23. Metcalf, Mitch (October 31, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.29.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 2, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
24. Metcalf, Mitch (November 7, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.5.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
25. Metcalf, Mitch (November 14, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.12.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
26. "Paul Bowers, "Danny McBride's Vice Principals filming in Park Circle on Monday," Charleston City Paper, 15 June 2015". Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
27. Charleston City Paper, June 15, 2015.
28. "Official website". Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
29. Roffman, Michael (January 29, 2019). "Electronic score to HBO's Vice Principals heads to vinyl". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
30. "Vice Principals: Season 1 (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
31. "Vice Principals: Season 1 reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
32. "Vice Principals: Season 2 (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
33. "Nominees/Winners". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
34. Lambert, David (December 8, 2016). "Vice Principals - HBO's Press Release, Package Art for 'The Complete 1st Season'". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
35. "Vice Principals: The Complete Series". BroadwayWorld.com. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.

External links

• Vice Principals at IMDb
• MTV on Danny McBride and Vice Principals
• USA Today on HBO Comedy and Vice Principals