''Vice Principals'' is an American

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

television series starring

Danny McBride Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series ''Eastbound & Down'', '' Vice Principals'', and ''The Righteous Gemstones'', also co-creating th ...

Walton Goggins Walton Sanders Goggins Jr. (born November 10, 1971) is an American actor. He has starred in a number of television series, including ''The Shield'' (2002–2008), '' Justified'' (2010–2015), '' Vice Principals'' (2016–2017), ''The Righteous ...

Kimberly Hébert Gregory Kimberly Hébert Gregory ( née Hébert; born December 7, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career in theatre before her breakthrough role as Dr. Belinda Brown in the HBO comedy series ''Vice Principals'' in 2016.Meriah Dot"Vice Princip ...

Dale Dickey Diana Dale Dickey (born September 29, 1961) is an American character actress who has worked in theater, film, and television. She began her career on stage, performing in the 1989 Broadway version of ''The Merchant of Venice'', before appearing ...

Georgia King Georgia May King (born 18 November 1986) is a Scottish actress. Early life Born in Edinburgh, King is the daughter of actor Jonathan Hyde and opera singer Isobel Buchanan. Career Although King grew up dreaming of being a director, she got her ...

, Sheaun McKinney,

Busy Philipps Elizabeth Jean "Busy" Philipps (born June 25, 1979) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), ''Dawson's Creek'' (2001–2003), ''Love, Inc.'' (2005–2006) and '' ER' ...

and

Shea Whigham Franklin Shea Whigham Jr. (born January 5, 1969) is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also appeared in the first season of ''True Detective'' and the third season of ' ...

. The co-creators were Danny McBride and

Jody Hill Jody Hill (born October 15, 1976) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. In 2006, he directed, co-wrote, co-produced and co-starred in his first film ''The Foot Fist Way'', which he based on his experience as a Taekwondo ...

. The series was ordered by HBO in May 2014 with an 18-episode pickup, and the series was split into two seasons for a designed finite run. The series began to shoot in 2015 and wrapped in mid-2016, and premiered on July 17, 2016. The second and final season premiered on September 17, 2017, and concluded on November 12, 2017.

Synopsis

''Vice Principals'' focuses on ill-tempered, dogmatic, and disliked vice principal of North Jackson High School, Neal Gamby (

), 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 William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

) retires, he reveals that he trusts neither Gamby nor his scheming and seemingly sociopathic co-vice principal Lee Russell (

), and so has recommended neither of them as his successor; instead, outsider Dr. Belinda Brown (

) 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

as Neal Gamby, the divorced, self-important, authoritarian vice principal in charge of discipline at North Jackson High. *

as Lee Russell, vice principal of curriculum at North Jackson High, a conniving politician who enters into an unholy alliance with Gamby. *

as Dr. Belinda Brown, North Jackson High's "confident and powerful" school principal. (season 1, season 2 guest) *

as Amanda Snodgrass, the idealistic new English teacher at North Jackson High. *Sheaun McKinney as Dayshawn, a cafeteria worker who Gamby frequently confides in. *

as Gale Liptrapp, Neal's ex-wife and Ray Liptrapp's new bride. *

as Ray Liptrapp, the new husband of Gamby's ex, and frequent target of his hostility — despite being a genuine and supportive guy. *

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 Edi Christine Patterson is an American actress and writer. She has primarily acted in comedies. She is best known for portraying Fran in the film '' Knives Out'' (2019), Veronica in the series '' Partners'' (2014), Jen Abbott in the series '' Vi ...

as Jen Abbott, a Spanish teacher at North Jackson High with a one-sided crush on Gamby. *

Ashley Spillers Ashley Rae Spillers is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Elizabeth in the 2013 comedy film '' Last Vegas'' (2013), Amy in the 2014 neo-noir thriller film '' Two Step'' (2014) and Olivia in the Netflix comedy ...

as Janice Swift, the new secretary for North Jackson High. *

Susan Park Susan Park is an American actress. Early life Park was born in the United States, the daughter of Korean immigrants. Career Park began acting in 2009. In 2010 she performed in a one-woman show titled ''Diaries of a K-Town Diva'' directed by B ...

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 Madelyn Renee Cline (born December 21, 1997) is an American actress and model. She is known for her roles as Sarah Elizabeth Cameron on the Netflix teen drama series ''Outer Banks'' (2020–present) and as Whiskey in Rian Johnson's mystery film '' ...

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 Robin Bartlett (born April 22, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in two NBC sitcoms ''The Powers That Be'' and ''Mad About You''. Career She appeared in the short-lived series ''The Powers That Be''. She played the le ...

as Octavia LeBlanc, an English teacher at North Jackson High * Brian Howe as Jeremy Haas (season 1),

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the school district. *

RJ Cyler Ronald "RJ" Cyler II (born March 21, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Me and Earl and the Dying Girl'' (2015), ''Power Rangers'' (2017), '' The Harder They Fall'' (2021), and ''Emergency'' (2022) as well ...

as Luke Brown, Brown's older son. *

Jennifer Gatti Jennifer Gatti (born October 4, 1968, in Manhattan, New York) is an American actress who has taken on several television roles. She is notable for her role as the first Dinah Marler on '' Guiding Light'' from 1986 to 1987, as well as for her ...

as Mrs. Deets *

Brian Tyree Henry Brian Tyree Henry (born March 31, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta'' (2016–2022), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outsta ...

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 Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...

as Brian Biehn (season 2), Amanda's new boyfriend, a successful novelist and lecturer. *

Christopher Thornton Christopher Thornton (born March 29, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Kenny "Shammy" Shamberg in ''Magnum P.I.'', and has had numerous other film and television roles from 1990 to the present. Early life and education Tho ...

as Mr. Milner (season 2), a science teacher and amateur cartoonist at North Jackson.

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Production

On June 15, 2015, the ''Charleston City Paper'' reported ''Vice Principals'' filming in the

North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is the third-largest city in the state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. On June 12, 1972, the city of North Charlest ...

neighborhood of Park Circle. The newspaper added that comic actors

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

and

would make cameo appearances in the series. Scenes that take place in the school were shot on the campus of R. B. Stall High School and also filmed on campus of West Ashley High School.

Music

The score was composed by

Joseph Stephens Joseph Stephens is an American multi-instrumentalist, film score composer, and songwriter. He composed music for the television show The Righteous Gemstones, the film ''Observe and Report'', directed by Jody Hill as well as the HBO series ''Ea ...

. The soundtrack was released by

Waxwork Records Waxwork Records is an American independent record label. It has released film scores and movie soundtracks on vinyl as well as comics. History Waxwork Records was founded in 2013 by Kevin Bergeron and Sue Ellen Soto. By 2015, it had re-re ...

in 2019 on a double LP pressed to 180 gram vinyl. The release included liner notes by McBride and Stephens.

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 Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, 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." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the season has a score of 56 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Season 2 has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.0 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.

Accolades

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 Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

) on February 7, 2017. The complete series was released on DVD by HBO Home Entertainment on April 10, 2018.

References

External links

*
MTV on Danny McBride and ''Vice Principals''USA Today on HBO Comedy and ''Vice Principals''
{{HBONetwork Shows, state=collapsed 2010s American high school television series 2010s American black comedy television series 2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2010s American workplace comedy television series 2016 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings English-language television shows HBO original programming Television shows set in South Carolina Television series created by Danny McBride