Neal Gamby (Danny McBride) and Lee Russell (Walton Goggins) are the two vice principals of Lincoln High and they both really want to be the next principal. So badly in fact that they go to the extreme insulting and sabotaging each other for the gig. However, when the superintendent reveals that neither one of them is getting the job and that Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Hebert Gregory) is going to be the new head honcho instead, they come to the conclusion that it's best to join forces, ruin her life together and force her out of the position.
Just before the world premiere of the first two episodes of HBO's Vice Principals at SXSW, I got the opportunity to talk to McBride and Goggins about their experience making the show. They discussed the 18-episode format, the pressure to keep things PC and figuring out how far they could go, how Goggins went from auditioning for Eastbound & Down to scoring a role in Vice Principals, and loads more. You can catch it all in the video interview below. And, in case you missed it, click here for my thoughts on the first two episodes of the show. Vice Principals kicks off on HBO in July.
Walton Goggins & Danny McBride:
- 00:04 - Favorite high school doodles.
- 00:54 - What is Vice Principals?
- 01:43 - McBride on reuniting with HBO.
- 02:18 - Why 18 episodes?
- 03:09 - Figuring out how far you can go; the pressure to keep things PC.
- 04:17 - Rooting for characters who are doing such terrible things.
- 05:40 - Why a show about vice principals?
- 06:50 - Goggins actually auditioned for Eastbound & Down.
- 07:48 - Goggins says Vice Principals is universally known as one of the most exciting pilots of 2015.
- 09:17 - How making Vice Principals compared to shooting Justified.
