Since watching the “Breaking Bad” spin-off series, “Better Call Saul”, I’ve become a fan of Bob Odenkirk.
He’s been in the industry for a long time but I didn’t pay that much attention to him until this show. And he was truly exceptional in it, ditto for “Breaking Bad”.
So when I came across his latest show, “Lucky Hank”, I couldn’t resist binge-watching it.
He is cast as William Henry "Hank" Devereaux, Jr., the English department chairman at the underfunded Railton College in Pennsylvania. The audience is introduced to him as he walks a fine line between a mid-life crisis and a meltdown.
The first episode plants the seeds of the unfolding chaos when Hank, provoked by an entitled student, lashes out at him in class while berating the institution as “Mediocrity’s capital”.
Of course, this goes viral. And it doesn’t sit well with the other professors, who then move to remove him as chair.
Meanwhile, Hank’s estranged father, Henry Deveraux Sr. (Tom Bower), who is retiring from academia and is a respected author, returns to his life.
Emotionally scarred by his dad abandoning him and their family, Hank tries to suppress his rage.
The situation isn’t helped when Dickie Pope (Kyle MacLachlan), the college president, pushes him to make a list of faculty members that can be cut in his efforts to trim expenditures.
But Hank, who is still very touchy about his writer’s block, remains defiant in heeding the request, despite his peers giving him a hard time about not standing up to management.
Amid the upheavals, his newlywed daughter Julie (Olivia Scott Welch) learns that her husband Russell (Daniel Doheny) has been unfaithful, and his wife Lily (Mireille Enos) toys with the idea of accepting a job offer from the Arlyle school in New York.
To say that Hank is grappling with a lot is an understatement. But he takes it in his cynical stride.
Now, this dramedy might not be everyone’s cup of tea due to the its niche setting. But if you enjoy a well-written and well-cast show, that offers a surreal glimpse into real-life struggles, it’s worth watching.
Also, Odenkirk is a marvel to watch and he unleashes his pent-up emotions in a dysfunctional home and work environment.
∎ “Lucky Hank” is streaming on Showmax.