Rivals-turned-allies get schooled in ‘Vice Principals’

COSTARS, from left: Bill Murray, Walton Goggins, Danny McBride

Grown men—school administrators at that—get extremely immature and wage a secret war against their perceived common enemy in the half-hour, weekly comedy, “Vice Principals” (HBO, Mondays, 10:30 p.m.), cocreated by Danny McBride and Jody Hill.

Its humor mostly relying on adult language, sexual situations and juvenile behavior, the show takes time to actually become likeable, as its titular high school officials start the series as amoral and uncharismatic figures.

Staunch archrivals, Neal Gamby (McBride) and Lee Russell (Walton Goggins), become hopeful after Principal Welles (Bill Murray) quits to tend to his ailing wife. But the coworkers’ dreams are soon crushed by the arrival of the newly appointed principal—Dr. Belinda Barnes (Kimberly Herbert Gregory)—who is, in fact, the best person for the job.

Envious of their new boss, Gamby and Russell agree to put aside their differences, at least temporarily, and scheme to ruin the “usurper.”

They do terrible things together—like trash the principal’s house, for starters, and eventually, set it ablaze! But despite their unholy team-up, Belinda repeatedly bounces back, and the two-faced cohorts have to think up new ways to keep her from staying.

Still, she shows that she’s not merely feisty and tough—Dr. Barnes can cuss with the best of them! She inevitably bonds with the students, thanks to her motivational, Oprah-esque verve.

That tense dynamic, however common, develops well. A few episodes in, one starts to appreciate those three characters’ human, fallible sides: Gamby actively supports his teen daughter’s unconventional hobbies (horseback riding, dirt bike racing); Russell has to constantly deal with a mother-in-law who loathes him; Dr. Barnes finds it difficult to raise two hellions and keep them from seeing their philandering dad.

McBride gets to play a brooding underdog, but one who’s also sought-after. Gamby has a gorgeous ex-wife, and younger coworkers who are attracted to him.

While the romantic/sexual entanglements spice things up, those aspects lack subtlety and get predictable after a while.

Far more interesting are the evolving truce between Gamby and Russell—the bitter foes may become frenemies, at least—and the growth of the oft-challenged Dr. Barnes. They make a formidable, watchable trio, with outrageous situational humor to match.

The first season, which takes place in a span of a few months, will end with its ninth episode. The succeeding season—its final one—will cover the rest of the school year.

This limited run is reassuring and fitting, as the story would not be needlessly stretched, and a memorable resolution can be mapped out soon—hopefully. The energy of the functional cast and those stressed characters’ offbeat dynamic shouldn’t be squandered!