Danny McBride and Walton Goggins' upcoming HBO comedy Vice Principals hasn't even premiered yet, but the team has already wrapped up the entire series of eighteen-episodes and apparently this was the plan from the very start. Coming to us from David Gordon Green (PINEAPPLE EXPRESS) and Jody Hill (Eastbound & Down), Vice Principals stars McBride and Goggins as as two vice principals in an epic power struggle and vying for the top spot, to be school principal. Variety caught up with McBride at the show's premiere and he explained why they're keeping the series "short and sweet."
The whole series is only 18 episodes and that’s it. We just wanted to make a really long movie. It’s one school year and a complete story. This was an old screenplay that Jody [Hill] and I wrote back in 2006. But we needed it to be longer so we added and reworked it and broke it up into 18 segments. HBO trusted us to make those episodes without anyone watching them, so they really, really trust us.
When asked whether they'd be open to expanding the story should the series prove to be a big success and HBO wanted more, Danny McBride firmly said "No, we already shot the 18 episodes and that’s it.” You've got to admire that as nothing quite ruins a show's reputation more than dragging it on far past its prime. Vice Principals will debut on HBO on July 17, 2016.