Bob Odenkirk is one of the most recognizable names in the TV industry after a decade-plus portraying one of the biggest icons of all time, Saul Goodman. Even though he hasn’t won an Emmy for the role yet (he’ll have one more shot at the 2023 ceremony), Odenkirk has been praised as one of the most versatile and likable actors in Hollywood. While starring in Better Call Saul, he appeared in several movies, such as the animated hit The Incredibles 2 and the action flick Nobody. Odenkirk will return to his comedic TV roots later this month in yet another AMC vehicle, Lucky Hank.
The show is based on a 1997 novel, Straight Man, written by Richard Russo. Odenkirk will play the main character, William Henry Devereaux, Jr, a professor at a downtrodden college in Pennsylvania. He has grown tired of the daily minutiae of teaching at a school that doesn’t provide the funds needed to see students and faculty succeed, and he has to balance these grievances with his family life. Underachieving adult children and an equally unsatisfied wife add to the alchemic mix of mid-life crisis elements.
“I’ve always been a difficult man, a fact easily confirmed by the unlucky people around me,” the trailer narrates, setting up the type of flawed protagonist you’d expect from the AMC vehicle.
The role is certainly a different one than Saul Goodman, as it allows Odenkirk to go back to his everyman-type of role that he is familiar with. “I’m concerned that I might say something really consistent with my personality,” he says in the trailer, “but inconsistent with a modern college campus.” Then, he fights with a goose. (To be honest, if we hadn’t already been sold on the show by Odenkirk alone, that would have done it.)
Other actors appearing in the show include Mireille Enos as Lily Devereaux and Jackson Kelly as smart-mouth student Bartow Williams-Stevens. The show will feature a large ensemble of supporting characters, such as other faculty members and family members of Hank.
When does Lucky Hank premiere?
Lucky Hank will premiere on Sunday, March 19, on AMC and the AMC+ app. The show will release episodes on a weekly basis, with the season finale airing on May 7. The episodes will be around 40-45 minutes long, not including the commercials, indicating that AMC views the show as a combination of drama and comedy rather than just comedy. There will be eight total episodes in the first season of Lucky Hank.
