The Kenny Powers saga has finally come to a close with last night’s series finale of HBO’s Eastbound & Down. The show’s creator Jody Hill joined Film Independent at LACMA last night for a screening of both the pilot episode and the series finale, and he hinted that we might see more of Kenny Powers sometime in the future. Season 4 “is definitely the end… for now,” said Hill. He then suggested that the characters might be revisited in the future. “It’s like Before Sunrise, you can check in with these characters every ten years and see how they’re doing.”
Co-creator Jody Hill with Elvis Mitchell
For a comedy about a sports player, Eastbound & Down is a uniquely insightful and frustrating character study. “When we started the show, it was about a character that you really want to change but never does,” said Hill. So it makes sense that the show could return and pick up where it left off with the Powers family. When asked about the meaning of the finale’s final shot where Kenny rests his baseball on his desk, Hill said, “if there’s never going to be another Eastbound and Down, we wanted him to lay down his sword at the end.” Will Kenny Powers ride his beloved jet ski back into our lives? We’ll just have to wait and see. By Lee Jameson / Film Education Coordinator
