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Better Call Saul on AMC has only recently finished in 2022, but Bob Odenkirk and company are already working together again on a brand-new show called Lucky Hank. How do you follow up one of the greatest TV series of all time, at least in this writer’s modest opinion? We’ll learn the answer one way or the other.
Several well-known actors have worked behind the camera for Lucky Hank (formerly known as Straight Man), in addition to Odenkirk. The showrunners are Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein, and some of the executive producers are Oscar winner Peter Farelly and Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), as well as Odenkirk.
Lucky Hank Plot
The film Lucky Hank is based on Richard Russo’s book Straight Man. The brief official summary provided by AMC reads as follows:
“An eight-episode story about a mid-life crisis called Lucky Hank is set at Railton College. narrated in the first person by William Henry Devereaux, Jr. (Odenkirk), the improbable chair of the English department at a college in the industrial Pennsylvania region that receives little funding.”
Here is the synopsis for Russo’s original book:
“William Henry Devereaux, Jr., is the reluctant chairman of the English department of a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt. Devereaux’s reluctance is partly rooted in his character — he is a born anarchist — and partly in the fact that his department is more savagely divided than the Balkans.
“In the course of a single week, Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with his dean, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits and threaten to execute a goose on local television. All this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the dereliction of his youthful promise, and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions. In short, Straight Man is classic Russo — side-splitting, poignant, compassionate, and unforgettable.”
Lucky Hank cast
Bob Odenkirk’s portrayal of Saul Goodman in the television series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul will always be remembered. Odenkirk’s masterful transformation of a character from a total scoundrel in the original series into a sad figure makes William Henry Devereaux Jr.’s upcoming role as Lucky Hank’s leading man alluring. Along with Better Call Saul, Odenkirk has recently been in The Post, Little Women, Long Shot, and the action film Nobody.
Mireille Enos, who plays his wife Lily Devereaux, co-stars in Lucky Hank with Odenkirk. Enos has starred in Hanna, World War Z, and Big Love, but she is arguably most recognized for her performance on The Killing.
Along with Chris Diamantopoulos and Tom Bower from Raymond & Ray, the sitcom also stars Oscar Nunez from The Office, Kyle MacLachlan from Twin Peaks, and Oscar Nunez from The Office (Silicon Valley).
Lucky Hank trailer
Although there isn’t an official trailer for Lucky Hank yet, AMC did release a few brief teaser trailers that give us a glimpse of Hank and some of his family, friends, and coworkers:
Lucky Hank Release date
According to AMC, the movie Lucky Hank will have its television network and AMC Plus streaming debut on Sunday, March 19. There are going to be eight episodes of Lucky Hank.