Bob Odenkirk’s new AMC drama, Lucky Hank, is about a guy who used to write legal briefs but now writes term papers.
Lucky Hank
On Sunday’s first episode, we met Hank Devereaux (Lucky Hank), who portrays the chair of the English department at a fictional Pennsylvania university. This isn’t the actor’s first time on Better Call Saul. Listening to his students read aloud their latest creative writing assignments, Hank is exhausted and uninterested. He’s mentally compiling a list of items he needs to go shopping for. The pupils recognize this as well, prompting one to urge Hank, “Could you just, just for once, say something?”
Therefore, Hank gives in to their demand and unleashes his fury by savagely critiquing the work of another student named Bartow. He tells the pupils, “The fact that you’re here suggests you didn’t work very hard in high school, or you showed very little promise,” and of course one of the students is filming all of this. You either didn’t put in much effort in high school or showed little promise, he adds.
The next day, the school newspaper prints his outburst, but Hank is preoccupied with the news that his father, Hank Devereaux Sr., a well-regarded literary scholar, is leaving his position. Lily, Hank’s wife (played by Mireille Enos of The Killing), tries to engage him in conversation over breakfast but is constantly interrupted by SMS about Hank’s diatribe. Since neither the pupils nor the teachers at his school approve of his behavior, Bartow has asked for a formal letter of apology from him. Could I give you the middle finger via email? In reply, Lucky Hank inquires.
In addition, Lucky Hank instigates an altercation with his other English teachers, which results in poet Gracie (played by Suzanne Cryer from Silicon Valley) smacking Hank over the head with a spiral notebook, the notebook’s spiral becoming trapped on Hank’s nose and tearing a gushing hole in it.
Lucky Hank brags about being untouchable since he has tenure when he is called in to meet with the school’s dean (Oscar Nunez, who previously appears on The Office). Lily thinks his father’s retirement has inspired him to finish his second work, which he had previously put off.
Also, Hank and Lily have a kid who is often asking for money. The dean tells Gracie that he can’t do much about it when she complains about Hank, so she and the other academics hatch a plot to get rid of him as department chair. When Hank learns of this scam, he thinks back to when Lily was offered a position in New York. Perhaps they’ll decide to pack up and head for the big city instead of this boring college town.
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Professors Lucky Hank works with are voting to oust him as chair, and he walks in on the action. The decision on who will take his place has not been made even though he has been removed from office. Lily tells him excitedly that the post in New York City is still available, but she drops the subject when she sees Hank hesitate, knowing well well that he will never leave this city. When their daughter drops by, Hank quickly realizes it’s only a pretext to discuss an “interesting business prospect” that requires financial backing from him.
The English department has decided to hold an election for a new chair, and nearly everyone casts their ballot for themselves. One person, however, voted for Hank even though he had no intention of voting at all. As a result, Lucky Hank will continue to serve as chair with two votes to the other members’ one.
After a heated game of racquetball with his pal Tony (Diedrich Bader), Lucky Hank walks home to tell Lily the good news about him being reelected chair, during which he discloses that his dad’s retirement may have broken a delicate balance in his life. He tries to inform her every day when he runs into her, but she keeps trying to outrun him.
Trailer of Lucky Hank (Video) Watch Now