Eastbound & Down is an American sports comedy television series that was broadcast on HBO, and created by Ben Best, Jody Hill and Danny McBride. It stars McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher who, after a career downturn in the major leagues, is forced to return to his hometown middle school in Shelby, North Carolina, as a substitute physical education teacher.

Daniel Richard McBride is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, which he co-created with frequent collaborator Jody Hill, and The Righteous Gemstones, which he created himself. He has appeared in films such as The Foot Fist Way (2006), Hot Rod (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Tropic Thunder (2008), Up in the Air (2009), Land of the Lost (2009), Your Highness (2011), This Is the End (2013), and Alien: Covenant (2017). He has done voice acting for Despicable Me (2010), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Hell and Back (2015), The Angry Birds Movie (2016), Sausage Party (2016), The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019), and The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021).