Bob Odenkirk won both a legion of fans and critical acclaim starring as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and as the title character in its beloved spin-off series Better Call Saul.
When his run as Saul came to an end last year, following five nominations for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, all eyes were on which character the actor, who was coming off two back-to-back TV hits, would choose to bring to life next.
The answer was found in the new Stan series Lucky Hank, based on the 1997 novel Straight Man by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo, which is the tale of a mid-life crisis told through a sharp and often darkly comedic lens.
In the series, Odenkirk plays Hank Devereaux, a middle-aged university professor and the dissatisfied chairman of the English department in the badly under-funded Railton College.
A school that is not known for its prestigious graduates but more so for being a run-of-the-mill college that just gets its students through to graduation ad nothing more.
Take a look at the trailer for Lucky Hank on Stan.
After only having one book published throughout his career, and coming off years of writer's block where he has been unable to pen another, Hank has taken to being wildly disinterested in the students taking his writing class.
While Hank spends the class time thinking about what he's going to have for lunch, he makes his students critique each other's writing instead of taking part in any actual teaching.
This teaching method comes to a head one day when one of Hank's students, who has big dreams of becoming an author and has been writing since he was a child, demands his professor give him feedback on his work.
This request makes a deep resentment in Hank snap and he unleashes some not-very-balanced feedback towards the student, calling out the aspiring novelist's lack of talent, the mediocrity of his classmates, and the failures of the college itself.
Hank's classroom rant quickly goes viral, with everyone from the students to the faculty demanding an apology, but it also sets off a chain of events in Hank's own life. One that sees him questioning his life, his career, and what the reality of dreams and failures really mean for adults.
One of the strongest storytelling elements in Lucky Hank is the interesting supporting cast who star alongside Odenkirk's complicated character in the series.
Mireille Enos (known for her roles in Hanna, The Killing and The Catch) gives a very grounding performance as Hank's wife Lily. A bubbly vice principal at a local high school who is tasked with disciplining the most troublesome students (which sometimes includes dolling out chocolate to their parents).
The way the couple plays off each other (while also dealing with their adult daughter and her wayward boyfriend who is always looking for some quick cash) brings moments of warmth and humour to the complexity of Lucky Hank.
It's a series which asks you to confront the reality of adulthood and say goodbye to some of the dreams you were still holding onto for yourself.
Hank's co-workers at Railton College also provide rich material for both drama and comedy throughout the series.
Suzanne Cryer (known for her roles in Two Guys and a Girl and Silicon Valley ( is particularly captivating as professor Gracie DuBois, whose self-published poetry book failed to sell, as is Cedric Yarbrough as Paul Rourke, who has little patience with the antics of his colleagues.
Also starring in the cast are Olivia Scott Welch (Panic, Marvel’s Agent Carter), Diedrich Bader (Miss Congeniality), Sara Amini (Find Me), and guest stars Oscar Nuñez (The Office), Tom Bower (Crazy Heart), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) and Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley).
Lucky Hank, which is produced by showrunners Paul Lieberstein (The Office) and Aaron Zelman (Damages) offers up an interesting social commentary around career, marriage, and why mediocrity is the one thing many of us fear the most.
One moment you'll find yourself laughing out loud at Hank's dry delivery, or in the bigger moments of physical comedy, when a colleague accidentally gets a notebook stuck to Hank's nose but refuses to let it go because it contains their life's work.
In the next moment, you'll find yourself leaning closer to the screen in Hank's more vulnerable moments, as Bob Odenkirk brilliantly brings to life a complicated and nuanced character who finds himself at a crossroads in his life and career.
The creative team behind Lucky Hank also includes Bob Odenkirk in an executive producer role alongside his wife, Naomi Odenkirk, and Peter Farrelly (Green Book, The Greatest Beer Run Ever) onboard in the director's chair.
If you're looking for a captivating new dramedy to sink your teeth into, then the new Stan series Lucky Hank is for you.
The brand-new series Lucky Hank is now streaming, only on Stan.
Image: Stan.
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