The author, years before, of a well reviewed but unsuccessful novel, he’s the estranged son of a literary critic so esteemed his retirement is front-page news. One such book, Richard Russo’s 1998 institutional comic novel “ Straight Man,” set in a third-tier college in a distressed western Pennsylvania town, has become the series “Lucky Hank,” premiering Sunday on AMC.īob Odenkirk plays William Henry Devereaux Jr., a professor of writing and chair of the Railton College English department. Many writers have not only been to college but have also worked in them, and age tends to play better on the page than coming off an 80-inch, 4-K flat screen. Not so sexy!Įven so, bookshelves’ worth of literary works have been set in that milieu. (The 2021 Netflix series “ The Chair,” with Sandra Oh, was a rare recent example, and it died after a season.) If often as childish as their most difficult students, these characters may carry the added weight of moral exhaustion, aging bodies and/or minds, spouses or ex-spouses, and children their days are mired in bureaucratic folderol, intra- and interdepartmental competition amid shrinking budgets, and the pressure of just holding on to a job. Stories that focus on professors and administrators are a different breed.

These shows offer a hit of fantasy nostalgia for older viewers and a flattering mirror for younger ones. When television goes to college, it’s usually to focus on the students, with their youth, dewy skin and lust for life undimmed by time, experience or perspective.

Straight man richard russo review