HBO's baseball-tinged scripted series Eastbound & Down will remain on the pay network's major league programming roster for another year.
The network Wednesday renewed its freshman comedy series, starring Danny McBride (Tropic Thunder) as Kenny Powers, an obnoxious, washed-up pro pitcher who reluctantly returns to his hometown to teach a high school phys ed class.
Production will begin later this year, with the series scheduled to return in 2010.
The six-episode series, produced by comedian Will Ferrell, averaged over 3.5 million gross audience per episode including replays, according to HBO, with its Sunday night audience growing by 35% from its February premiere (671,000 viewers) to its March finale (904,000 viewers).
"Eastbound & Down's raucous comedy sparked a loyal and enthusiastic following that grew throughout the season, and we're happy to bring the show back for more innings," said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO's programming group and west coast operations, in a statement. "It will be fun to see what happens to Kenny in season two."
