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Danny McBride stars as a retired major league pitcher in the new HBO series "Eastbound & Down." McBride told The Star this week that there's a backstory on how Shelby was chosen as the setting for the show.

How HBO's "Eastbound & Down" came to Shelby

Series star, writer comments on how "The City of Pleasant Living" was chosen as setting

SHELBY - It was years ago, while attending the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, that Danny McBride had his first run-in with "The City of Pleasant Living."
That experience stuck with the 32-year-old actor, whose credits include "Tropic Thunder" and "Pineapple Express."
And it's also why Shelby was chosen as the setting for HBO's new comedy series, "Eastbound & Down," which stars McBride as former major league pitcher Kenny Powers.
The Star reported last week that the series, which premiered Feb. 15, follows a former pro baseball pitcher (McBride) who runs out of money, girls and drugs and moves back home.
Home being Shelby, N.C.
Only in this case, Shelby is a fictitious city inside a fictitious county of the same name.
McBride, who also writes the show, issued a statement to The Star this week noting there's a story behind how Shelby was chosen as the setting.
"When I went to the North Carolina School of the Arts I dated a girl whose dad lived in Shelby," McBride told The Star. "I took a few trips there and the town just stuck in my head."
"Shelby is the right size and attitude for where we imagined Kenny grew up," McBride said. "And truth be told there's just something about the name that I dig."
The series, filmed in Wilmington and Scotts Hill, is set for a six-episode initial season and has received mixed reviews. Critics who disliked the show cited its use of racial and ethnic slurs and lowbrow humor. Critics who liked the show cited the same. The show is rated MA for mature audiences.
Will Ferrell guest stars as a car salesman.
Though the show is set in "Shelby," there's nothing inherently Shelby about the program. No livermush, SunDrop or Earl Scruggs references. Despite that, it could bring exposure to the city, Mayor Ted Alexander previously told The Star.
"Anytime your name is mentioned like that, it's probably a positive thing," Alexander said. "Even if the content may not be so good ... people will be curious about the town. And then they go see the real thing."
According to the Internet Movie Database, McBride will co-star alongside Ferrell this summer in "Land of the Lost," a theatrical adaptation of the 1970s TV show.


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