“Stick,” Apple TV’s golf comedy starring Owen Wilson, started slowly in its rookie season but found its footing by the finish.
Apparently, viewers noticed.
The second season debuted Nov. 4 and opened at No. 1 on Apple’s streaming charts, carrying over the momentum the series built during its inaugural run.
For those who missed the first season, “Stick” follows Pryce Cahill (Wilson), a former golf prodigy whose playing career went sideways and whose life hasn’t exactly gone according to plan, either. When Golfweek spoke with Wilson before the series debuted, the premise was simple enough: a washed-up golf professional trying to reclaim his game and his life while finding an unexpected second chance along the way.
Wilson, an avid golfer himself, seemed
like a natural fit. He joked at the time about battling his own game during a trip to Australia, while co-star Judy Greer, who plays Pryce’s sharp-witted ex-wife, admitted her golf experience was mostly limited to the miniature variety.
But “Stick” quickly became about considerably more than Pryce’s comeback.
While working as a golf pro at a sporting goods superstore, Pryce happens upon Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager) on a driving range and eventually convinces the talented teenager to let him become his coach. Santi brings along his mother, Elena (Mariana Treviño), and girlfriend Zero (Lilli Kay), while Pryce’s best friend Mitts (Marc Maron) completes the unconventional traveling party.
They endured more than a few ups and downs during the first season, which ended with enough uncertainty to leave viewers wondering exactly where creator and writer Jason Keller would take them next.
The answer, at least early in season two, is in several different directions.
Santi is restless. He believes he’s the best amateur golfer in the country, and the PGA Tour beckons. Complicating matters is Jeremy (John Higgins), a questionable sports agent who keeps filling Santi’s head with possibilities while introducing him to a world he might not yet be ready to navigate.
Pryce sees the danger. His problem is explaining it without insulting Santi’s intelligence or crushing his confidence. His efforts don’t exactly work.
Their disagreement eventually creates a schism, leaving Pryce with a major decision of his own. His old nemesis, Clark Ross (Timothy Olyphant), has recruited him for an improbable return to professional golf. Suddenly, Pryce seemingly has two choices: return to the sporting-goods world or take one more crack at the competitive career he thought was long gone.
It also gives Keller plenty of room to poke at professional golf and the larger sports machine, from the questionable way business gets done behind the scenes to how quickly an industry can build someone up, chew them up and spit them back out.
The show works because the cast has settled comfortably into its rhythm, with Wilson’s easy-going style anchoring everything around him. Olyphant, who appeared sporadically during the first season, has a larger regular presence this time around and gives the show another comedic gear.
Before “Stick” premiered, Keller said he hoped the series could offer a fresh, funny look at golf while perhaps helping grow the game along the way. After a first season that needed some time to find its swing, season two has arrived with considerably more momentum.
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek and the golf coordinator for the USA Today Network. Averee Dovsek contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Owen Wilson’s ‘Stick’ returns for Season 2, debuts at No. 1 on Apple
