Stick Season 2 Review: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Stick Season 2 is a cozy, funny, and heartfelt comedy that rarely surprises you. A great ensemble turns familiar sports tropes into a treat.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Genre: Sports Comedy
Language: English
Lead Cast: Owen Wilson, Peter Dager, Marc Maron, Timothy Olyphant, Rhea Seehorn
Platform: Apple TV
Some shows do not try to change your life. They just want to keep you company for half an hour. Stick Season 2 is one of those, and it does the job very well. It is now streaming on Apple TV.
Owen Wilson is back as Pryce Cahill, a retired golfer who once threw away a great talent. In season one, he found a teenage prodigy named Santi Wheeler, played by Peter Dager, and trained him into the hottest young amateur around. Now the boy is a star. Brands, sponsors and agents are lining up with gifts, flattery and big money. Pryce warns him to stay an amateur, finish college and turn pro later. But when the cash is that big, good advice is hard to follow.
While Santi deals with that, Pryce has his own problem. A viral moment makes him wonder if he can return to the pro circuit at 55. Almost everyone tells him it is a bad idea. Still, the chance to win the glory that slipped away years ago is too tempting to ignore. His old caddie Mitts, played by Marc Maron, joins the trip, though he complains far more than he cheers. Timothy Olyphant plays Clark, a rival and friend who is a bit of both. It is easily one of the most Timothy Olyphant roles Timothy Olyphant has ever played.
The biggest treat of this season is the cast. Maron plays the bristly cynic with the softest heart, and he is great at it. Olyphant steals every scene he walks into. Then Rhea Seehorn arrives midway as Amanda, a sharp swing coach who also happens to be Pryce’s great lost love. Wilson and Seehorn make that clear within seconds, and the spark between them is lovely to watch. Together, these four actors can handle almost anything, and they lift the show whenever the writing stays safe.
And the writing does stay safe. Stick is a classic sports dramedy that follows the usual rules. You will find a montage or two in nearly every episode, as if they were part of a contract. The story once again sets business against the spirit of the game, and its romantic view of sport feels a little old fashioned in a world full of sponsors and influencers. Santi’s side of the story, with his mother Elena, his caddie and girlfriend Zero, and his new agent played by Billy Zane, feels more routine than the adventures of the older group.
Yet that hardly matters. The show has real heart under the jokes. It still carries the sadness of Pryce’s past, and it has a bittersweet streak about regrets that cannot be erased and youth that disappears in a blink. This season also asks Pryce to do something hard, which is to let Santi make his own mistakes.
Nobody will call it the best series of the year, and it does not need that title. It feels like a familiar dish made by someone who knows exactly how to cook it. There are no surprises on the menu, but it hits the spot.
If you want more to watch after this, our Bass X Machina review covers an animated steampunk western with a big heart. For crime fans, our Rudravanam PS review looks at a Telugu cop thriller built on a headless body mystery. And if you like a darker mood, our Dead-End Job review follows a man who takes deadly night shifts to clear his debt.
Stick Season 2 is easy, warm and full of good company. Treat yourself.
Stick Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV.