Vice Principals: Busy Philipps teases insanity and hilarity of new HBO comedy

Vice Principals star Busy Philipps doesn’t want you to be fooled by the HBO comedy’s simple premise.

“Insanity and hilarity ensues as these two rivals try to get the spot of principal in the high school,” Philipps tells EW in a new video interview.

The new HBO series stars Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as Neal Gamby and Lee Russell, two vice principals at a southern high school who are competing to become principal after the current principal, played by Bill Murray, steps down. In the show, which debuts Sunday, Philipps plays Neal’s ex-wife Gale Liptrapp.

“She’s from the South. She’s like a real hardcore lady,” says the former Cougar Town resident. “As the series goes on, you’ll get to see a few different sides of their relationship and some insight into what went wrong.”

Philipps was very eager to join the show because she loves executive producers McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green’s brand of comedy, which was previously on display in HBO’s Eastbound & Down. “I think that what Danny and Jody and David do and do so well is that they take things that make people uncomfortable and make people cringe and they run directly at it and they kind of punch it in the face,” she says.

Watch the entire video above to find out more about Philipps’ character Gale. Vice Principals debuts Sunday, July 17 at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO.