If you want better dialogue quality
Choose The Diplomat, Season 4. It scores 4.8 vs 1.8 for dialogue quality, with a 4.3 overall score.
Stick, Season 2 Review
Content guidance
A strip-golf scene and emotionally heavy material involving a child’s death, grief, dementia and psychological distress make this more suitable for mid-teens and older.
Official rating
TV-MA
Bottom Line
Owen Wilson’s vulnerable comeback and a sharp supporting cast make this a warm, appealing second season. Its split storylines, predictable turns and shaky golf details may frustrate viewers seeking sharper drama or authentic sport.
Fans of warm, character-driven sports comedies and returning viewers who want Pryce’s comeback, supportive friendships and a stronger emotional arc. It also works as gentle comfort viewing for non-golf fans.
Golf purists who need technically accurate play, viewers who dislike predictable therapeutic dramedies, and anyone seeking fast-paced weekly cliffhangers or equally developed ensemble subplots.
Verdict
Stick Season 2 finds more purpose by sending Pryce back toward competitive golf while Santi discovers the costs of turning professional. Owen Wilson’s gentle comic timing now supports a more vulnerable portrayal of regret and fear; Rhea Seehorn brings both romantic spark and emotional weight, while Timothy Olyphant and Marc Maron often supply the biggest laughs. The caring-but-complicated found family keeps the series inviting, with dementia, grief and second chances enriching the easygoing sports-comedy formula. Yet the divided plot is uneven: the professional-golf subplot and several romances feel thin or repetitive, and some supporting characters get too little time. Golf-focused critics also spot conspicuous inaccuracies, despite others praising the tournament presentation. Anyone hoping for hard-edged sports realism or daring storytelling may leave dissatisfied. For viewers who want a kindhearted half-hour escape, however, this return generally improves on an already likable premise.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
55 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.029 (53%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.413 (24%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.49 (16%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.43 (5%)
-
Very negative below 1.51 (2%)
Pros highlights
-
Pryce gains depth through a comeback, childhood memories and confronting long-standing fear. Santi and some supporting characters grow too, though reviewers disagree over how fully those arcs are explored.
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Loss, regret and the fear of failing again give the season its strongest moments, particularly in Butch’s dementia storyline. A minority find the sentiment overly engineered.
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The comeback storyline gives Pryce an overdue chance to test himself while Santi faces early fame. Several critics welcome the parallel structure, though others find the younger arc routine or underdeveloped.
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Wilson, Seehorn, Maron and Olyphant create the season’s most consistently applauded interactions. Pryce and Amanda’s connection is a standout, while splitting up the ensemble weakens some existing relationships.
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Pryce and Amanda’s playful chemistry wins frequent praise. Other couples’ conflicts can feel contrived, repetitive or oddly immature.
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Character appeal earns a divided response: appealing individual moments compete with formulaic execution or uneven development.
Cons highlights
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The writing has more room for vulnerability and growth but can lean on familiar sports-drama formulas. Repeated conversations, convenient conflicts and a thinly developed professional-golf subplot frustrate more critical viewers.
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Several writers see Season 2 finally developing a personality beyond its feel-good predecessors; others consider it a predictable imitation that plays too safe.
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The larger cast gives Clark more room to shine, but some reviewers miss Pryce and Santi together and feel Judy Greer, Mitts or Zero are sidelined.
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Sports business portrayal earns a divided response: appealing individual moments compete with formulaic execution or uneven development.
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Teen subplot quality earns a divided response: appealing individual moments compete with formulaic execution or uneven development.
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Dialogue quality is a sticking point, with familiar or insufficiently developed material drawing criticism.
Use Cases
Best for
-
Most returning viewers should appreciate Pryce’s larger personal arc and the expanded cast; the same formulaic tendencies and uneven subplots remain.
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Its easygoing half-hour format, warm characters and unthreatening pace make it an appealing comfort watch, particularly for viewers seeking something gentler than prestige drama.
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This is chiefly a soft, character-based comedy with warm banter and occasional scene-stealing mischief. Viewers seeking relentless punchlines may find it too mild.
Not ideal for
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Weekly episodic viewingThe episodes are short, but one critic finds too little weekly narrative progress to make the release schedule worth following.
Cast & Creators
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Amanda LydeckerSeehorn brings emotional restraint and fresh spark to Pryce’s coaching and romance plot, often lifting scenes through quiet reactions rather than speeches.
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Pryce CahillWilson’s self-effacing charm now carries more vulnerable and reflective scenes, with critics repeatedly calling his work a career standout.
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Clark RossOlyphant’s expanded, more playful role delivers reliable comic energy, with critics frequently identifying him as a scene-stealer.
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MittsMaron’s dry, prickly delivery is a comic foil for the rest of the group, particularly Olyphant, even when Mitts gets less material than he deserves.
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SantiDager conveys Santi’s temptation, fear and adolescent pressure with energy, though dissatisfaction with his storyline sometimes overshadows his work.
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ActorZane’s slick surprise appearance is welcomed as an effective addition to the expanded supporting cast.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other TV Shows, this product is above average in continuity, episode length, character development, near average in story quality, teen subplot quality, below average in suspense, production design, dialogue quality.
Comparison summary
52 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher29 (56%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts12 (23%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower11 (21%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| suspense | 1.0 | 4.1 | -3.1 |
| production design | 2.0 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| continuity | 5.0 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| dialogue quality | 1.8 | 3.4 | -1.5 |
| episode length | 4.9 | 3.4 | +1.5 |
| character development | 4.5 | 3.8 | +0.7 |
| romance quality | 4.4 | 3.6 | +0.8 |
| ending satisfaction | 4.5 | 3.5 | +1.0 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better production design
Choose Black Doves, Season 2. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for production design, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better suspense
Choose The Pitt, Season 2. It scores 4.8 vs 1.0 for suspense, with a 4.7 overall score.
If you want better writing quality
Choose Hacks, Season 5. It scores 4.9 vs 2.9 for writing quality, with a 4.6 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Ted Lasso (2020)
- Worse: early critics approval percentage A small early review sample places Season 2 above every Ted Lasso season on approval percentage, not necessarily long-term merit.
- Similar: formulaic warm dramedy Stick imitates Ted Lasso’s feel-good safety without generating equal emotional engagement.
- Similar: feel-good sports comedy The critic positions Stick alongside Ted Lasso as a similarly uplifting sports dramedy.
Shrinking (2023)
- Similar: formulaic therapy-oriented dramedy Stick uses Shrinking-like therapeutic storytelling but lacks depth according to this critic.
- Better: originality and writing The critic thinks Stick borrows Shrinking’s emotional template without matching its quality.
- Similar: healing comedy Stick adopts the lighter, heartfelt register associated with Shrinking.
Ballers (2015)
- Similar: sports-agent business storyline The agent subplot evokes Ballers but lacks the depth to make sports business compelling.
FAQ
Is Season 2 better than the first?
Most critics praise the deeper comeback story and larger roles for Seehorn and Olyphant, though a few find the scripts just as formulaic as before.
Do I need to be a golf fan to enjoy Stick?
No. The emotional relationships, humor and redemption story matter at least as much as tournaments, although technical golf inaccuracies may bother serious players.
What changes for Pryce and Santi?
They follow more independent paths: Pryce considers a late-career return to competition, while Santi faces the commercial and emotional pressures of turning professional.
How strong is the new cast?
Rhea Seehorn draws praise for chemistry with Wilson and sensitive dramatic work, while Timothy Olyphant’s expanded part supplies some of the funniest moments.
Is Season 2 a light comedy or a serious drama?
Both. Its short episodes and easy humor coexist with bereavement, dementia, mental-health struggles and older characters confronting regret.
Does it work for weekly viewing or bingeing?
The half-hour episodes are easy to watch, but some critics find the pacing and repetition better suited to a binge after the full season becomes available.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
fandomwire.com
Owen Wilson’s Stick Season 2 scores 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, outpacing Ted Lasso and improving on its own debut season.
- Review score
- 4.5
theguardian.com
TV’s biggest dopamine hit is back, and it is thoroughly spoiling us with amazing new guest stars. What’s more, our hero is coming out of...
- Review score
- 4.8
rogerebert.com
Season 2 is a remarkable upgrade from the already engaging first season.
- Review score
- 4.5
whatsalanwatching.com
The Apple TV golf comedy adds Rhea Seehorn for Season Two, among other improvements
- Review score
- 4.0
golfpass.com
With Rhea Seehorn joining a cast led by Owen Wilson, the half-hour 'dramedy' begins to function more like Apple hits 'Ted Lasso' and 'Shrinking.
- Review score
- 3.0
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