"American Vandal" second season does not disappoint

The first season of "American Vandal" wasn't quite like anything that came before it. At its core, it was a parody of true crime documentaries like "Making a Murderer" and "Serial" but served as a compelling true crime drama in its own right. The actual crime was ridiculous — twenty dicks spray-painted on twenty cars in a school parking lot — but the season managed to be at turns poignant, incisive and heartbreaking. Now, "Vandal" is back with a second season, and it has no right to be as good as it is. Longevity is tricky for high-concept shows, but this latest installment proves that creators Dan Perault and Tony Yacenda aren't nearly out of ideas. This time around, student documentarians Peter Maldonado and Sam Ecklund trade penises for poop as they investigate a series of fecal crimes at St. Bernadine Catholic High School in Washington. Like the first season, there's a suspect who's been expelled on shaky evidence. Like the first season, it's not really about the poop. And like the first season, it's fantastic. That's not to say "Vandal"'s second season is perfect. Some of the changes it makes are really disappointing; the unorthodox structural decisions that made the first season great—most notably the subplot involving the documentarians themselves—are sacrificed in favor of a more direct story, told straight. But while the second season doesn't offer such gems as the found-footage house party episode from season one, it more than makes up for it with a compelling story and even more compelling characters. "Vandal"'s first outing only delved deeply into one complex character: the titular vandal, Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro). But this season makes room for two — pretentious misfit Kevin McClain (Travis Tope) and beloved basketball prodigy Demarcus Tillman (Melvin Gregg). And it's that character focus that really makes a case for the show's continued existence. Not every great show needs a second season, let alone a third or fourth, and "American Vandal" at first glance seems like exactly the type of show that should quit while it's ahead. But there's a unique depth to Tillman and McClain that takes the second season beyond parody. The dick and poop jokes will eventually get old (though, to be clear, they haven't yet) and there are only so many ways that documentary structure can be tweaked and parodied. But with this season's complex and compelling characters, we're reminded that "American Vandal" has something to say. If Perault and Yacenda get a third or even fourth season, I see no reason to doubt them. They've earned it.