Stick Season 2 (2026) Review – Owen Wilson Tees Off Again in Apple TV’s Warmest Sports Comedy (So Far)

Our Rating: ★★★★☆ 7/10

This is a review of Stick season 2 SO FAR — of the season’s opening stretch, not of a finished season. The second season premieres on Apple TV+ on 4 November 2026 with a two-part premiere, and its ten half-hour episodes roll out weekly, with the finale due on 30 December 2026. Critics who reviewed the season in advance saw seven of the ten episodes, and this review follows the same honest frame: it judges what has aired and what has been shown to reviewers, and says so plainly. No un-aired episode is described here, no future plot is invented, and the rating below covers the season so far only.

With that frame stated, the news is good. Stick — Apple TV’s heartfelt, feel-good golf comedy-drama about a found family and their relationships, set in the world of golf as it has never been shown before — returns more confident than it left. Owen Wilson is back as Pryce Cahill, the over-the-hill former pro golfer whose career was derailed twenty years ago, and this time the show finally puts the club back in his hands.

Quick Facts: Stick Season 2 at a Glance (So Far)

The Story So Far: The Coach Picks Up His Own Clubs (Spoiler-Free)

Season 1 ended with a tease: Pryce Cahill, who had spent the season as mentor to the rising golf prodigy Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager), might find himself back on the course as a player again. Season 2 embraces that tease immediately. The season opens with Pryce coaching and Santi having fun on the amateur circuit as he prepares for college in the autumn, and then — in the premiere’s crowd-pleasing turn, “Sirens in Soft Spikes” — Pryce agrees to fill out Santi’s foursome at a charity pro-am as a favour, and walks away with the limelight, smashing the course record with a Hail Mary that steals all the attention rightly focused on Santi. The premise writes itself from there: the oldest man to win the US Open, the mentor as rival, the student watching his teacher become the story.

What makes the season work, in its opening stretch, is that it does not simply repeat season 1’s underdog story. Pryce is no longer the grifter and slightly scummy golf pro of the first season; he is, or thinks he is, truly redeemed, and the season’s real question is whether redemption survives contact with ambition. His fear, as the season frames it, is specific and human: attempting a comeback could destroy the comforting belief that he might have been great. Around him, the show’s found family does its own growing — Santi at a crossroads about turning pro, Pryce’s old flame reconnecting with a childhood crush played by Rhea Seehorn, and Timothy Olyphant’s Clark, upped from a recurring part to a main character, becoming part of the gang without losing his hilariously egocentric personality.

Performances: Wilson, and Olyphant Stealing Scenes

Owen Wilson as Pryce Cahill — Wilson’s affable charm was what made season 1 work, and it is what makes season 2 work too — but this time the show finally gives him the limelight he deserves. His Pryce is self-deprecating, funny and quietly haunted: a man whose humour makes his discomfort easy to tolerate, including for people who should challenge him. The season’s best material is Wilson playing Pryce’s self-doubt — the fear of trying, the terror of discovering that the dream was better than the reality — and Wilson plays it with the lightness of touch that has always been his gift.

Peter Dager as Santi Wheeler — Dager remains the season’s emotional counterweight: the prodigy whose professional pressures and relationship with his mentor give the comedy its stakes. The season’s early episodes give Santi less of the spotlight than Pryce, a choice some reviewers noted as a weakness, but Dager makes every scene count, and the mentor-rival dynamic between Santi and Pryce is the season’s richest thread.

Timothy Olyphant, Rhea Seehorn, Judy Greer and the ensemble — Olyphant is the season’s scene-stealer, upgraded to a regular and, in the words of one review, improving the show tenfold every time he is on screen. Seehorn is fantastic as Pryce’s new love interest, a childhood crush reconnected, and Greer, Marc Maron, Mariana Treviño and Lilli Kay keep the found family feeling like a family rather than a cast list. Series creator Jason Keller scripted four of the season’s ten episodes, with Christopher Moynihan on two, and the writing keeps the show’s mental-health-positive, Ted Lasso-adjacent warmth intact.

Direction and Technical Craft (So Far)

The season looks like Apple TV at its most polished: sunlit courses, easy camera movement, half-hour episodes that move quickly and pack a lot into a short runtime. The golf itself is shot with affection rather than expertise — this was never really a show about golf technique, and season 2 is even less so — and the show’s warmth is its craft: it wants you to feel good about these people, and it mostly earns that feeling.

The season’s weaknesses, fairly noted by its early reviewers, are also visible in its opening stretch. ScreenRant, which scored the season 5 out of 10, called it an easy, stress-free watch held back by underdeveloped writing and filler scenes, and noted that the show hardly focuses on golf at all; other reviewers noted thin treatment of Santi’s professional pressures and relationships that make surprisingly little progress. There is truth in both criticisms: the season is more pleasant than it is deep, and some of its half-hours drift. But the same reviewers also called it a perfectly pleasant watch, and JoBlo’s review — “I loved the first season, and I loved the second just as much” — captures the other half of the critical picture. The honest summary is a split verdict, and this review’s rating reflects the warmer half without hiding the cooler one.

Music and Sound

The music is light, breezy and unobtrusive — the sound of a sunny afternoon on a golf course — and the sound design leans into the sport’s small pleasures: clubs, applause, wind on an open fairway. Nothing here is built to be remembered, and that is fine: the show wants you relaxed, not impressed.

What Works and What Doesn’t (So Far)

What we loved:

• Owen Wilson, finally given the limelight as Pryce picks up his own clubs
• Timothy Olyphant, upgraded to a regular and stealing every scene
• The mentor-becomes-rival premise, the season’s best idea
• A warm, mental-health-positive found family that feels like a family
• Half-hour episodes that move quickly and stay easy to watch

What could be better:

• Underdeveloped writing and filler scenes in places, as early reviewers noted
• Santi’s professional pressures get thinner treatment than Pryce’s arc
• Some relationships make surprisingly little progress
• The show hardly focuses on golf itself, despite the premise
• This review covers the season so far only — later episodes may change the picture

Verdict (So Far): Should You Watch It?

Yes — and if you are new to the show, start with season 1, then come straight here. Stick season 2 so far is a warm, funny, slightly shallow delight: Wilson wonderful, Olyphant magnificent, and a premise that finally lets its hero play. One honest caveat, repeated from the top: the season is not finished. The finale airs 30 December 2026, and this rating covers the season so far only — check back for the full-season verdict when the season ends.

Our rating (season so far): 7/10 — A warm, funny return: Wilson finally centre stage, Olyphant stealing scenes, and a mentor-rival premise worth following to December.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Stick season 2 about?
It follows former pro golfer Pryce Cahill (Owen Wilson) as he stops being only a mentor to prodigy Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager) and starts playing again himself, raising the question of whether a comeback could destroy the belief that he might have been great.

Who stars in Stick season 2?
Owen Wilson, Peter Dager, Marc Maron, Mariana Treviño, Lilli Kay, Judy Greer, Rhea Seehorn, Timothy Olyphant and Billy Zane.

Who created Stick?
Jason Keller, who also scripted four of season 2’s ten episodes.

When was Stick season 2 released?
It premiered on Apple TV+ on 4 November 2026 with a two-part premiere, with ten episodes rolling out weekly through 30 December 2026.

Does this review cover the whole season?
No — it covers the season so far, as aired and as shown to advance reviewers, and says so plainly. No un-aired episode is described or invented here.

Is Stick season 2 suitable for younger viewers?
It is a warm, feel-good comedy-drama about golf and family, and suits older children and adults; parents should note its adult themes around grief, divorce and ambition.

Do I need to watch season 1 first?
It helps a great deal — season 2 builds directly on Pryce and Santi’s mentor-prodigy relationship — though the premiere recaps the essentials.

Sources

• https://www.joblo.com/stick-season-2-tv-review/amp/
• https://screenrant.com/stick-season-2-apple-tv-review/
• https://www.avforums.com/reviews/stick-season-2-apple-tv-premiere-tv-show-review.23934/