News

All bets are off.

“Bookie” has been canceled by Max after two seasons, Variety has learned exclusively.

The comedy series starred Sebastian Maniscalco as a veteran bookmaker in Los Angeles who must fight to survive the legalization of sports gambling while navigating unstable clients. Created by Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay, the show premiered on the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer in November 2023 and debuted its second season in December 2024.

“For two seasons creators Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay and their hilarious cast, led by Sebastian Maniscalco, made us laugh while pulling back the curtain on the world of sports betting,” a Max spokesperson said in a statement. “We won’t be moving forward with a third season, but we are grateful to have worked with such a brilliant team on this laugh out loud comedy.”

“Bookie” also starred Omar Dorsey as Rayfield “Ray” Ballard, Andrea Anders as Sandra, Vanessa Ferlito as Lorraine Colavito,...

Every once in a while, Sebastian Maniscalco’s stand-up persona creeps into his performance on Max’s “Bookie.” But rather than ask him to tone it down, executive producers Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay welcome the occasional slip.

“He bailed us out,” Bakay says of an upcoming episode of “Bookie,” which returns to Max with ten more episodes for Season 2, rolling out weekly starting Thursday, Dec. 12. “Sometimes we’ll ask for it when we’re in trouble. We’ll be like, ‘hey buddy, we got nothing here!’”

Fans of Maniscalco’s standup know what Bakay is talking about: Whenever he’s ready to make a point, the stand-up star will pause, throw on a thicker swagger and exaggerate the syllables in a certain word or phrase for comedic effect.

And he admits to it popping up on camera: “Sometimes the stage Sebastian comes out a little bit,” says Maniscalco, who...

Doing business with a man who made billions on child labor and may have murdered a past associate. Jokes about children being sexually abused in the foster system. Extreme and public intimate partner violence played for laughs because both partners are men. Though you might think plotlines like these went extinct circa Entourage and Sons of Anarchy, Bookie is doing its best to revive the antihero era. Sometimes it feels like a charmingly retro throwback; mostly it’s so sweaty and off-putting that it reminds you why they don’t make TV like this anymore.

Bookie, which premiered on Max late last November, was co-created by superstar EP Chuck Lorre and his frequent collaborator Nick Bakay, and wildly successful stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco stars as Danny, the titular bookie. Though some lip service is paid to the fact of legalized sports betting and how it could affect Danny’s business,...

Yes, Virginia is aheartwarming and hilarious holiday comedy abouttwo older women navigating the perils of aging in suburban Detroit. The acclaimed dramedy is craftedin the vein of Stan Zimmermans writing for 'The Golden Girls'. To get the inside scoop about the upcoming digital production of Yes, Virginia, we chatted with Zimmerman about creating the play and working withMindy Sterling and Arnetia Walker to bring this production to life.