The Big Picture

Bookie co-stars Omar J. Dorsey and Sebastian Maniscalco have great chemistry and their dynamic on the show lets it shine. Dorsey’s character, Ray, is emotionally evolved and more sensitive than Danny, despite looking tough. Maniscalco enjoys the opportunity to delve into dramatic roles and likes the pressure of being someone other than himself onscreen.

From creators Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay, the eight-episode comedy series Bookie (available to stream on Max) follows longtime L.A. bookie Danny (Sebastian Maniscalco) and his best friend Ray (Omar J. Dorsey), as they start to face the fact that the potential legalization of sports gambling in California could throw their world into upheaval. Until then, they’ll continue to try to persuade clients to settle their debts while figuring out if they can adapt to inevitable change.

The best thing about this new comedy series is the chemistry in the buddy dynamic between Maniscalco and Dorsey, and their characters Danny and Ray. As a former football player, Ray appears as though he’d be the muscle ready to break bones when clients don’t pay up, but in reality, he’s someone who’s sensitive to and respectful of others’ feelings and pronouns. At the same time, Danny could definitely learn a thing or two from Ray when it comes to his own personal relationships.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Maniscalco and Dorsey talked about how quickly their chemistry became apparent, why this unlikely duo has to work together, how Danny is working a tightrope between his personal and professional life, improvising that comedy gag with the gun in episode two, how the pace they work at makes the series feel like a 9-to-5 job in the best way possible, and their shared hope to get to do more seasons. Maniscalco also said he’s ready to get back out on the road with a standup tour in 2024, while Dorsey reflected on the seven seasons he spent on Queen Sugar.

Bookie Release Date November 30, 2023 Creator Chuck Lorre, Nick Bakay Cast Andrea Anders , Vanessa Ferlito , Sebastian Maniscalco , Jorge Garcia Main Genre Comedy Seasons 1

Collider: I love this buddy duo with the two of you guys because the dynamic is very unexpected. When did you guys first meet each other? What was the moment that each of you realized that this was a dynamic that was really working and that would work so well at the center of this show?

OMAR J. DORSEY: The first time that we met was at the chemistry test for the show. We sat down and just fell right into it. It felt like a nice duo or a tennis team, just bouncing it back and forth. There were a couple of scenes that ended up not even being in the script, but it was really funny stuff that delineated our parts. It was the way he was delivering it, I was like, “Okay, I can bounce off this.” I think from that moment, I felt good about it. I knew [Sebastian Maniscalco] was already starring. I knew it was already gonna be his show. So, I was like, “I think I’m gonna be able to rock with him.”

SEBASTIAN MANISCALCO: He was the first one to come in and something I noticed about Omar was that he was extremely prepared. A lot of times, you get actors that come in, and they’re not off book and they’re still fumbling around with pages. He was so comfortable with the material that he was able to be really present with me. Right when he left the room, I told (co-creators) Chuck [Lorre] and Nick [Bakay], “That’s the guy,” and they agreed. They thought it was a really, really good read. We had two other actors who came in, and I just didn’t really feel that with them. So, we asked Omar to come back and we played around for a second time, and it just solidified that he was the guy. And then, boom, we were off and running. The first day, I just felt like I was hanging out with a guy that I knew for a while. It was easy. It wasn’t difficult. We understood what we needed to accomplish. It was just easy.

Omar J. Dorsey Loves Playing Such a Sensitive Soul
Image via Max

I love when a TV series can drop us into a dynamic that we’re told has been long-established, but it also really feels like it has and the banter that you guys have feels very natural. I also love how Ray seems like he’d be the muscle, but he’s really the sensitive one who’s in touch with respecting other people. Omar, how do you think Ray got to this place that he is actually emotionally evolved, much more so than Danny?

DORSEY: I think he’s just that way. He’s in a position in life where Danny is his main man and that’s his boy, but he probably wouldn’t be working with Danny. He would probably just be friends with him if he didn’t need the money. This is a guy who’s in a place where he has to take care of three children and his grandmother, so he’s like, “Look, what’s the best way for me to make some money. Let me go over here and work with my friend. I can be the visual deterrent because I’m not gonna punch anybody, but I look like I’ll knock you out.” That’s just the way that he is. This is a guy who played college football, but he played college football at BYU. It wasn’t like he played at Alabama or USC or Georgia. He played in Provo, Utah. He’s a sensitive soul. And it’s such fun playing that dynamic. I try to play against type as much as I can, but when you see a guy come in, and the first time you see him, he has glasses on and he looks like a tough guy. But then, it flips and he’s like, “Why do you have a gun?” “We’re in the ‘hood, aren’t we?” “Yeah, but this is the neighborhood. These kids are good.” He’s talking about words that people might be comfortable using and these gender terms. It’s just a very fun character to play.

Sebastian, do you think Ray ever inspires Danny to be better in his own relationships, or does Danny not have that kind of self-awareness?

MANISCALCO: I think he’s fighting. It’s a struggle with Danny, trying to walk this tightrope of his personal life and his professional life. Ray is good for Danny, but Danny rebels a little bit. When you think of a bookie and his muscle, you think of people breaking legs and you think of a bookie in some small room with a lot of cigarettes. We’re quite the opposite. To Omar’s point, it’s not like Ray grew up in a life of crime. He was a football player, and now he’s gotta do whatever he possibly can to maintain a certain lifestyle and pay the bills. And Danny is trying to navigate the waters of marriage and having a stepson. Nobody pays him and he’s not really doing much about it. He’s half dumb, half smart. There are a lot of layers to the character. I can’t wait to see what the hell Chuck comes up with for Season 2, if there is one. Playing the eight episodes, we really fell into a rhythm and we could really explore what these guys are about.

Sebastian Maniscalco Reveals How That Gun Gag Happened
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Sebastian, I also quite enjoyed the whole comedy gag in episode two where you’re walking and having the gun slide down and out of your pant leg and having to keep putting it back in. How many times did you have to shoot that? Do you enjoy that kind of physical comedy?

MANISCALCO: The gun was falling out of my pant leg. The beauty about that is, if that had happened to me in a scene two years ago, I would probably have said, “The gun fell out of my pants, could we do that over?” But when it just happened within this scene, while it was happening, I didn’t even think about anything other than getting the gun and putting it back in my pants. Anytime I get a chance to do anything physical, especially when I get my ass kicked in this thing, for me to be able to get on the ground and flail around a little bit and do some physical comedy, I really look forward to those moments. The beauty of this shoot was that the pace at which we were shooting was so great for comedy because there was a lot of momentum there. Some days were eight and a half or nine hours long, which is unheard of in TV and filmmaking. Normally, you’re there 14 or 15 hours, but with this, I felt like I had a 9-to-5.

DORSEY: I remember there were days when [Sebastian] would say, “Omar, are you getting in the jacuzzi today?” We’d get out at five o’clock and I’d be like, “I’m gonna get in the jacuzzi today, man. Let’s get this done.” The pace was just so good and so quick. That thing with the gun falling out was not scripted, but we had to keep it going. We were looking around and I was like, “Come on, man, just pick the gun up.” The funniest thing about that scene was the guy who called to place the bet in the middle of all that. Chuck and Nick, and all the directors we had, knew exactly what they were doing. There were no wasted takes and I appreciate that.

Omar, I love the banter between your character and Vanessa Ferlito’s character. You’re just so much fun to watch together. And what a way to rip the band-aid off, with the way Ray told Danny that he’s with his sister. How would you describe that relationship? What do you enjoy about playing with that dynamic?

DORSEY: It’s good. She’s so funny. She’s a tremendous actress, but her comedy is so good that when we’re in these scenes together, it’s just very easy. She’s so smooth and she knows exactly what she wants, so it’s easy for me to follow. She knows exactly what her objective is. Vanessa is the bomb. She’s the breakout on this show. Our relationship is gonna grow and grow.

Sebastian Maniscalco Extracts Humor From Everyday Living For His Stand-up
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Sebastian, you clearly know what you’ll be doing and where you’ll be in 2024. You’re in Vegas the first half of the year, and then you have a comedy tour that seems to pretty much take you through the rest of the year. What gets you out on tour? Are you someone who’s always looking to get back out on the road, or do you have to wait until you feel like you have enough to say that you can’t not go out on the road?

MANISCALCO: With this tour in particular, I had to take some time off to live my life a little bit to extract some humor out of everyday living. This tour is gonna start in July, which is another eight months, so I have that time to gather material to add to what I’m already doing. I love to go on tour. I really, really enjoy stand-up comedy. For me, it’s so immediate. You’re in the moment and you’re getting laughs as you’re doing it, which is completely different from doing a TV show where you feel it’s funny, but you don’t know until other people see it. It’s working two different muscles. Touring, for me, is something that I really, really enjoy and can’t wait to get back out and do.

I know that a possible Season 2 hasn’t been announced yet for Bookie, but have you made sure to block out some time on that tour, so you can shoot Season 2?

MANISCALCO: We will make time. We’ll move things around if need be. This show is a priority for me. I think this is a really, really great team that we have assembled. The cast, the crew and everybody is really dialed in. The material we’re covering is really original. You really haven’t seen a TV show about a bookie navigating these waters of legalization of gambling. The content is so abundant. This is something I would really, really love to continue doing.

Omar J. Dorsey Hopes to Do Multiple Seasons of ‘Bookie’
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Omar, you’re more well-known for doing drama, most recently with Queen Sugar. You got to do a lot of episodes of that show over several seasons, which feels like it’s getting rarer and rarer these days. What did the time you spent on that show, with that cast, and as that character mean to you? What did you learn from that experience that you feel like you’ll always take with you now?

DORSEY: You get spoiled. You do a television show for seven seasons and you’re like, “Okay, every February, I’m going back to New Orleans for five or six months and that’s what I have to do.” And you get to play the same character, over and over. You still want the character to grow and grow and grow, and you can put more layers onto it. That doesn’t happen as much nowadays. I pray that will happen with us and we can get five, six or seven seasons of Bookie in and people can actually grow with the characters. Me playing Hollywood for seven years, people feel like they know who that man is, which was really weird because right before that, I was on Ray Donovan and everybody was like, “I could never see this guy playing a lover, like he does in this.” And then, after seven years, that’s all they can see me as. So now, when they watch Bookie, they’re like, “Well, he’s always gonna be Hollywood.” I’m like, “Well, you said the same thing about Queen Sugar when it came to Ray Donovan.” It will flip over again. To be able to have that much time and to be able to live in that much of a character, it’s a Godsend. I was able to send kids through college. I bought a couple of houses and a couple of cars, too.

I love any time we get to see actors doing things that we’re not used to seeing them do. As an actor, you’re supposed to be able to work in different genres and do different things, but you don’t necessarily get that opportunity. Sebastian, when I spoke to Chuck Lorre about this show, he specifically said that, while everybody knows you for your comedy, he wanted to work with you because he was impressed by your dramatic ability. Do you also enjoy getting to dig into the drama that you aren’t as known for?

MANISCALCO: Yeah, I like it. It’s a nice departure from strictly doing comedy. It’s nice to dip your toe into dramatic work. I actually prefer the drama over comedy when it comes to TV and film, just because everybody knows me as a comedian, so if I do something a little bit dramatic, they’re like, “Oh, wow, he’s got range.” I’m used to playing myself. I did a movie, called About My Father where I played myself. I did a pilot six years ago with Tony Danza where I played me. So, for me to do this, it’s like, “Thank God, I can be somebody else for once.” It’s a lot of pressure being yourself on TV and film, so I actually welcome these opportunities where I could immerse myself in a character that doesn’t necessarily have a lot of my characteristics.

Bookie is available to stream on Max. Check out the series trailer:

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