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 plays family man and bookie Danny on “Bookie.”
Viewers will particularly see a bit of “stage Sebastian” in episode 2, when Danny and Ray (Omar Dorsey) attempt to collect a gambling debt from a scary drug lord.
Back for that second episode also is Charlie Sheen, who first guest starred on Season 1 of “Bookie,” making headlines at the time for burying the hatchet with his ex-“Two and a Half Men” boss Lorre.
“Charlie’s great and he’s back, and everything’s great,” Bakay says. “That was a fascinating rapprochement. They were so ready, and those guys made beautiful music together for years. And Charlie came in and knocked it out of the park.”
Season 2 of “Bookie” picks up right where Season 1 left off: Danny’s wife Sandra (Andrea Anders) has left him after he refused to give up his dangerous job as a sports bookie. Meanwhile, Ray’s beloved grandmother (Arnetia Walker) is about to get married — when her fiancé collapses at the ceremony. As the show picks up, Danny is speeding to Modesto to win back his wife, who has moved back in with her mother.
“We definitely left things hanging with Sebastian’s character, he’s got to get his wife back, because he’s realized that he’s a mess without her,” Bakay says. “Also with Omar’s character, his grandmother’s fiancé drops at the altar, but he is not actually dead. He’s just dead-ish. So both guys have immediate problems. That’s a good way to pick things up.”
Danny manages to win his wife back — with a caveat: His mother-in-law, played by Dale Dickey, must move in. “She’s hilarious,” Bakay says. “The best thing with Sebastian is for him to immediately regret his decisions, and she makes him regret it fast.”
Maniscalco says he enjoys playing Danny as his life spirals out of control. “We start to see the different scenarios that my character, Danny, gets involved with, starting with the mother in law, and I can’t believe what conflict this guy comes across in such a short amount of time,” he says. “It was really fun to explore these different avenues that Ray and Danny end up in, not only with their personal lives, but with their professional lives.”
After building up a successful standup career, Maniscalco says it’s been an interesting journey to build up his acting skills on “Bookie.” He credits Bakay and Lorre for laughing on set enough that “it validates what I’m doing is funny. Because as a comedian, I like the laughter. I like to hear what I’m doing is funny through the laughs. I’m getting used to playing off other actors. I’m learning a lot each day.”
Lorre says he was already a fan of Maniscalco as an actor (via films including “The Green Book” and “The Irishman”) when casting him in “Bookie.” “It was clear that the transition from standup to stepping in front of the camera, he had it. There was never any concern about that transition from the microphone to a set.”
“Bookie” also stars Vanessa Ferlito as Danny’s sister, while Jorge Garcia works as a bookie on Danny and Ray’s team. Upped to regular this season is Rob Corddry, while guest stars, besides the return of Sheen, include Ray Romano, David Paymer, Zach Braff and Brad Garrett.
None of their characters get off easy, either. “You can’t trust anyone,” Bakay says. “The only people these guys can actually trust are each other. I think Ray and Danny, whether they’re aware of it or not, they’re the only two guys in their lives they can really count on. Everything brings problems. Their partners, their families, their money. Success is the worst thing that ever happened to them.”