Having dominated the broadcast world with a string of successful TV shows, comedy titan Chuck Lorre is set to replicate this feat with the streaming world as his new comedy How To Be A Bookie has just received an 8-episode straight-to-series order at HBO Max, marking his first project with the Warner Bros Discovery-backed streamer. Bookie is set up as a single-camera series and will star comedian Sebastian Maniscalco (The Irishman) in the lead.
The series will follow the titular bookie, a veteran who “struggles to survive the impending legalization of sports gambling, increasingly unstable clients, family, co-workers, and a lifestyle that bounces him around every corner of Los Angeles, high and low.” Lorre will write alongside his frequent associate Nick Bakay with whom he has teamed for a number of successful projects including Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory spin-off, Young Sheldon, Bob Hearts Abishola, and Mom.
Bookie is part of Lorre’s overall mega-deal with Warner Bros that has churned out the Emmy-nominated comedies The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, the former of which is now the most-watched off-network series on HBO Max, stats that perhaps informed the streamer’s decision to pick up the upcoming series ahead of what would have been a fiercely contested bidding match for its rights. While Bookie will be Lorre’s first project with HBO Max, it won’t be his first on streaming. The veteran comedy writer is behind Netflix’s Emmy-nominated comedy The Kominsky Method and Disjointed, the former of which is also one of his many collaborations with Bakay.
“It’s an absolute dream to work with Sebastian Maniscalco — whom I’ve been a fan of for years. To have my first project at HBO Max with such an incredibly gifted comedian and alongside Nick Bakay is the trifecta. I can’t wait to get started,” Lorre said of his next big project. Maniscalco similarly expressed anticipation about Bookie saying; “It’s an incredible honor to be working with someone of Chuck’s pedigree and along with Nick Bakay. They’ve put together a truly remarkable script. And now to be in the family with Warner Bros. Television and HBO Max, who are putting out some of the most compelling stories on TV and streaming, I just couldn’t be more excited.”
Among his numerous roles, Maniscalco is best recognized for playing the organized crime figure Joe Gallo opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. He had a supporting role in the multiple Oscar-winning film, Green Book. He will reunite with De Niro for the upcoming semi-autobiographical comedy About My Father. His other upcoming films include Somewhere in Queens, as well as a Mario video game-inspired film where he will lend his voice to a character named Spike.
Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content Casey Bloys also issued a statement regarding the project saying; “It’s very exciting to have the next comedy series from Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. Television. We have been fans of Sebastian’s for several years and look forward to what these brilliant comedic voices put together for HBO Max.”
Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group has equally shared delightful remarks saying;
“I’m thrilled that How to Be a Bookie, from Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay, and starring Sebastian Maniscalco, one of the greatest stand-up comics working today, is moving forward at HBO Max. This smart, subversive, and hilarious series will be the next great comedy on HBO Max, continuing the successful partnership between Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions.”
In addition to co-writing the series, Lorre and Bakay will serve as executive producers alongside Maniscalco and Judi Marmel. How to be A Bookie is yet without a release date. As always, stay tuned at Collider for details as the series develops.
Check out the trailer for the final season of Lorre’s The Kominsky Method below:
youtube.com/watch?v=Aj8ua1zQPSs
