Chuck Lorre’s ‘Bookie’ Bids Farewell After Two Short Seasons
Well, folks, it looks like Chuck Lorre’s comedic venture, ‘Bookie,’ featuring comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, is hitting the bricks after just two seasons. Max has officially pulled the plug, citing a lack of momentum for a third season. The show debuted in November 2023, riding the wave of sports betting legalization in California, but sadly, it just didn’t keep viewers hooked enough for a renewal.
“We won’t be moving forward with a third season but are grateful to have worked with such a brilliant team,” a Max spokesperson told Deadline, sounding rather diplomatic about the whole affair. But let’s be real—when you’ve got a cast including Maniscalco, Omar Dorsey, and even the infamous Charlie Sheen making a cameo as, well, himself, it’s baffling how the series couldn’t land a stronger following.
The series was meant to offer a comedic peek behind the curtain into the wild world of Las Vegas-style sports gambling, particularly in bustling Los Angeles, with Maniscalco playing the beleaguered bookie Danny Colavito. It wasn’t all humor and hijinks; it aimed to reflect a modern dilemma: how a veteran players’ bookie survives in a market starting to legalize formerly underground gambling operations.
And let’s not ignore the allure of Sheen, who reunited with Lorre for ‘Bookie’ after their days of comedy gold on ‘Two and a Half Men.’ Bakay, a co-creator of the series, suggested in a previous interview that Sheen’s role in season two was a deliberate push for nostalgia. “I refer to his arrival this season as Deus Ex Sheen,” he said. Unfortunately, even star-power couldn’t work its magic this time around.
Though ‘Bookie’ wrapped up with a total of 16 episodes, its cancellation follows a trend of streaming networks trimming the fat. For context, recent cancellations like ‘Pentaverate’ on Netflix and ‘Mickey and the Roadster Racers’ on Disney+ have left fans wondering if mid-tier streaming shows are destined for an early grave. As we sadly wave goodbye to ‘Bookie,’ it’s clear that finding a new balance—between what audiences want and what networks think they should want—remains a tricky tightrope walk in today’s entertainment landscape.
Sources: Celebrity Storm Wire and Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter
