Bookie Season 2 Review

Bookie (2023-)

Season 2 - 8 episodes (2024-25)
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Created by: Nick Bakay, Chuck Lorre
Starring: Sebastian Maniscalco, Omar J. Dorsey, Jorge Garcia, Andrea Anders, Toby Huss, Rob Corddry, Bob Clendenin, Wayne Knight
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
Veteran bookie Danny struggles to survive the impending legalization of sports gambling, unstable clients, family, and co-workers.

Verdict
Danny just can't catch a break, and that's the basis for the humor and plot. The comedy relies on the ridiculous as a cop moves in next door, a banker takes him for a ride, his mother-in-law moves in, and a big bet goes the wrong way. The episodes are quick, but the whole season feels too short. We get the basis for a story arc, but no pay off. This really needs more episodes as the season feels incomplete. It's a fun show, and I want more. If this were episodic, it wouldn't matter, but this doesn't complete the story.
Watch It.

Review
I enjoyed the first season, going behind the scenes of sports gambling through a bookie trying to make ends meet. Maniscalco does a great job as Danny, fighting the rising prevalence of legalized gambling which squeezes his business. Due to his occupation Danny finds himself in a number of wild situations. I didn't like that the first season ended on cliffhanger. With the short episodes and story structure it was unnecessary. The second season feels ever shorter, again ending on a cliff hanger.

This seasons includes so much ridiculousness in so few episodes. In the first episode Danny decides to go back to his wife, after she left him at the end of the first season. Of course he's pulled over, but he gets leniency on the ticket. Then the officer asks him to open the trunk that's full of money. Danny manages to get out of that too, though he comically has to compromise his morals.

Omar Dorsey, Arnetia Walker, Sebastian Maniscalco play Ray, Grandma Marion, Danny

Danny's bodyguard and partner Ray's (Omar J. Dorsey) grandmother gets married, and that is a source of anxiety for Ray throughout the season, though Danny finds the ongoing situation comedic. The episodes are so quick, but this show uses guest stars to such great effect. In episode two, Charlie Sheen, playing himself, manages to get Danny and Ray out of a tricky situation.

An ongoing plot point is the money Danny and Ray invested with a banker. What they don't realize until the end of the season is the banker hustled them. That coincides with a big bet they take. It's a can't lose bet for them with a perpetual loser which of course ends up with Danny and Ray owing big and unable to cover it.

As they look for a way out of their situation, they discover that Walt Dinty (Rob Corddry) may be the root of their problem. Dinty also backed Danny's sister's drug operation which develops issues. Are all the hurdles this season caused by Dinty? It looks like a possibility, but we'll have to find out next season.

I like this show, but the episodes and season are so short. By the time this finds a groove, the season is over.