Hit FXX comedy Dave and the man who inspired it, rapper Dave Burd A.K.A. Lil Dicky, are back for another round, kicking off the season two premiere at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on Thursday. The show, which last year debuted as the network’s most-watched comedy series ever, will this year follow the aspiring musician as he struggles to make an album after his first taste of fame.
“What we really wanted to explore in this season was pressure and success, and how a little bit of success breeds a lot of pressure,” co-creator Jeff Schaffer told THR on the socially distanced red carpet. “This moment where Dave is feeling the utmost pressure he’s ever felt in his life because he’s expected to create a full album, and all of his people aren’t just there for him,” as his friends begin to find their own paths in the industry.
Related Stories
The second season will also feature a star-studded list of guest stars, ranging from Lil Nas X and Doja Cat to Kevin Hart to Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber. The one appearance that had the cast most excited, though, was Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“Him even being like ‘Dave, where’s the bathroom?,’ just saying the name ‘Dave’ to me every time I was like physically affected and moved and touched and I was just so in love with him, he was the sweetest man,” recalled Burd of shooting with the NBA hall of famer. “At the end he actually gave me gifts, like signed a basketball and gave me a championship ring type of thing.”
And the boundary-pushing show continues to go there in its return, promising more Burd nudity along the way. As for keeping things from going to far on screen, Schaffer said, “I always say I know exactly where the line is because I can look behind and see it. Nothing’s off limits as long as you do it in the right way, but luckily we had a lot of really smart writers in the writers room and really deep discussions about how to do things and how to really explore the other perverse organ of Dave Burd, which is his mind and what’s going on in there.” He adds that this season will also tackle unexpected hot button issues that may surprise audiences.
The premiere event was held outside the Greek Theatre, with guests tested, masked, and assigned individual seating pods for the screening. Special guests included Diplo, Benny Blanco and Master of None co-creator Alan Yang, while co-stars Taylor Misiak, Gata, Andrew Santino and EPs Scooter Braun and Saladin Patterson were also in attendance.
Before showing the new episodes, Burd took the stage to delay, insisting that the sky was not yet dark enough to start the screening. He thanked Schaffer “for taking honestly a child with a dream and Bill Belichick-ing him into Tom Brady” and revealed that the season’s first episodes, set to air on Wednesday, still aren’t finished, joking, “it’s totally irresponsible to be having this event in my opinion. Anyone who has work to do with me tomorrow, take it easy tonight.”
With the sky at an acceptable darkness, he added as he jumped off stage, “I might have an afterparty, text me.”
Dave hits FXX on June 16 and FX on Hulu the following day.
