Bookie's Sebastian Maniscalco & Omar Dorsey Talk Danny And Ray's Season 2 Troubles, Super Mario Bros. Movie 2

Danny and Ray are facing more than just troublemaking clients in Bookie season 2. The duo were first brought to life in the first season of Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay's Max comedy by acclaimed stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and character actor Omar Dorsey. Season 1 of the show ended with Maniscalco's Danny still reeling from his wife, Sandra, leaving him to spend time with her mother amid his bookkeeping business becoming deadly, while Ray moved him, his grandma and her soon-to-be husband back to an affluent mansion.

Bookie season 2 picks up right from the events of the season 1 finale, with Danny racing off to Northern California to try and win Sandra back, all while conflicting with his mother-in-law. Ray, meanwhile, stays with his grandma to watch over Frank after his cardiac arrest in the season 1 finale, though finds his stabilizing life becoming all the more chaotic with the return of a forgotten baby mother. Paired with the threat of offshore gambling taking over their business, Danny and Ray will have a lot to contend with going into the season.

Related Bookie Season 3: Will It Happen? Everything We Know Chuck Lorre's irreverent dark comedy series Bookie returned for its second season in late 2024, but will the gambling series score a season 3?

Alongside Maniscalco and Dorsey, the ensemble Bookie season 2 cast includes new and returning faces, including Vanessa Ferlito, Jorge Garcia, Andrea Anders, Maxim Swinton and Rob Corddry. With the season also featuring cameos from Charlie Sheen reprising the fictionalized version of himself seen in season 1, as well as Ray Romano as Artie, Scrubs' Zach Braff and Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett, the show maintains the same comedic highs of its debut season.

In anticipation of the show's return, ScreenRant interviewed Sebastian Maniscalco and Omar Dorsey to discuss Bookie season 2, how the new season will explore Danny's efforts to rekindle his relationship with Sandra, how Ray's returning baby mama will impact both his return to a comfortable life and relationship with Ferlito's Lorraine, as well as the chances of Maniscalco returning for The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2.

Danny & Sandra's Relationship Will Be A Big Point In Bookie Season 2

"...my personal life is kind of turned upside down."

ScreenRant: I'm really excited to chat about Bookie season 2. I watched the first couple episodes, not the whole thing yet, but I am already loving it, it's such a great follow-up to season 1. Sebastian, I'd love to turn to you first. With season 1, we obviously ended off with Danny coming to the realization that he didn't treat Sandra the best in their relationship and going off to find her. What can you tell me about how big that storyline is going to be in season 2 compared to how it was in season 1?

Sebastian Maniscalco: Yeah, so we definitely follow Danny through his relationship with Sandra. Sandra comes with some baggage this season in being with her mother. So, I now have to deal with a mother-in-law and my wife at the same time, and this stepkid. So, my personal life is kind of turned upside down. I have a police officer that moves next door to me, there's some death that happens in this season that's unexpected. So, yeah, we're going to Costa Rica to deal with some offshore, online gambling. There's a lot of theft, there's never a dull moment. Every time I get a script, I'm so excited to read it, because I'm like, "Where are these guys gonna go next?" So a lot of stuff is happening this season.

Ray's Returning Baby Mama Is Causing "All Kind Of Friction To Hell"

It Also Won't Go Well For Him & Lorraine

Omar, I'll turn to you next. Even though it was sort of a running joke in season 1, I love that Ray actually has a new baby mama show up and start causing proper trouble in his life right as he's starting to find some stability and getting him and his grandma back to Brentwood. What can you tell me about how that dynamic and that storyline evolves as the season progresses?

Omar Dorsey: Oh, she comes in and causes all kind of friction to hell. [Laughs] It trips out because he doesn't understand how she even knows where he lives. And now she's like, "Oh, this is a really nice house, and there's enough room for everybody." So, the tricky part about it is she is a beautiful woman living in the house. So, one thing might lead to another thing, and there might be another baby mama on the way. I don't know. [Laughs]

Chuck really loves throwing those at Ray. So with that said, how is that going to impact you and Lorraine? Can you talk about that at all?

Omar Dorsey: Have you seen the artwork for this season?

I have.

Omar Dorsey: Yeah, it's two women whooping on Ray's a--. It's funny watching it.

There Are A Few Reasons Why Bookie's Debt-Collection Scenes Feel So Real

"...it's not a lot of improv."

The next thing I'd love to ask about is the debt collecting scenes. You guys have such great banter, not only with each other, but with the actual debtors in those scenes. Obviously, Chuck and Nick are fantastic writers, but how much of those scenes are you guys improvising with each other versus going off of their writing?

Omar Dorsey: Their writing is so good, man. It's right there on the page, right? So, it's not a lot of improv. I might throw something in that a black dude might say, but it's not much, because it's right there. You're dealing with Chuck Lorre, right? He's the best comedy writer of our time, and I always look at it like Chuck is really Sebastian, and Nick is really me. I really think they have these conversations with each other on a recorder, and they just put it on the paper, because that's how they talk to each other for real. Just the way that Ray and Danny talk to each other. So, yeah, you don't have to do a lot of improv when you have scripts that good.

Sebastian Maniscalco: Yeah, I also think the reason why it comes off as being so natural is we go over it so much, running the lines, so it almost becomes second nature. I feel with acting, the minimal amount of experience I have with it, is similar to stand-up, because when I'm doing my stand-up, I'm not thinking about the lines. I'm in the moment, and I'm expressing myself, and then it's just ingrained in my head. And the more you have the lines ingrained in your head, I feel the more freedom you have to just react and say them like you would naturally say them, rather than the kind of fishing around for, "Oh, what's that line?" We've taken our rehearsals, prior to doing these scenes, pretty seriously. So, I'm sure Omar, every time he sees me, "Oh this guy, he's going to ask to run the lines again." Not that he doesn't want to, but at 51, my memory ain't the way it was when I was 25, where I could just look at a piece of paper for a couple of times. I gotta sit there with the material, and drive my wife nuts walking around the house and asking her, "Hey, read these lines. We got a big scene tomorrow." So, it's a lot of rehearsal, I think that's why it comes off as being so natural.

Maniscalco Doesn't Have "A Lot Of Confidence" He'll Be Back For Super Mario Bros. Movie 2

"This is the story of my career..."

I see I've got enough time for one more question, so Sebastian, I want to ask you really quickly. Foreman Spike in Super Mario, I did want to see more of that character. I know they're working on The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, have you heard anything about possibly coming back for that next one?

Sebastian Maniscalco: This is the story of my career, I'll give you an example of this. So, we went to Universal Studios, and they had a Super Mario store with all the merchandise. I was with my kids, I go, "Guys, come on. I'm going to show you daddy's character in a stuffed animal." No Spike, no nothing. It stopped at me. It was every other character, and then me. I have no animal, no stuffy, no nothing. So, the fact that I didn't have a stuffed animal is not giving me a lot of confidence that I'm coming back for the sequel. I haven't heard anything, so your guess is as good as mine. [Chuckles]

About Bookie Season 2

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From Emmy-nominated creator Chuck Lorre (“The Big Bang Theory”) and Nick Bakay, this darkly funny comedy follows veteran Los Angeles bookie Danny (Sebastian Maniscalco) as the potential legalization of sports gambling in California threatens to upend his business for good. Alongside best friend and former NFL player Ray (Omar J. Dorsey), side-hustling sister Lorraine (Vanessa Ferlito), and reluctantly reformed drug dealer Hector (Jorge Garcia), Danny must contend with his increasingly unstable clients as he tries to settle their debts – all while making plenty of risky bets of his own. Full of relatable mishaps, Bookie chronicles one man’s journey to adapt to an ever-changing world as he attempts to charm and con his way to the top.

Stay tuned for our other Bookie season 2 interview with Chuck Lorre & Nick Bakay!

New episodes of Bookie season 2 air Thursdays on Max.

Source: ScreenRant Plus