This is a great show. You should watch this show. It’s about a Jewish dude (Lil Dicky/Dave) who’s convinced he’s one of the top 5, maybe 10, rappers of all time and who’s trying to break into the game, but really it’s about friendship, risk, love, bravery, and being there for each other. It’s on FX and Hulu and if you don’t have Hulu you should subscribe to it as soon as you cancel cable. There’s no reason to have cable any more. There was already a paucity of reasons to have cable and one of the major ones was sports and now, there’s no sports. Sooooo get rid of it. And get Hulu. Honestly right now it’s winning.
Dave season 1 is 10 episodes long but the first five comprise, what I think of as, a mini season within a season. That package of episodes is fantastic. It’s perfect. I want to pinch it’s little episode cheeks. That’s not to say it’s cute, it’s not, and that you won’t be challenged emotionally, you will be. You will be wrecked by the end of the fifth episode. And that’s not to say the show isn’t hilarious. It is. It is all these things.
Episodes 6, 7 and 8 are the weakest of the series but the ending of episode 6 is actually the spiritual ending to episode 5 so it’s worth it, and episode 7, while slow, has one running joke that got me every time. Episode 8 you meet Bennie Blanco who I thought I would hate, but he’s actually cool. He’s like, a good person. Episodes 9 and 10 are back to back walk off home runs, but let’s talk about this man Gata. That’s his character name and his real name. He plays Dave’s friend and eventual hype man, but who is he? Where did he come from? Did he study at Juilliard? He has no photo on IMDb. Oh now I’m being told by the LA Times that his real name is Davionte Ganter, he’s Lil Dicky’s hype man in real life, and that he’s never acted before. Cool cool cool cool.
There’s a scene in episode 5 where he’s lying in a hospital bed and he breaks down crying and all of this pain and betrayal and confusion and anger just comes pouring out of him and you’re like OH MY GOD WHO IS THIS GENIUS?? It’s one of the most raw, unfiltered performances I’ve ever seen on television, and that’s not even mentioning the end of the episode which is when I broke down.
The rest of the cast is also excellent. Dave Burd is helplessly likable. Taylor Misiak, who plays Dave’s girlfriend Ally, is funny and the show’s other beating heart. Episode 9 is her episode, but she has excellent scenes throughout. Dave’s producer Elz, played by Travis Bennett, is low-key and honest. Andrew Santino as Mike, Dave’s room mate, is probably the coldest of the group, but by the end you, like Dave, will realize that you couldn’t do it without him. Gina Hecht and David Paymer play Dave’s parents and contrast the improvisational feel of the rest of the show with a more traditional acting style and both work well.
I was afraid and excited at the prospect that there would be a lot of rapping in this show, but there isn’t. They use it sparingly and it’s great when they do. It’s a show not a musical. So yeah, go watch this show. Aren’t you excited? You have a great new show to watch. And cancel cable. I’ll do it if you do it.
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