In 2020, FXX's Dave debuted as a major hit for the network. The comedic television series is a somewhat autobiographical story from rapper/comedian Lil Dicky that focuses on a fictionalized version of himself as an aspiring hip-hop artist. Ahead of the show's Season 2 premiere on June 16, the cast and crew of Dave held a press conference at Fox Studios with Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Writer Dave Burd, Co-Creator/Executive Producer Jeff Schaffer and Executive Producer Saladin K. Patterson. The creative team delved into what made Dave's first season such a success and teased what's to come in Season 2.
Reflecting on Dave's ability to mesh music, comedy and pathos all into one series, Burd stated, "I don't think I actively sit around and think I really want to embrace the darker elements of life... I think everything is better when it's real and it's more specific and it's authentic. So, I don't think I make an effort to balance emotion with comedies. I just kind of, like, try to have a perspective of what life is like."
Burd continued, "If you were around me all day, I would try to make you laugh the entire time, but also, I'm sure we would have some genuine, real conversations too. So, I just think the better version of any content, but especially this show is one that is more all-encompassing because if characters weren't fleshed out real people who had significant thoughts and worries and fears, it would just be a bunch of silliness, and you wouldn't really care about the outcome."
At the end of Season 1, Lil Dicky is at a crossroads in his life. Although he's becoming increasingly famous as a rapper, he also broke things off with his girlfriend Ally and is trying to figure out how to stay ahead of his own problems -- often causing tension with his artistic ambitions, while his immature personality causes conflict with even his oldest friends. Schaffer shared that these tensions quickly come to the forefront of Season 2.
"Season 1, Dave put a lot of pressure on himself, and he sort of had to because no one else believed in him at all," Schaffer said. "So, he was the only one who was thinking, 'I can do this. I can do this. I've got to do this.' Now, in Season 2, there's external pressure as well. You've got a label going 'all right, big boy, where's the album?'"
The co-creator and showrunner continued, "I think what you are seeing in Season 2 is we wanted to ramp up the pressure on Dave, but we also wanted to explore what this little bit of success did to everybody here because, in Season 2, a lot of the safety net is falling away. Elz is getting his own success. What does that do to Dave? GaTa wants to record his own stuff. What does that do to Dave? Ally is not there as his support vehicle all the time now. He's sort of single. What does that do to Dave? So, what we really want to do in Season 2 is right when all of this pressure is mounting on him, at the same time, he's losing a lot of his support. And by the way, his manager is thinking about seeing other clients, taking on other clients. So, we tried to cut away his support a little bit. At the same time, we mounted the pressure."
One of the most progressive elements of the FXX series is how its diverse writing staff brings its characters to life while reflecting the broader views and personal histories of their characters. That writing approach was a standout element of the show for Patterson, especially in regards to the new season. Patterson shared, "Dave made it the top priority to make sure the writers' room really represented you know, it sounds cliche to say it but represented the world that we live in because it's so important to these stories there's truth and starting with truth to gain the trust in the audience to then allow the audience to go on these wild rides."
"So, I wish you could see a picture of our writing staff," Patterson added. "As diverse as this group is right here, our writing staff was probably even more diverse. So, when those conversations would come up that the stories are based on, we had people who, as you said, could chime in but really chime in from their own personal experiences. And I give Dave and Jeff and everyone a lot of credit for making sure that all of our stories were informed by people's real-life, personal experiences so we could start with the truth and then, from there, build upon it. But as long as we had that touched on the truth to start with, we didn't have to worry so much about crossing the line because we could always fall back on what really happened."
After Dave premiered in 2020, it quickly became the most-watched show in the network's history. Heading into Season 2, Burd doesn't want any pressure to distract from the heart of the series. When asked about his response to the show's major success, Burd said, "I think, 'Let's go.' That's honestly what I think, and no, I don't know. I have high hopes, and I would be disappointed if it was anything other than that, honestly. So, I don't view it as, like, 'Oh, no. There are lofty expectations now.' I view it as, like, 'Great. This is like, we are on track, and let's keep dominating.'"
Created and co-written by David Burd, Dave stars Burd, Taylor Misiak, GaTA, Andrew Santino, Travis Bennett and Christine Ko. The FXX series returns for Season 2 on Jun. 16 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
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