HBO Max Ordered New “How to be a Bookie” Series by Chuck Lorre

The new show has all the right ingredients to be successful, and the fact that the two famous writers have already worked together bodes well for the show’s future. Bakay’s personal sports interest might also help with bringing some authenticity to the show, but time will tell.

Struggling Veteran Bookie

WarnerMedia, which owns HBO Max, issues a press release on its website about an upcoming series titled How to be a bookie. According to the release, “HBO Max has given a series order” for the new comedy series, from Emmy nominees Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay, and Warner Bros. Chuck Lorre is a well-known name in sitcoms, bringing us classics such as Dharma and Greg, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Young Sheldon, and many more. Bakay and Lorre were working together during some Young Sheldon episodes as well as The Kominsky Method, so the pair are already familiar with each other professionally, which is always a great foundation.

Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO at HBO and HBO Max Content commented that “It’s very exciting” to have Warner Bros. Television partnering with Chuck Lorre in this upcoming series, which also is set to be starring Sebastian Maniscalco, who was ordered for eight episodes. Mr. Bloys mentioned that they “have been fans of Sebastian’s” and that they are looking forward to bringing this show to life.

This is also Lorre’s first HBO Max show, and apparently, it’s been an “absolute dream to work with Sebastian Maniscalco”. Lorre followed this by commenting that having himself, Maniscalco, and Bakay on his first HBO Max project is the comedic “trifecta”.

According to the release, Lorre and Bakay will be co-writing, while also being executive producers alongside Sebastian Maniscalco and Judi Marmel. How to be a Bookie will be following a veteran bookie, played most likely by Maniscalco, who is struggling to survive with sports gambling legalization and “increasingly unstable clients, family, and co-workers”.

Background for Lorre, Maniscalco, Bakay

While Lorre has been a very big name in the sitcom industry while off camera, Maniscalco is both a terrific actor and a well-known stand-up comedian. He’s starred in films such as Green Book and The Irishman, so he definitely brings more than enough depth for any comedic role he plays. However, Maniscalco still paid his respect to Lorre and Bakay, saying that “it’s an incredible honor” to be working with them. He also praised Warner Bros. Television and HBO Max for “putting out some of the most compelling stories” both on streaming and TV. Even though this is Lorre’s first show for HBO Max, it’s not his first streaming show overall. That would be the Golden Globe winner for Best Comedy Series in 2019 – The Kominsky Method.

However, this new series might be uniquely close to home for Bakay on a personal level, as he’s largely considered to be a life-long sports fan, writing an NFL column titled Nick Bakay’s Manly House of Football, and even has quite a few appearances on ESPN’s SportsCenter behind his back. The NFL is boosting sports betting handles during its active season quite a bit, making it very profitable for both the industry and the thirty-three states that have sports betting legalized. New York – his home state – had in-situ sports betting legalized all the way back in 2013, but online sports betting was introduced just at the beginning of this year.