Dave (TV series)

Dave (stylized as DAVE) is an American television sitcom that premiered on FXX on March 4, 2020. It was co-created by rapper/comedian Dave Burd (known by his stage name "Lil Dicky"), who plays the titular character, and Jeff Schaffer. Kevin Hart and Greg Mottola form part of the production team. Lil Dicky's real-life hype man, GaTa, co-stars as himself. On May 11, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on June 16, 2021. On February 17, 2022, FXX renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on April 5, 2023. On February 1, 2024, FX announced that there were no current plans to renew the series while Burd pursues other projects.

Premise
The series stars a fictionalized version of Lil Dicky, a suburban neurotic man in his late twenties who has convinced himself that he's destined to be one of the best rappers of all time.

Main

 * Dave Burd as David "Dave" Burd / "Lil Dicky", an aspiring rapper from suburban Philadelphia.
 * Taylor Misiak as Ally Wernick, a kindergarten-turned-high school teacher, Dave's girlfriend/ex-girlfriend.
 * GaTa as Davionte "GaTa" Ganter, Dave's on-stage hype man and a rapper, who lives with bipolar disorder.
 * Andrew Santino as Mike, Dave's roommate and later manager.
 * Travis "Taco" Bennett as Elliot "Elz", Dave's childhood friend, a sound engineer, producer, and DJ.
 * Christine Ko as Emma Wu, Ally's roommate and friend, as well as Dave's graphic designer and former coworker.

Recurring

 * Gina Hecht as Carol Burd, Dave's mom.
 * David Paymer as Don Burd, Dave's dad.
 * Carlease Burke as Catherine Ganter, GaTa's aunt and adoptive mother.
 * Benny Blanco as himself, Dave's friend and producer.
 * T.K. Carter as Cliff (season 3), Dave's driver on his "Looking for Love" tour.
 * Chloe Bennet as Robyn (season 3), a photographer and Dave's love interest who he meets in Wisconsin.
 * Inga Cadranel as Ava (season 3), Dave's new publicist and later Mike's girlfriend.
 * Rachel McAdams as herself (season 3), a popular "movie star" whom Dave befriends.

Guest appearances
Dave features many celebrity cameos and guest appearances.

Season 1

 * YG
 * Macklemore
 * Trippie Redd
 * Young Thug
 * Gunna
 * MadeinTYO
 * O.T. Genasis
 * Charlamagne tha God
 * Tierra Whack
 * Angela Yee
 * Ninja
 * Justin Bieber
 * Kourtney Kardashian
 * Marshmello

Season 2

 * CL
 * Hailey Bieber
 * Kendall Jenner
 * Kyle Kuzma
 * Zack Bia
 * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
 * Doja Cat
 * Rae Sremmurd
 * J Balvin
 * Zach King
 * Lil Yachty
 * Desiigner
 * Dave East
 * Denzel Curry
 * DJ Drama
 * Kevin Hart
 * Lil Nas X

Season 3

 * Usher
 * Rick Ross
 * Demi Lovato
 * Don Cheadle
 * Machine Gun Kelly
 * Megan Fox
 * Killer Mike
 * Travis Barker
 * Jack Harlow
 * Lil Gotit
 * Emma Chamberlain
 * David Dobrik
 * Finneas O'Connell
 * Brad Pitt as Luke Bradley "Brad" Pitt
 * Drake

Music
In June 2023, Burd stated that a soundtrack album for Dave would be released "by the end of this summer", featuring music from the three seasons of the series. He was working with Benny Blanco on the album and anticipated it would have up to 20 songs, noting that the series featured "bits and pieces of songs" that he had created full versions of that were unreleased and thus needed to be mixed and mastered. In December 2023, Penith (The Dave Soundtrack) was announced, for release on January 19, 2024. "Mr. McAdams" was released as the album's first single on December 15, 2023.

Note
 * $undefined$ signifies an additional producer.

Critical response
On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 64 out of 100 based on 10 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 77% with an average score of 6.7 out of 10 based on 22 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "DAVE can be just as off-putting as Lil Dicky's rap persona with its abundance of genitalia jokes and self-aggrandizement, but beneath the raunchy veneer is a surprisingly self-aware show with a sweet core."

After mixed reviews for the first few episodes that were previewed by media outlets, the second half of the season was positively received by The Guardian, IndieWire, Financial Times, and Rolling Stone. Reviewers noted the expansion of the series' sources of humor, its dedication to character development, and improved emotional depth. At the end of its first season, Dave averaged 5.32 million viewers per episode, making it the most popular comedy in FX's history. While most of the characters and actors have been praised, the "Lil Dicky" character in the show has been negatively received. Many reviewers have noted that while the character's success is the center of the show, his poor treatment of his friends makes him difficult to root for. Additionally, the first season has been criticized for exploring and idealizing fame over art. Daniel D'Addario of Variety unfavorably compared the show to Atlanta, another entry from FX. D'Addario states "When Donald Glover made an FX show about characters trying to break into the music industry, it was 'Atlanta,' among the most expansive, richly imaginative shows of the century so far. When Lil Dicky does it, it's a show whose breaks from flatly telling us about his character's private parts tend to follow a linear trajectory: Lil Dicky, a ditherer with more zeal for fame than true creative ambition, ends up trying something, it goes viral, everyone loves it."

On Metacritic, the second season has a score of 84 out of 100 based on 11 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season received an approval rating of 91% with an average score of 8.3 out of 10 based on 11 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "Dave still has a lot of growing up to do, but DAVE has matured into a darkly hilarious and disarmingly wise comedy about the alienating price of fame." GaTa's performance as himself has been singled as a standout from the first two seasons.