Nick Bakay (‘Bookie’ co-creator): Chuck Lorre ‘called me and just said, ‘Sebastian Manisalco,’ and I said ‘yeah!’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“We bring a fair amount of experience to the party,” declares comedian/producer and “Bookie” co-creator and showrunner Nick Bakay about what it takes these days for comedy writers on single-camera series to know when the jokes they’re writing are going to land. For our recent webchat about shooting a series without a built-in live studio audience, he adds, “I think we are battle trained from years of actually doing this with millions of table reads,” he explains, noting that “we do table reads of our show, which really helps. That’s the first battlefront, and then there’s just seeing it on its feet; that changes everything,” he says. “We’re fixing always. It’s one of the reasons Chuck and I are always on set, because we’re always rewriting, and we’re always thinking the better of things. So, we’re working until the very end.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

SEE Exclusive Video Interview: Sebastian Maniscalco (‘Bookie’)

In “Bookie,” comedian Sebastian Maniscalco stars as Danny, a veteran bookie navigating his fast-paced L.A. life with his many unstable clients, family and colleagues. Bakay co-created the eight-episode Max comedy with 10-time Emmy nominee Chuck Lorre (“Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory”), which co-stars Omar Dorsey, Andrea Anders, Vanessa Ferlito, Jorge Garcia and Maxim Swinton, with four-time Emmy nominee Charlie Sheen (“Two and a Half Men”) featuring as himself in the series’ pilot and first season finale.

“He called me and just said, ‘Sebastian Manisalco,’ and I said ‘yeah!'” Bakay recalls about getting a call from “King of Sitcoms” Lorre to co-create a new series with the revered stand-up comic in the lead role. “I would be in with Chuck, anyway. We’ve worked together for a long time, so that was enough. And then the prospect, because I was a big fan of Sebastian’s, that was like, an enthusiastic, quick and easy ‘yes!’” he reveals. The duo then mapped out what the show would be after a few attempts at finding the right tone for the show. “We floated the notion of ‘Bookie,’ it was like, that’s the right level. It’s funny because that job right now is very interesting one, because it’s been illegal in America forever until very recently, and it is still illegal in California. Here’s a guy who’s not unlike a cab driver watching Uber come into his life, or a nice little motel or hotel, seeing Airbnb. There’s a relatability beyond what is very specifically about this guy being a bookie. He’s also a guy working, trying to keep his business alive, trying to manage a family.”

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