Dave

The Season 1 finale of Dave aired on Wednesday and I’m honestly blown away. The FX show portrays Dave Burd as he begins his fledgling music career as lil Dickey, an actual rapper, who’s driven by a heartfelt belief that he is one of the best rappers alive. In a genre dominated by black males and characterized by violent machismo, lil Dickey’s music cleverly subverts rap’s tropes and refashions them for his own unique vision.

Now, I dont have access to the internet so I can’t fact check these things, but in the show his first single is titled “My Dick Sucks”. Ostensibly, that’s a funny inversion of the boasts we’re accustomed to hearing in rap, but also comes from a very personal place. Apparently, Dave had some congenital defect on his penis requiring surgery, which didn’t fix it, so he needed another one, and that still wasn’t totally successful, and now he has two pee holes and weird marks all over his dick. The episode conveys the concomitant anxiety and self-consciousness around girls that obviously result from having such a personal defect, while maintaining a level of levity about. These bits of personal revelation, which are regularly dropped, help to bridge the gap between Dave Burd and lil Dickey.

Hilarious, heartfelt, and true to life, the central storyline follows Dave as he navigates an industry, which views him with either derision or suspicion. Neither a documentary, nor even a mockumentary, this is an autobiographical sitcom that culls plots from Dave’s real life, with many characters acted out by their real life counterparts (his hype man Gata, for instance). Some of the best episodes portray Dave confronting his personal insecurities or lil Dickey overcoming his “sensitive artist” tendencies (something I can relate to all too well). In one episode, Dave keeps reverting to a pathetic people pleaser whenever his childhood summer camp friends come around, much to the chagrin of his producer, who was also childhood friend. He heatedly points out to Dave how Dave demeans himself for their amusement. After getting this reality check, Dave, who inaccuractely thought of himself as the funny one of the group, is forced to grapple with the truth and reinterpret the past so he can change his behavior in the present. Thankfully, we’re not beholden to our 15 year old selves to remain the same person forever.

Anyways, I could keep going on and on about this show but you should just go watch it. “Dave” is the best show I’ve watched this year.