FX's 'Dave' Ends Season One on a High Note

Published on May 6, 2020

Dave is one of the year’s great additions to the television landscape. With only ten episodes, the FX series from rapper Lil Dicky and showrunner Jeff Schaffer has already managed to stand out from the packed crowd. The show, in typical FX comedy fashion, is offbeat — but it has so much more to offer beyond laughs. 

Who is Dave?

Dave (aka Lil Dicky) is a rapper. He believes he’s one of the best rappers around. Lil Dicky is on the rise, for sure, but not without the help of his girlfriend Ally (Taylor Misiak), best friend/manager Mike (Andrew Santino), and his hype man and new BFF, GaTa. It’s a hangout show with an array of entertaining characters, including Emma (Christine Ko) and Elz (Travis Bennett). Everyone on the show is watchable. It’s hard not to root for everyone, even when they’re conflicting. Set in Los Angeles, it’s a likable, flawed group of people trying to figure it all out. 

Season One is Strong

Dave is a confident comedy from the start. It knows exactly what it is. There’s no finding its footing or characters finding themselves. The characters and realities are completely believable from the start. The 10-episode season is such a tight and exceptional piece of storytelling. Season one feels packed and full and yet relaxed and measured. Every character and storyline gets their due. A complete story was told with the door left open for season two.

A Great Season Finale

Even if Dave never got a second season, which it will, season one would’ve been a fantastic standalone season. Thankfully it won’t be, but the season ends on such a needed high note. Lil Dicky appears on the popular talk show, The Breakfast Club, and proves himself. He raps and it’s fantastic, his best performance all season along. You mostly believe in the rapper from the start, but in the end, you no longer doubt him. Lil Dicky proves himself to his doubters and viewers, and it’s actually thrilling to watch. 

A Remarkable Opener 

The finale opened and closed with a bang, too. The first few minutes are an excellent music video, making us question the reality on-screen. After the video and song keep going on and on, we buy into the reality. Then we see the reality: Lil Dicky having to fight for his vision again. Which was the major throughline throughout the season: how people navigate in life or work with or without compromise. Everyone and every artist handles it differently. 

Lil Dicky very much has his own style in that regard. As arrogant and ignorant as he is at times, it’s why we root for Lil Dicky. He doesn’t want to make music, he wants to make his music. The character is both frustrating and inspiring. Dave is a lot of things, just like everyone else on the show. Ally, for example, is hardly the “supportive girlfriend,” and Mike is far more than the quippy friend. Nobody on Dave falls into a box. Everyone has time to grow and show their layers in Dave. Everyone is substantial, everyone matters. 

Dave could be one of the next truly great television shows. Season one is excellent, but hopefully, the series continues to grow as Dave does. Despite himself and his self-involvement sometimes in disguise as passion, we already love Dave. 

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Jack Giroux is a Staff Writer at Grit Daily. Based in Los Angeles, he is an entertainment journalist who's previously written for Thrillist, Slash Film, Film School Rejects, and The Film Stage.

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