It’s not a competition, but it looks like Pete Davidson is winning the breakup. The Kim Kardashian ex and SNL alum is starring on a Peacock series opposite Edie Falco of The Sopranos, and the series just completed its trio by adding Academy Award winner Joe Pesci.
Bupkis is a half-hour comedy loosely based on Davidson’s real life, and it was picked up to series by Peacock in April. Variety reports that Pesci will play Davidson’s grandfather, while Falco will play Davidson’s mother. Davidson is co-writing the series with his friend and collaborator Dave Sirus as well as Judah Miller. Davidson will pay an exaggerated fictional version of himself, a la Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I suppose we’ll have to watch in order to find out if Davidson will adapt his relationships with very famous women on the show as well.
“Pete Davidson is one of the most sought-after comedians today with his smart, one-of-a-kind humor and honest point of view,” Susan Rovner, the Chairman of Entertainment Content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming told Deadline when the series was picked up this spring. “Bupkis will showcase Pete’s funny, surprising and unfiltered brand of comedy audiences have come to love as we continue to bolster our Peacock comedy slate. We can’t wait to dive in with Lorne Michaels, Broadway Video and our partners at Universal Television.”
Bupkis is Pesci’s second regular television show in his career, following a role on the short-lived NBC sitcom Half-Nelson in 1985. Pesci was retired for several years and returned to cinema and the gangster-verse in Martin Scorsese’s 2019 film The Irishman. So, it turns out that the two guys who can get Pesci to act again are Scorsese and Davidson. What a time to be alive!