The Fictionalized Non-Fiction Of ‘Bupkis’

For a long time comedians have been given their own shows where they essentially play themselves. Jerry Seinfeld famously did this with his hit 1990s sitcom Seinfeld. But as a “show about nothing,” it didn’t really portray plots that got into the weeds of the man’s life. It was all surface related. This is in contrast to what is arguably it’s most direct follow-up: Curb Your Enthusiasm. Larry David, a co-creator of Seinfeld, basically created a show for himself that was similar to Seinfeld except in Los Angeles instead of New York. It dealt with a fictionalized Larry David actually living his life in the entertainment industry, so it highlighted a side of the man’s private life that Seinfeld‘s structure would not allow for its fictional Jerry.

While a fiction, Curb gave the impression that it was a more accurate portrayal of David’s live, and it created a uniquely different version of sitcom. Pete Davidson is now taking that format to an extreme with his show Bupkis on Peacock. Like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Davidson portrays a version himself, but the series leans much more heavily into drama. It takes real moments from his life and real people and fictionalizes them to an unheard of degree that it blurs the line completely between fact and fiction.

Bupkis and Curb Your Enthusiasm are a bizarre kind of quasi-realism. They’re a combination of comedy, drama, and nonfiction that essentially created a new genre. In terms of Bupkis, Davidson is able to explore his own celebrity and the public’s perception of him by satirizing it. This is happening more and more as celebrities depict versions of themselves on shows, such as when Brad Pitt appeared on Dave. As more and more creators explore using their own lives as inspiration, it will be interesting to see where this type of story goes next.