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How Pete Davidson Convinced Joe Pesci to Join His New Peacock Series Bupkis

Goodfellas star Joe Pesci is joining Pete Davidson in the new Peacock series Bupkis. Find out how superfan Davidson convinced the Oscar winner to play his grandfather.

By Paige Strout Aug 25, 2022 10:57 PMTags
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Pete Davidson's TV family just got a legendary addition.

Oscar winner Joe Pesci has officially joined the cast of the upcoming Peacock series Bupkis, marking the actor's first-ever television project. Pesci will play Davidson's grandfather on the show—which is loosely-based off Davidson's life—alongside Edie Falco as his mother.

As for how the Saturday Night Live alum got Pesci to sign on to the show? It certainly took some convincing (and a lot of plane rides).

A source exclusively told E! News that Davidson is "so excited" to have the actor sign on to the series, adding, "Pete has been a lifelong fan of Joe Pesci's and even traveled out to LA several times to meet him about the role." The 28-year-old even "went to dinner with Lorne Michaels, Edie Falco and Joe Pesci last week."

Sounds like all that schmoozing worked!

This news comes months after Falco's casting was announced at the NBCUniversal Upfront presentation on May 16.

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"Finally, I get to play an overwhelmed mother of two living in a world of corruption," she joked at the time. "Except this time, it's Staten Island."

Will Heath/NBC; Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock

Starring, written and executive produced by Davidson, the series will "combine grounded storytelling with absurd elements from the unfiltered and completely original worldview for which Pete is well known," according to the streamer.

Showrunner Judah Miller will write and executive produce with Dave Sirus alongside Michaels, Andrew Singer, Erin David and director Jason Orley also executive producing. The series comes from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Broadway Video.

(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Peacock is live now! Check out NBCU's streaming service here.