Why FX Canceled Dave After 3 Seasons
Lil Dicky is truly an artist for the internet age. The rapper made a name for himself with hilariously clever videos for songs like "$ave Dat Money," not to mention his incredible freestyle performances. The rapper, whose real name is Dave Burd, also proved himself as a pretty great storyteller in his FXX comedy series, aptly titled "Dave." Premiering in 2020, the show presented a fictionalized version of the artist known as Lil Dicky, loosely inspired by his real life. It was an instant critical and fan favorite.
Unfortunately, the series met a somewhat unceremonious demise as the cross country tour that was "Dave" season 3 proved to be the show's last — at least for now. In February 2024, FX confirmed that a fourth season wasn't in the cards. This announcement came a full nine months after the show's season 3 finale. As for why? In a statement at the time (via The Hollywood Reporter), an FX spokesperson said the following:
"After some back and forth, there are no current plans for a fourth season of 'Dave' right now, as Dave Burd has decided to take an extended break to focus on music and other ventures. That does not rule out the possibility of doing something in the future. We love the show and sincerely appreciate the creative excellence Dave, Jeff Schaffer, the cast and crew delivered with every episode. We are excited that our partnership with Dave will continue as he develops future projects for us through his overall production deal with FXP."
Rather crucially, the brass at FX aren't ruling out something in the future. The show hasn't been canceled in the traditional sense. "Justified" ended after six seasons in 2015 only to be revived eight years later in the form of "Justified: City Primeval," so who knows what the future holds. For now, though, Burd has moved on to other ventures.
Lil Dicky had other things he wanted to do besides Dave
Seemingly, Burd's desire to do more with his music, and other creative endeavors, is the sole reason that "Dave" season 4 isn't happening. This was all but confirmed by Burd personally, who made the following statement when it was announced that the show wouldn't be returning for a fourth season:
"Making 'Dave' has been and continues to be a dream come true. But there are other creative ventures that I am dying to pursue as well. For the past five years, I've poured every fiber of my being into the show, and after three amazing seasons, this feels like a good time to press pause to give myself the bandwidth to do some of the other things I have always wanted to do. I am beyond excited about what I have planned for the future and am enormously appreciative of FX for their continued partnership."
"Dave" season 3 tackled the notion of fame and what that does to a person. Undoubtedly, were time not an issue, Burd and FX could have cooked up plenty of ideas for at least one more season of the show. Creatively speaking, the series certainly didn't hit any sort of slump in season 3. But Lil Dicky has a big following. Making a new album and touring that album, for example, takes a lot of time. That doesn't leave a lot of room to make a season of television too, particularly when the artist in question is the main star, an executive producer, and writer of the show.
It's not unlike how "Saturday Night Live" guest host extraordinaire Justin Timberlake has to balance his music career with acting. He still makes music, but he also makes time to star in movies like "Trolls" and "Reptile." It's a champagne problem, to be certain, but time is a finite resource. Hopefully, after Burd tackles some of these other ventures, the door for a return to "Dave" — or perhaps something else entirely — will open up once again.
"Dave" is streaming now on Hulu. You can also buy the soundtrack to the series via Amazon.