Two seasons in, and “Bookie” still feels like a surprising line on creator Chuck Lorre’s IMDb page. It’s precisely because the Max dramedy differs so drastically from the work he’s typically known for that the executive producer is so passionate about the sports betting comedy he co-created with Nick Bakay.

“For many years, I’ve wanted to do something that I’m not familiar with. I wanted to do something where I was uncomfortable and I did not have the skills necessary, but I could learn them or I could find people who knew them and rely on them to make these things work,” Lorre told TheWrap. “‘Bookie’, from day one, was a stretch for me, but it was something I sought out. I didn’t want to keep doing something that I was comfortable with. I wanted to do something that frightened me.”

Sebastian Maniscalco’s...