Loaded Dice

No matter how they may feel about him, fans of stand-up comedy are likely familiar with Andrew Dice Clay.

And his new Showtime series, Dice, is designed to appeal to both those who love him and those who, well, loathe him — or at least, his stage persona.

"Everyone has a different relationship with Dice," says creator-executive producer Scot Armstrong, using his star's best-known moniker. "So we invented the idea that everybody on the show is pissed at him about something. That's the thing about Dice — since he hasn't gone through his life as the nicest guy in the world, he finds himself making amends for a lot of past transgressions."

The collaboration between Clay, who had never before starred in his own TV show, and Armstrong, who had never created one, came about after the writer of films like The Hangover Part II and Starsky & Hutch saw him in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

That led to a two-hour meeting. Armstrong, long a fan of the actor-comedian, came away convinced there was a winning show to be made from Clay's real-life experiences.

"There's something very This Is Spinal Tap about Dice, like he's a character that Will Ferrell might pretend to be," Armstrong says with a laugh. "But Dice isn't pretending. He's just a funny guy struggling to make a comeback."

Thus, in the semi-autobiographical scripted half hour, Dice the actor plays a version of himself. He suffers through one ignominious experience after another, like running from one Las Vegas casino to gamble at another before his credit is cut off after he refuses to pay a five-dollar ATM fee.

If it sounds like it's in the same vein as some other shows featuring comedians with unique perspectives, that's not an accident.

"His point of view is so different from everyone else's," Armstrong says, "That's why shows like Louie and Curb Your Enthusiasm work. I think that's what works with Dice: you can put him in almost any situation, and his reaction is guaranteed to be different."

Armstrong and Dice made believers out of Showtime executives; the full six-episode series was made available on demand and for streaming in April, the first time the network has done that.

"We're always looking for new ways to make our programming stand out," says president of programming Gary Levine. "We're confident that a Dice binge will appeal to both fans and skeptics alike."

As Armstrong considers what a second season might hold — he's already got some ideas mapped out — he's firmly on board with the network's decision.

"I think it's cool. It's the kind of show that'll make you want to watch the next one as soon as the first one's done."