DAVE

The core narrative regularly focuses on identity politics, exploring the ethics of white artists profiting from black culture. It also deals heavily with mental health awareness through GaTa's bipolar disorder, and weaves explicit queer/homoerotic themes into Dave's friendship dynamics, such as his intimate boundaries with Benny Blanco.

The series heavily deconstructs traditional male entitlement and "toxic masculinity" by portraying Dave as an incredibly self-absorbed, neurotic, and emotionally stunted man-child. It also challenges traditional boundaries of male friendship by pushing into highly graphic homoerotic vulnerability and mocking standard social norms.

The show received complaints from traditional viewers who objected to the pushy discussions of white privilege and cultural guilt. Additional backlash focused on the highly graphic, bizarrely intimate homoerotic scenes between straight characters in Season 2, which some audiences found unnecessary and off-putting.

While main creators Jeff Schaffer and Lil Dicky have low-to-moderate woke scores, they staffed their creative team with prominent progressive activists, including writers April Shih and Saladin K. Patterson, and directors Alma Har'el and Ben Sinclair.