It is not much of a surprise anymore for a young comedian to hit it big with a “slacker-stoner” reputation. However, Pete Davidson has still managed to exceed expectations in other ways — including in his personal life — since he broke out on Saturday Night Live, the long-running sketch show which he said farewell to at the end of Season 47. Born and raised on Staten Island, Davidson is now one of the biggest names in comedy.
The actor has also shown his deeper side with more serious acting roles, broke into the horror genre with 2022’s A24-produced thriller Bodies Bodies Bodies, and made his comic book movie debut as Blackguard in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. There is plenty to watch for fans (and fans-to-be) to keep themselves entertained as they wait for his next big projects. The following are some of the most essential Pete Davidson movies and TV shows that are available to stream or digitally rent, starting with his ultimate claim-to-fame.
Saturday Night Live (2014-2022)
Live from New York, executive producer Lorne Michaels’ variety series remains the quintessential example of TV sketch comedies after so many decades on the air for its clever use of satire, strange (and strangely lovable) recurring characters, and memorable celebrity guest hosts.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Davidson became the first Saturday Night Live cast member to be born in the 1990s when the then 21-year-old joined in 2014 and went on to become a performer to look forward to week after week, sometimes just to see what he will shock the Studio 8H audience with this time, for the next eight years, despite showing up less and less near the end of his tenure.
Stream Saturday Night Live on Peacock Premium.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (2023)
Two young Brooklynites (Anthony Ramos and Dominique FIshback) become wrapped up in a conflict between warring alien robots in the mid-1990s.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Davidson lent his voice to the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts cast in the scene-stealing role of an Autobot named Mirage.
Stream Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Paramount+.
Rent/buy Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Amazon.
Buy Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Blu-ray Amazon.
Bupkis (2023-Present)
A young comedian from Staten Island (Davidson) struggles to cope with his eccentric family, his increasing fame, and his own insecurities.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Davidson leads the stacked, star-studded Bupkis cast (alongside legends like Edie Falco as his mother and Joe Pesci as his grandfather) in this surreal, satirical Peacock original exaggeration of the creator and star’s own real life.
Stream Bupkis on Peacock.
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery
Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) is partnered with Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph to investigate the murder of Santa Claus.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Davidson is brought in at the last minute as back-up to help solve the case in Who Killed Santa? A Muderville Murder Mystery — a holiday special spun-off from Netflix’s star-studded improv comedy series.
Stream Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery on Netflix.
The Rookie (2020-2022)
A dangerous, life-changing incident inspires middle-aged John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) to pursue his dream of joining the LAPD.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Before participating in an improvised satire of crime procedurals, Davidson appeared on The Rookie alongside his The Suicide Squad co-star, Fillion, in one episode of Season 2 and two from Season 4 as John’s half-brother, who is also named Pete.
Stream The Rookie on Hulu.
Buy The Rookie on Amazon.
Buy The Rookie on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Good Mourning (2022)
A young actor (Colson “Machine Gun Kelly” Baker) begins to suffer a crisis when he receives a foreboding text message from his girlfriend on the same day he vies for a life-changing movie role.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: In his most recent collaboration with Baker (who also co-writes and co-directs Good Mourning with Mod Sun), Davidson plays Berry — an under-appreciated valet for the main character’s building in this star-studded stoner comedy.
Stream Good Mourning on Showtime.
Rent/buy Good Mourning on Amazon.
The Freak Brothers (2020)
After smoking an enchanted strain of marijuana in 1970, a close-knit trio (Woody Harrelson, John Goodman, and Pete Davidson) wake up to find that 50 years have passed.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: One of Davidson’s first major TV shows outside of SNL was the star-studded, animated stoner comedy The Freak Brothers, which is also one of the first series made exclusively for free streaming service, Tubi, and entered its second season on June 25, 2023 — according to Animation Magazine.
Stream The Freak Brothers on Tubi.
The Suicide Squad (2021)
Task Force X — featuring both returning members like Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and new recruits, such as Bloodsport (Idris Elba) or Peacemaker (John Cena) — is assigned a new mission that proves to be bigger, bloodier, and more bizarre than anything they have taken on before.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: For his first taste of superhero movie stardom, Davidson made a brief, but memorable and perfectly cast appearance, as a bumbling criminal named Blackguard in the DC Extended Universe’s new The Suicide Squad cast for writer and director James Gunn’s bigger, bloodier, and more bizarre supervillain crossover adventure.
Stream The Suicide Squad on Max.
Rent/buy The Suicide Squad on Amazon.
Buy The Suicide Squad on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
A chill get-together among friends begins to take a morbid turn when a seemingly harmless party game suddenly becomes way too real.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: For his horror movie debut, Davidson steals the show from in one of the best horror movies of 2022, Bodies Bodies Bodies — director Halina Reijn’s clever, satirical slasher with a wicked ending.
Stream Bodies Bodies Bodies on Showtime.
Stream Bodies Bodies Bodies on FuboTV.
Rent/buy Bodies Bodies Bodies on Amazon.
Buy Bodies Bodies Bodies on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Meet Cute (2022)
After discovering a tanning bed that doubles as a time machine, a woman (Kaley Cuoco) uses its to relive her first date with her boyfriend (Pete Davidson) over and over again before realizing she could also use it to change a few things about him.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Out of the handful of romantic comedies Davidson has starred in so far, the time travel flick Meet Cute — which is exclusively available to stream with a Peacock subscription — is easily one of the more unique of the bunch.
Stream Meet Cute on Peacock Premium.
Marmaduke (2022)
A family — fed-up with their otherwise lovable great dane’s unpredictable behavior — find a potential solution in a snooty, famous dog trainer who believes that he can make the rambunctious canine into a winner at an upcoming dog show.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: For his first lead role in a family movie, Davidson lends his voice to the titular, iconic Great Dane in Marmaduke — Netflix’s animated adaptation of the long-running comic strip that actually did well on the platform’s trending page the week it premiered.
Stream Marmaduke on Netflix.
Pete Davidson: Alive From New York (2020)
The comedian riffs on his brief engagement to Ariana Grande, the time when a pre-scandal Louis C.K. tried to get him fired from the Saturday Night Live cast, and other amusing personal anecdotes while performing his act in his own home state.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: In Alive from New York, his first Netflix stand-up special, Davidson finds plenty of ways to shock his audience almost purely by talking about himself, including his life following the tragic loss of his firefighter father on September 11, 2001.
Stream Pete Davidson: Alive From New York on Netflix.
Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends
Davidson hosts a showcase of stand-up comedians, each of whom he has a close, personal connection to.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Filmed at the Netflix is a Joke Festival in Los Angeles, The Best Friends is the kind of stand-up special that feels a bit like a bunch of buddies just getting together to tell jokes (one person at a time) and also happens to end with a performance by Machine Gun Kelly.
Stream Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends on Netflix.
Goddamn Comedy Jam (2016)
A group of comedians take turns recalling their personal experiences with certain songs before performing them live.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Davidson has “the time of [his] life” performing “Gangsta’s Paradise” — the iconic song from the movie, Dangerous Minds — with its original artist and his favorite rapper, the late Coolio, in the show-stopping special, Goddamn Comedy Jam.
Stream Goddamn Comedy Jam on Paramount+.
The King Of Staten Island (2020)
Years after the loss of his father on September 11, 2001, a young New York slacker (Pete Davidson) struggles to come to terms with adulthood when his mother (Marisa Tomei) starts dating a new firefighter (fellow comedian Bill Burr).
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Director Judd Apatow co-wrote The King of Staten Island with star Davidson, whose own life served as the inspiration for this funny and heartily honest meditation on maturity.
Stream The King of Staten Island on Peacock.
Rent/buy The King of Staten Island on Amazon.
Buy The King of Staten Island on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Big Time Adolescence (2020)
A naive teenager (Locke & Key’s Griffin Gluck) struggles to come to terms with his approaching adulthood when he is taken under the wing of his older sister’s ex-boyfriend — a 23-year-old college dropout (Davidson).
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: In addition to once again playing an immature slacker in a movie released in 2020, Davidson also served as a producer on Big Time Adolescence — an endearing, Hulu exclusive coming-of-age story from first-time director Jason Orley which earned a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the Sundance Film Festival.
Stream Big Time Adolescence on Hulu.
The Dirt (2019)
Four young musicians from Hollywood embark on a most gratuitous journey of sex, drugs, and rock ’n roll as they become one of the most popular and notorious hair metal bands of the 1980s.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Before acting alongside Machine Gun Kelly in Big Time Adolescence and Good Mourning, Davidson played his onscreen band manager, Tom Zutaut, in The Dirt — director Jeff Tremaine’s Netflix exclusive adaptation of Mötley Crüe’s best-selling 2001 autobiography.
Stream The Dirt on Netflix.
Set It Up (2018)
A young man (future Top Gun: Maverick cast member Glen Powell) and woman (Zoey Deutch) who both feel overworked by the big time corporate executives they assist in New York (Taye Diggs and Lucy Liu) realize the answer to their prayers may lie in teaming up to play matchmaker for the both of them.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: In his first Netflix original production, Davidson plays the very non-stereotypically gay roommate of the male lead in Set It Up — a fun, classically done romantic-comedy from Emmy-winning TV director Claire Scanlon.
Stream Set It Up on Netflix.
What Men Want (2019)
A female sports agent (Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson) who is struggling to climb up in the ranks alongside her predominantly male colleagues suddenly seems to find a strange solution when an accident gives her the ability to read men’s thoughts.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: This time, Davidson plays a non-stereotypically gay co-worker of the female lead of What Men Want — a gender-swapped reimagining of the romantic fantasy comedy What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, from 2000.
Rent/buy What Men Want on Amazon.
Buy What Men Want on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Trainwreck (2015)
A writer for a men’s magazine (Amy Schumer) who has sworn off commitment since her parents’ divorce finds her romantic philosophies challenged when she begins to fall for the subject of her latest article — a doctor who specializes in treating star athletes (Bill Hader).
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Years before teaming with Judd Apatow on his own semi-autobiographical film, the director cast Davidson in an uncredited cameo as a patient of Hader’s Dr. Aaron Conners in Trainwreck — a semi-autobiographical romantic comedy written by and starring Schumer that actually helped Davidson get hired on SNL.
Rent/buy Trainwreck on Amazon.
Buy Trainwreck on Blu-ray on Amazon.
The Jesus Rolls (2019)
A recently released convict and champion bowler (John Turturro), his longtime friend (Bobby Cannvale), and a sexually dissatisfied woman (Audrey Tatou) go on a crime spree in a stolen muscle car belonging to the woman’s lover.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: Writer and director Turturro also reprises his role as Jesus Quintana in The Jesus Rolls — a sort of sequel to The Big Lebowski that also serves as a remake of the 1974 French comedy Going Places — in which Davidson shows up as a young man who joins the central characters on a heist.
Stream The Jesus Rolls on Crackle.
Stream The Jesus Rolls on Plex.
Rent/buy The Jesus Rolls on Amazon.
Pete Davidson: SMD (2016)
Going to “prehab,” Justin Bieber, and his own crazy experiences with psychedelic mushrooms are among the topics that Davidson pokes fun at while performing at New York City’s Skirball Center.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: In his very first stand-up comedy special, and one of the best on stand-up specials on Paramount+, Davidson also goes into his personal experiences since the death of his father, whose initials, “SMD,” were the inspiration for the title and also happen to stand for a certain lewd phrase.
Stream Pete Davidson: SMD on Paramount+.
Rent/buy Pete Davidson: SMD on Amazon.
The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)
The flightless denizens of Bird Island must form an alliance with their swine enemy King Leonard and his army when a tyrannical eagle threatens to cause problems for both of them.
Why It’s A Must-Watch If You Like Pete Davidson: A couple years before he was cast in the title role of Marmaduke, Davidson made his animated voice acting debut as Jerry the Eagle, one of the funniest side characters of The Angry Birds Movie 2 — a sequel to the movie adaptation of the popular mobile gaming app.
Rent/buy The Angry Birds Movie 2 on Amazon.
Buy The Angry Birds Movie 2 on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Since leaving the Saturday Night Live cast, Davidson has become busier than ever. He made a cameo in Fast X, has a movie about GameStop’s surprising stock market success called Dumb Money on the 2023 movies schedule, and is leading an upcoming horror movie called The Home from The Purge movies creator, James DeMonaco. At this point, there is nowhere for the comic actor to go but up.