Flatbush Misdemeanors is a web series that follows the lives and shenanigans of two friends and Flatbush residents Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso. The series debuted in March and is comprised of five episodes that last roughly three minutes each.
Kevin and Dan are the writers and stars of the series, two friends that met here in New York while doing stand-up. Previously Dan and Kevin co-created "Moderately Funny," another web series based in New York. The series has drama, laughs and some pretty relatable situations to everyday Brooklyn life. "It's a raw portrayal of city life, it's the two of us trying to connect with people in any way we can," says Dan.
Unlike other New York neighborhood-based shows like HBO's "Girls," Flatbush Misdemeanors give viewers a more realistic look at what life is really like in Brooklyn. The duo really just wanted to show the different side of Brooklyn that is not all sunshine and rainbows like it's normally portrayed. They took to the neighborhood of Flatbush because it is authentic and hasn't been gentrified, said the creators. "It's not all white girls doing yoga and Pilates. It's different stuff going on and [the series] shows the reality of Brooklyn" said Kevin
Each episode starts with a quote that basically sets the tone and relates to what is going to happen in the episode. The quotes come from movies such as Crooklyn, Paid in Full and even Annie Hall, to name a few. The use of the quotes is influenced by rappers such as Jay Electronica and Most Def that also use quotes in their music because it draws the listener in and makes the audience really pay attention.
In episode one, the scene opens to a pile of "white gal" (cocaine) that accidentally has been knocked on the floor, and we witness the mayhem that ensues. Then we meet Kevin, a food delivery guy on a run, who just made a huge mistake with his drug dealer customer. His clumsy actions in this first episode set the tone for the season.
The second episode is introduced by a pretty notable quote from the movie Crooklyn. Here, we are introduced to Dan, a teacher, and one of his students, a girl by the name of Zayna. Dan is having a few issues of his own with his class of Brooklyn kids not wanting to study for a test. Dan listens to a suggestion on how they should study from a student and in return, everyone later fails the test, landing Dan in hot water with the principal.
The series later goes on with the friends trying to find a way to solve the problem that Kevin created. The duo even seeks out the help of Dan's "daddy" Kareem which turns out to not be much help at all. The series ends in a pretty funny twist that you would not have expected.
A majority of the series was filmed by Nadia Bedzhanova a Russian film director :"She's dope! She's the one whole filmed all the scenes that we really like," said Kevin. Dan and Kevin have quite a few new things in store for the next part of the series, including further developing the existing characters and scenarios, as well as the introduction of new characters.
Check out the rest of Flatbush Misdemeanors and stay up on the series here.
