Flatbush Misdemeanors

The show is good and has some great characters, Kareem being one of the stand outs! But Dan just really grates on me, he can't act and it seems like he's trying to be funny but it never lands. He should stay behind the camera from series 2>

Flatbush Misdemeanors is up there with Curb Your Enthusiasm in its wry wit and hilarious plot punchlines. If you've ever lamented the life of an underdog, you will resonate with this gritty sitcom. Not recommended for those that don't speak the language of veiled cynicism, ambivalence and irony. Take any poor reviews with a grain of salt, and give this show a chance.

I didn't know what to make of Flatbush in the first episode - but the almost horizontally laidback vibe punctuated by high tension and moments of wild surrealism as well as the occasional inclusion abstract meta-subtitles won me over. Not to mention its sardonic and deft observations about the aimlessness of contemporary adulthood and the dark indifference of metropolitan American living. Oh also that the core of it a dissection of a toxic friendship. Kevin Iso's listless artist and Dan Perlman's perpetually anxious teacher are a great deadpan combo - and their wild spiralling involvement with the hypnotically erratic Drew (played brilliantly by Hassan Johnson of "The Wire" fame) and his bolshy niece Zayna is a great central arc.

Amazingly it got a second season which I wasn't expecting, and it strips out a lot of the more abstract elements which is to its benefit. Zoe Winters shines as the manically misguided arts benefactor in ways that hit harder and sharper than a lot of Flatbush's more dramatic contemporaries. There are still moments of clunky plot contrivance but it ends well and I find myself wondering if it'll have more of a legacy than we currently realise - the mash of the deadpan and the strange and the affecting was really intoxicating.

The story revolves around two twenty something childhood friends, recently reunited and now roommates. . One is a struggling artist; the other a struggling teacher. Both are very low key, timid, and likable types, trying to make their way in a crazy and dangerous inner city environment, with some funny characters. We are introduced to a great supporting cast.. including some oddballs that bring on the laughs. The writing is very good... subtle humor. It seems, though, that half the opening episode was edited out, as it contained many loose ends that probably wound up on the cutting room floor.

Solid start, though, to what promises to develop into a hit series.

This show is funny!. I grow up around the Flatbush area so the show resonates with me so much. The writing is clever and doesn't force lines for laughs. It's not meant to be taken seriously as the *1 star* reviewers are doing. It reminds me of shows like Broad City, Rami, and Dave. Just enjoy a day in the life of two 30-somethings living in the real Brooklyn.