“Flatbush Misdemeanors” Stars Dan Perlman & Kevin Iso On Brooklyn, Kevin Hart, The LOL Network, “Hey Arnold” & “Girls”

Creating by and starring New York comedians Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso, new web series Flatbush Misdemeanors released its first two episodes earlier this year. Although the show is only a few months old, it has racked up a bunch of honors including “Best Ensemble” at Brooklyn Web Fest and “Best North American Short” and “Best Film Script” at this year’s London x4 Short Film Festival, in addition to being featured on the LOL Network — as affiliated with Kevin Hart — at Just For Laughs Montreal 2017. Flatbush Misdemeanors offers a very different take on Brooklyn than the HBO series Girls, and other actors involved include Jeffrey Joseph (In Living Color), Kareem Green (Russell Simmons Presents), Aparna Nancherla (Netflix’s Master Of None) and Yamaneika Saunders.

Prior to working on Flatbush Misdemeanors, Dan Perlman created the animated series That’s My Bus!, which received a pilot order from FOX. He has had four projects featured within the New York Television Festival. He was a writer and producer for Bennington on SiriusXM and contributed to the 2017 WGA Awards. Kevin Iso was named one of Comedy Central’s “Comics To Watch” in 2015 and has been seen on Adam Devine’s House Party, AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live and YouTube Red’s Alexander IRL. Both Perlman and Iso are regulars at New York City comedy clubs.

I had the pleasure of doing Q&A with both Perlman and Iso for The Hype Magazine. More on Flatbush Misdemeanors can be found online at www.flatbushmisdemeanors.com.

How would you describe Flatbush Misdemeanors to someone who hasn’t seen it yet?

Kevin Iso: Hey Arnold, if they could say “nigga.”

In the first episode, Dan is a public school teacher and Kevin delivers food. Are those jobs that either of you had before?

Dan Perlman: Yeah, I studied education in college, in Chicago. I taught at an after-school program and have done different teaching stuff, so I know that world well enough.

Kevin Iso: I never delivered food. Got the idea from watching Ace Boogie in Paid in Full.

I’ve heard your show being described as a “Girls palate cleanser.” Is that a description that you like?

Dan Perlman: I never really watched Girls so I can’t really speak to that. If that’s what people want to call it, fine. It doesn’t really matter to us. We just want ’em to watch.

How many episodes have been filmed of Flatbush Misdemeanors? Are you planning on releasing full seasons?

Kevin Iso: We’ve only filmed the two that we’ve released. We want to keep making them — we just need money. We have the third one outlined, so that’s next. Rather than make a million eps at low-quality, our plan has been to make these three episodes as strong as we can, and hopefully find funding or a home for it through that. We want to do long-form, half-hours, and explore worlds and perspectives that usually don’t get shown on television, so it’s just finding people who are into what we’re doing.

Any idea how Kevin Hart found out about your show?

Dan Perlman: His LOL Network was doing a search for the best comedy short films, so we submitted Flatbush, even though we thought of it as a pilot rather than a short. It was named one of the top five shorts, so we were invited up to Montreal Just For Laughs Festival where they screened all five parts of Episode 1 for 800 people. Everyone came out since Kevin Hart was hosting it. We didn’t chat with him, but Flatbush played real well in the room and we heard through LOL Network people that he dug it. Afterwards, his network called and ended up licensing the first one, so it was on their platform for a few months.

Your show, in my opinion, represents Brooklyn accurately. To you, what are some of the big misconceptions about Brooklyn living?

Kevin Iso: I think we still have work to do. Some people might think that it’s just dangerous from watching the show — or on the flip side, that it’s all been gentrified, but there’s so much more to this borough than what we’re showing. The different ethnicities for one, from West Indians to Africans to Russians to Orthodox Jews. Brooklyn is huge, so we have a lot of ground we can cover. Everyone coexists and intersects while they’re distracted with their own shit.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Brooklyn?

Dan Perlman: I went to MangoSeed recently. That was pretty good. Great Caribbean food and they got a nice outside seating area. Suede Restaurant is real good, too. A lot of different options and they have a violinist playing reggae sometimes, which is weird and cool. Both those places are in Flatbush, so, yeah, definitely support those places.

Kevin Iso: Peppa’s on Flatbush Ave? Brooklyn Blend in Bed-Stuy is on fire, too.

Flatbush Misdemeanors aside, what’s coming up for you work-wise?

Kevin Iso: Follow @danjperlman or @keviniso to find out. That’s code for “we don’t know.”

When not busy with your career, how do you like to spend your free time?

Kevin Iso: We both do stand-up around New York. Sometimes volunteer work, sometimes we doing nothing.

Dan Perlman: Stand-up’s the main thing. Find our schedules, watch online, come see us live. Fat Cat in the Village is a cool hang — I haven’t been in a while. I’ll probably go there for my birthday in a couple weeks, invite-only. Everyone’s invited.

Finally, any last words for the kids?

Dan Perlman: If you like Flatbush Misdemeanors, share it with others. Tell us. It’s always odd, throwing stuff into the abyss of the internet, so it’s gratifying when people find it — in and outside of Brooklyn — and enjoy it. The more people see it or talk about it, the better chance we’ll be able to tell more of these stories.

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Tags: Brooklyn, Dan Perlman, Flatbush Misdemeanors, Kevin Hart, Kevin Iso, Lena Dunham, LOL Network, Montreal Just For Laughs Festival

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."