It’s Florida, Man is a new HBO series with all the appeal of Drunk History’s real stories turned ragtag educational videos by famous people, and all the charm of having pride in one’s (objectively bizarre and undignified) home state as presented in How To With John Wilson. Now, instead of major historical events, the six-part series uses popular actors to re-enact firsthand accounts of harrowing experiences from residents of Florida, a state that has become popular for its unusually large number of viral stories.
What Is ‘It’s Florida, Man’ About?
Let’s face it: Florida was built for entertainment – Apple TV+’s dark comedy crime drama Bad Monkey, Netflix’s dark comedy crime drama Florida Man, indie drama film The Florida Project. The Sunshine State has gained a reputation for housing some of America’s most unbelievable and disturbing stranger-than-fiction stories. Each half-hour segment of It’s Florida, Man is a side-by-side interview and dramatization of a personal Floridian tale performed by familiar actors including Sam Richardson, Randall Park, Ego Nwodim, Anna Faris, Juliette Lewis, and Jake Johnson. The first episode, aptly entitled “Toes,” follows Sam Richardson as an avid concert-goer opening his mind to more eccentric opportunities for quick cash. In the second episode, actor Simon Rex portrays a man who survives the Floridian wilderness having just lost an arm to an alligator. You may be familiar with the one that goes a little something like, “Florida Man Robs Wendy’s With Alligator,” which was hilariously reimagined by comedian Shayne Smith. Employing the cream of the crop of Florida’s wildest headlines basically makes the series a mild thriller anthology.
The actor's Oscar-nominated performance is a far cry from his iconic heavies and oddballs.
Not ‘Drunk History’, Just Sober Florida
Image via HBO
Just as in Drunk History, popular actors and comedians perform similarly comedic re-enactments of the Florida headlines. A major difference between It’s Florida, Man and Drunk History is that the actors speak lines of dialogue from the interview instead of directly lipsyncing the slurred speech of the person telling the story, as the storytellers are now (most likely) sober. But the show’s true-story element still keeps each story captivating. The interviewees have the chance to describe their thought process through the wild and highly judgeable choices, so, despite capitalizing on Florida's wackyness, the interview/documentary aspect of the series does sustain a layer of humanization by the storytellers.
How Does the Series Get Its Name?
“Florida Man” used to be a term only meant to describe unthinkably outlandish people engaging in equally unthinkable and outlandish acts. But the term has come to lose its value as America has watched Florida continue to pump out a consistent stream of indescribably wild news. The headlines are almost always objectively atrocious, but we’ve built up a tolerance. What’s that? Someone broke into a jail just to hang out with his friends? Probably Florida. Say again? A woman called for the establishment of a Sugar Daddy Appreciation Day at a board meeting? Oh, Florida, you rascal.
Previously home to other low-budget comedy series like A Black Lady Sketch Show and Los Espookys, It’s Florida, Man is the new talk of Friday nights on HBO. It’s Florida, Man, co-created by Mark Herwick and Jeff Tomsic with executive producer Danny McBride, harbors all the strangeness you rightfully expect of the state, including amputation fetishes, mermaids and witches, and DIY arson. If you happen to have a Drunk History-sized hole in your heart, HBO's It's Florida, Man is the perfect series to fill it.
It’s Florida, Man is available to stream on Max in the U.S. New episodes premiere on Fridays.
Image via HBO
Image via HBO 
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