Stream It Or Skip It?

The “Florida Man” meme is pretty well known by now; it’s about stories coming from the Sunshine State that are so strange that they can’t be believed, even though they’re all true. Now, the producers that brought us Eastbound & Down and The Righteous Gemstones has made an anthology series that interviews real Florida Men (and Florida Women) and populates the reenactments of their wacky stories with well-known comedy stars.

Opening Shot: A “Florida man” (the voice of Stephen Root) says, “What you’re about to see may be dangerous, illegal, unethical, petty, misguided, immoral, and most definitely stupid. But it’s also all true… sort of.”

The Gist: It’s Florida, Man. is an anthology series where real Florida residents tell their crazy stories, and the reenactments of those stories star some pretty well-known funny people.

In the first episode, an Orlando man named Philip tells the story about how, broke and wanting to go see his favorite DJ play a concert in Colorado, he puts up a Craigslist ad saying he’ll do anything for money — within reason. As we see the real Phil talk about wading through all the ones requesting sex, we see fictional Phil (Sam Richardson) doing the same thing.

Then Phil gets an email that asks if he can help the emailer fulfill a fantasy. Intrigued, Phil talks to Steve, who wants someone to cut off some of his toes, cook them, and eat them in front of him. Phil finds it a bit strange, but he’s young and in “fuck it” mode, so he agrees to it. When Steve, who he imagines is a creep living in a basement (Matty Cardapole), asks Phil to bring a female friend along for support, Phil immediately thinks of Carolyn (Ego Nwodim), a high school friend who has been laid up from her Orlando Magic cheerleading gig by an Achilles injury. Carolyn, also up for anything, agrees to go with him.

When they get there, they find Steve to be a normal, middle-aged guy (Randall Park). An uncomfortable beer later, he’s laying on his floor, and Carolyn is marking Steve’s foot. Will Phil get up the nerve to cut off this man’s toes and eat them in front of him? On the line is $4000.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Drunk History, except that the people on this show are very, very sober.

Our Take: Created by Mark Herwick and Jeff Tomsic (Danny McBride and Brandon James are also executive producers), It’s Florida, Man. is part documentary, part scripted comedy. But what we’re definitely sure of is that it’s fascinating, weird and hilarious.

The stories that Herwick and Tomsic decide to cover run the Florida gamut, from the toes story to a man who lost an arm to a gator and survived in the swamp for two days, to a mermaid-turned-witch, to a feral witch, and more. Other guest stars doing reenactments include Anna Faris, Jake Johnson, Jon Gries, Juliette Lewis and Simon Rex.

We love that the first episode not only starts the show off with a bang with the toe story, Herwick and Tomsic thought it was important to get some context, so they interview a woman who is an intimacy expert about why people want to play out their depraved fantasies. But the casting of the reenactments is pretty well-done, as Richardson and Nwodim look a lot like Phil and Carolyn, and the two of them have a ton of fun with what is a situation that even the most creative screenwriters couldn’t come up with.

The second episode, about Eric, who wrestled with the gator that took his arm, actually finds the real Eric so interesting that we see more of him than we see of Rex, who plays Eric in the reenactments. There are supporting interviews with friends, witnesses and a hypnotherapist that believes in past lives. So Herwick and Tomsic will mold the format of each episode to maximize the entertainment factor. So if that means we get more of the real person and less reenactment, so be it.

Sex and Skin: None in the first two episodes.

Parting Shot: Phil wonders if he’ll now be known as “The toe guy” after doing this show.

Sleeper Star: You seriously need to watch the episode about Eric and his battle with the gator. That man might become legendary after the episode airs.

Most Pilot-y Line: None we could find.

Our Call: STREAM IT. It’s Florida, Man. is quirky, fun and sometimes scary, which pretty much reflects the state where its stories take place.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.