Dan Perlman is the executive producer, co-creator and star of Showtime’s new dark comedy series, Flatbush Misdemeanors. Co-created and written with Kevin Iso, the series is a raw portrait of city life following Dan and Kevin, two characters struggling to thrive in their new surroundings of Flatbush, Brooklyn.

What stood out to me was how the characters felt at once familiar yet refreshingly new and real. A quality Perlman calls “lived in.” 

“We wanted to make the characters as three-dimensional as possible so that no one was an archetype or a plot device,” shares Dan. “The show is not just about Dan and Kevin. They’re just the entry point into this world, and we get to meet other characters you can invest in. They all have their own stuff going on.”

So how does a writer go about getting that “lived in” quality in their characters? “By being as present as possible with the characters and allowing them to have their own point of view. That way, their dialogue becomes more considered and thoughtful, and they have more of a reason to say what they say. It feels like it’s coming from them.” 

This lived-in quality was then further heightened by the performers themselves — much of the cast are longtime fellow comedians. “To be able to work with these incredibly talented people again? It made everything a lot easier,” says Dan. “We knew they’d make it better because they’d find a way to massage it in a natural way that feels like them.” 

And though the show promises an exploration of big themes and ideas — mental health, gentrification, and bullying for example — it doesn’t hit you over the head with them, which again, makes the show feel that much more real and relatable. “We made the stuff the characters go through evergreen by making it as micro and specific as possible, and then let them go through whatever it was they were going through.”

Any advice for writers? “One thing that’s cool and reassuring is that there are multiple directions to take a story. Writing is like a science experiment. You don’t have to know the conclusion of a science experiment before you test your hypothesis, so don’t get hung up on not knowing the entire story before you write.” He encourages writers to “go step by step. The story may lead you to a place you didn’t expect, or it’ll present to you some unexpected options, so let your mind go.”

And if Dan could go back in time and high-five his younger self, what would he say to him? “I would assure him that focusing on the work is the right thing to do.”

“It’s easy to look around and get caught up with what other people are doing, especially if it gets the immediate validation we all look for on social media and the Internet. It’s okay to write and work on what’s enjoyable. The joy is in the tinkering and figuring out yourself and how to make it better. Focus on that, and it will get you where you want to go.”

To check out more of Dan’s work, you can watch his award-winning short film Cramming, about two middle school students whose friendship is threatened when one is accused of cheating off of the other, as well as his debut stand-up album, Emergency Contact.