Dan Perlman

Dan Perlman
Perlman in 2022
Alma materNorthwestern University
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • writer
  • director
Years active2013–present
Comedy career
Medium
Websitewww.danperlmancomedy.com

Dan Perlman is an American writer, director, comedian, and actor. He is best known as the co-creator, writer, and star of the Showtime comedy series Flatbush Misdemeanors (2021–2022).

Early life and education

Perlman was born and raised in New York City.[1][2] He attended Northwestern University, where he graduated from their School of Education & Social Policy in 2012.[3] In college, Perlman worked as a tutor and wrote and produced short comedy sketches.[3] He also completed independent studies with SESP professor Dan Lewis, researching and writing about suburban homelessness.[3][4]

Early work

During this time, he started stand-up comedy in Chicago, where he "felt more comfortable failing when nobody I knew was within a thousand miles... That was very freeing. And I could sort of get better and get comfortable that way."[5]

After graduation, Perlman moved back to New York, where he started doing open mics in 2013.[6] He began as an intern on SiriusXM's Ron & Fez, while starting out in stand-up.[7] He continued to work for Ron Bennington as a writer-producer for SiriusXM's Bennington.[8]

In 2016, Perlman co-created and wrote the animated pilot, That's My Bus!, which was ordered by Fox.[9] The project was not ordered to series,[10] but Perlman remarked the process "gave me more motivation and direction... If/when I'm fortunate to be in a spot like that again, I'll have gone through all of the steps before, so I'll keep getting better at that side of it.[10]

Perlman was chosen as one of the New Faces of Comedy for the 2018 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal.[11] He released his debut stand-up album Emergency Contact, for free on his YouTube channel.[12] Bret Raybould from Pipeline Artists wrote that Perlman developed a reputation as "one of the most respected comics within the city."[13]

In 2020, Perlman made regular guest appearances on SiriusXM's You Up? With Nikki Glaser.[14] He acted in multiple episodes of the The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show on Netflix.[15] Perlman wrote and directed the coming-of-age short film Cramming, which earned honors at prestigious film festivals including Brooklyn, Rhode Island, and Nashville.[16][17][18] During this time, he co-wrote multiple pieces for The New Yorker's Shouts & Murmurs humor section.[19][20]

Flatbush Misdemeanors

Flatbush Misdemeanors started as an independent low-budget web series,[2] with three fifteen-minute episodes.[21] Perlman said, "We cut anything that would be budget, because we had none." He noted their biggest expense was "a couple hundred to bribe a janitor" to allow them to film in a school in Queens on a Saturday.[2]

Perlman said the lack of budget forced them to "find other ways to make it feel creative within our limitations," including interstitials and audio intros that became part of the Showtime series.[22]

The first short won the Grand Jury Award at the 2018 Florida Film Festival.[23] Flatbush screened at prominent film festivals like Slamdance, LA Film Festival, and Rooftop Films.[24][25][26]

In October 2020, Showtime gave a ten-episode, straight-to-series order for Flatbush Misdemeanors.[27] Perlman used his experiences studying education in the series, where he played a public school teacher, Dan Joseph, who's "not saving anyone."[3] Perlman said it was intentional to subvert white savior tropes in the series.[28][29] He has also cited Hey Arnold! as a major influence on Flatbush.[22][30]

The series was widely praised from critics.[31][32][33] Showtime renewed Flatbush for a second season, which premiered in 2022.[34] Perlman directed the well-received episode, 'boomerang', which Vulture praised for "masterful direction at play."[35] The series was canceled after two seasons.[36]

Post-Flatbush

Perlman was featured on Comedy Central's Stand-Up Featuring series.[37] He also headlined The Kennedy Center in DC, alongside Flatbush castmates Yamaneika Saunders and Kerry Coddett.[38]

In 2024, Perlman graduated from the WGA East Showrunner Academy, designed for the next class of "successful showrunners and leaders in today's television industry.”[39]

Perlman wrote and directed the short film Practice Space, which won the Neighborhood Award at the Lower East Side Film Festival.[40] The film reunited the two young actors from his earlier short Cramming.[5] Brian Braiker of Brooklyn Magazine compared the pair of films to Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and the Before Trilogy.[5] Perlman later received a Rooftop Films Filmmakers Fund Grant to develop a feature film version of Cramming.[41]

In 2025, Perlman directed and starred in a documentary short film Being Bublé, which premiered at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and the Montclair Film Festival.[42][43]

References

  1. ^ Love, Tirhaka. "Flatbush Misdemeanors' Dan Perlman Can't Sell You Drugs". Vulture. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Miller, Stuart. "The Creators of 'Flatbush Misdemeanors' on Conflict as Comedy". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Deardorff, Julie. "Alumni News From SESP to Showtime". Northwestern University's SESP Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  4. ^ Deardorff, Julie. "Dan Lewis: Rebel with a Cause". Northwestern University's SESP Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Braiker, Brian. "Life after 'Flatbush Misdemeanors' for co-creator Dan Perlman". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  6. ^ Cole, Geri. "Episode 59: Dan Perlman, "Flatbush Misdemeanors"". WGA East. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  7. ^ McCarthy, Sean L. "Episode #393: Dan Perlman". The Comics Comic. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Dan Perlman". Le Poisson Rouge. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  9. ^ Goldberg, Lesley. "Fox Orders Animated Pilot Presentation 'That's My Bus' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  10. ^ a b Misetich, Matt. "Interview: Dan Perlman". Pipeline Artists. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  11. ^ Adams, Erin. "Just for Laughs Announces Its 2018 New Faces". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Dan Perlman: Emergency Contact (FULL ALBUM)". YouTube. Dan Perlman. 2024. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  13. ^ Raybould, Bret. "Piece by Piece: Dan Perlman on How "Flatbush Misdemeanors" Landed at Showtime". Pipeline Artists. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  14. ^ "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Sarah Silverman Joins Conan O'Brien". Vulture. New York Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  15. ^ Low, Elaine. "Showtime Orders Kevin Iso, Dan Perlman Comedy 'Flatbush Misdemeanors'". Variety. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 12, 2020). "Showtime Orders Kevin Iso & Dan Perlman's 'Flatbush Misdemeanors' Comedy Based on Duo's Digital Series". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  17. ^ Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (August 14, 2020). "Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival Announces Its 2020 Award Winners" (PDF). Retrieved October 27, 2025.
  18. ^ "2020 Nashville Film Festival — Catalogue". 2020 Nashville Film Festival. 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  19. ^ Hogan, Ginny; Perlman, Dan. "Expressions More Accurate Than The New Normal". The New Yorker. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  20. ^ Hogan, Ginny; Perlman, Dan. "TV's Most Iconic Couples on Day Four Hundred and Thirteen of Quarantine". The New Yorker. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  21. ^ Dean, Sadie. "Interview with 'Flatbush Misdemeanors' co-creator and star Dan Perlman". Script Mag. Writer's Digest. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Dan Perlman on how Flatbush Misdemeanors took inspiration from Hey, Arnold!". Esquire Middle East. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  23. ^ Boedecker, Hal. "Florida Film Festival announces winners". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Slamdance Announces 2018 "Beyond" Films And Narrative Doc Shorts Competitions". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  25. ^ "New York Non-Fiction 2018". Rooftop Films. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Get to Know the 2018 LA Film Festival Shorts and Web Series". Film Independent. August 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  27. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "Showtime Orders Kevin Iso & Dan Perlman's 'Flatbush Misdemeanors' Comedy Based On Duo's Digital Series". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  28. ^ Ibrahim, Shamira. "'Flatbush Misdemeanors' shows the beauty of the Brooklyn neighborhood". Andscape. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  29. ^ Boone, Keyaira. "'Flatbush Misdemeanors' star Dan Perlman thinks more people should have a no-nonsense therapist". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  30. ^ "Co-Creator and Actor Dan Perlman on Flatbush Misdemeanors". WNYC. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
  31. ^ Daniels, Robert. "Showtime's Hilarious Flatbush Misdemeanors Feels Totally Fresh". RogerEbert.com.
  32. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca. "Flatbush Misdemeanours review – Broad City-esque comedy is fresh and thrilling". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  33. ^ D'Addario, Daniel. "'Flatbush Misdemeanors' Is a Promising Brooklyn Comedy: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  34. ^ Turchiano, Danielle. "Showtime Renews 'Flatbush Misdemeanors' for Season 2, Orders 'The Wood' Pilot". Variety.
  35. ^ Ibrahim, Shamira. "Flatbush Misdemeanors Recap: Who Doesn't Like Magic?". Vulture. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  36. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "'Flatbush Misdemeanors' Canceled By Showtime After 2 Seasons". Deadline. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  37. ^ Paramount Press Express. "New Season of Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring". Paramount Press Express. Comedy Central. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  38. ^ "The Comics of Flatbush Misdemeanors". kennedy-center.org. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  39. ^ Campione, Katie. "WGA East Reveals 2024 Showrunner Academy Graduates". Deadline. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  40. ^ Carson, Lexi; Kuznikov, Selena; Tangcay, Jazz. "Lower East Side Film Festival Announces Winners". Variety.
  41. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (April 18, 2024). "Rooftop Films 2024 Filmmaker Fund Winners: Eliza Hittman, Debra Granik". IndieWire. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  42. ^ Adderly, Talia. "Dan Perlman is feeling good in new documentary 'Being Bublé'". Montclair Local. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  43. ^ Beitman, Logan. "What to see at the Santa Fe International Film Festival". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
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