Netflix’s ‘Florida Man’ is a crime thriller series that follows the story of Mike Valentine, an ex-cop and gambler who works for a gangster named Moss Yankov. When Moss’ girlfriend, Delly, runs away, Mike is sent to Florida to find her. This is the last place that Mike wants to go.
He grew up here and did his best to get out of there.
Now, back in Florida, he has to confront the troubled relationship with his father. In the meantime, he also looks for a Spanish treasure that could change his life.
But is Florida Man inspired by real-life events? Read on to find out.
Though not technically based on a true story, Florida Man does take inspiration from real-life events – the clue is in the name.
The Netflix show, produced by Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films company, gets its namesake from the viral phenomenon that rose to online fame in 2013 and is still on the go today.
‘Florida Man’ Is Inspired by a Meme
The internet has a reputation for finding the weirdest designs in nature and blowing them out of proportion. Such a design found recognition when a Twitter account with the handle @_FloridaMan started putting out news headlines with the phrase “Florida Man” in them.
Now, it wouldn’t be such an internet phenomenon if not for the bizarre nature of these headlines.
From the “Florida Man” punching the pizza delivery boy for forgetting garlic nuts to being arrested for fixing cars with Play-Doh, these headlines often captured the weird adventures of various men who were often quoted as “Florida Man” in them.
Soon the internet picked up on these headlines and thus came into existence the myth of the Florida Man. He is a purely fictional entity brought to reality by the conscience of internet citizens.
From Reddit to prime-time television chat shows, Florida Man has survived the passage of time with video games and other forms of media keeping the man alive in popular culture.
Netflix’s Florida Man is just another addition to the Florida Man’s long-standing history and adventures. Édgar Ramírez’s Mike Valentine personifies the Florida Man who keeps failing miserably at doing the right thing in Donald Todd’s imagination of his home state.
Multiple Events Inspire Florida Man
Like the memes that kept the myth of the Florida Man alive for the longest time, Florida Man is also inspired by the many events that have made it to the local and national news. While the limited series does not borrow from a singular event, it is inspired by the mysterious nature of events that transpire in the Sunshine State.
As Mike Valentine continues to struggle to find a way out of Florida, the events that his actions unknowingly lead to uncanny hint at the Florida Man news headlines that internet users may be familiar with.
For instance, Mike’s enemy Moss hires his father’s old acquaintance to track down Mike in Florida. The hired veteran blows himself when he lights a lighter inside a port-a-potty that seems to be gassed up with toxic gases. In March 2022, a man in Florida was crushed to death inside a port-a-potty by a bulldozer.
Donald Todd’s imagination of Florida gives context to the events that go down in the Sunshine State, even though they may not be inspired by actual events directly. But the possibilities do fit into the scheme of the story. The mishaps triggered by the central characters make it to the local news that runs in the background in many scenes as a homage to the legend of Florida Man.
In the world of Florida Man, the events that make it to local news are all set into motion by the actions of one Florida man who hates the state to his core – Mike Valentine. Possibly, the internet theory that the “Florida Man” is one prolific suspect finds expression through Ramirez’s character, who seems to be at the center of all things wrong in Florida.
While the events in Florida Man have not been directly ripped off from actual events, there’s some thematic similarity to the ideas that dictate the scenes. The scene in which the ambulance carrying Mike’s partner-in-crime (for most parts), Delly, meets an accident with a cop car seems to be inspired by an actual ambulance robbery in which the man who stole the ambulance ended up getting it stuck a few miles away.
Doing justice to its title, Florida Man tries to set up a story that may only transpire in Florida as the state’s larger-than-life setting contributes to the story’s progression as much as the story contributes to the state’s perception in the audience’s mind.
Regardless of what perceptions Florida Man wants to maintain regarding the U.S. state, let us say that Florida Man benefits more from Florida than the latter does from the former.
About Florida Man
Florida Man is an American streaming television limited series created by Donald Todd, who serves as an executive producer alongside Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan, and Miguel Arteta.
Mike Valentine is a struggling ex-cop forced to return to his home state of Florida to find a Philly mobster’s runaway girlfriend. What should be a quick gig becomes a spiraling journey into buried family secrets and an increasingly futile attempt to do the right thing.
It stars Edgar Ramirez, Anthony LaPaglia, Abbey Lee, Otmara Marrero, Lex Scott Davis, Emory Cohen, and Isaiah Johnson in lead roles. The series was shot in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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