By John Sokolich, Creator of “It Happens in Florida”

When people watch a comedy show like It Happens in Florida, they usually see the polished (or semi-polished) final product—characters cracking jokes, gators doing suspicious things, and the occasional blow-up flamingo gone rogue. What they don’t see is the chaotic, caffeine-fueled, mosquito-bitten writing and production process that makes this glorious madness possible.

So let me take you behind the scenes of what it really takes to make a comedy show about two Florida guys just trying to survive the Sunshine State.

📝 The Writing Process: Equal Parts Genius and Gator Attacks

It all starts with an idea—usually something absurd we’ve heard on the news or lived through ourselves. (Yes, the story about the sinkhole that swallowed the lawnmower really happened.)

From there, we sit in a room—often sweaty, sometimes shirtless depending on the AC situation—and toss around storylines like:

• “What if Oscar tries to run for local office… but he doesn’t know what office he’s running for?”
• “What if Raymond starts a business rescuing iguanas but ends up in a turf war with an alligator wrestler?”

Once we land on something ridiculous enough to be real in Florida, the writing begins. We outline. We argue. We eat too many gas station empanadas. And eventually, we create a script that makes us laugh hard enough to forget the budget is held together with duct tape and good intentions.

🎥 Pre-Production: AKA Organized Chaos

Before we film a single frame, there’s a long checklist that ranges from “secure filming permits” to “borrow cousin’s airboat.”

We scout locations (aka, ask ourselves, “Do you think we can film behind that Waffle House without getting kicked out?”). We wrangle props, wrangle cast, and occasionally wrangle wildlife—though not on purpose.

Costumes are usually “whatever’s in the trunk,” and our props department is basically a Rubbermaid bin labeled “DO NOT OPEN – LIVE SNAKE???”

🎭 Rehearsals, Rewrites & Real-Life Disasters

Our cast is amazing—and incredibly patient as we rewrite scenes the night before shooting because a raccoon broke into our original location.

We rehearse in parking lots, backyards, and once inside a fishing bait shop because the acoustics were great (and the owner gave us free worms).

🎬 Filming Day: Expect the Unexpected

If everything goes to plan… something has gone wrong.

Filming is a beautiful mess of improv, last-minute rewrites, drone mishaps, and trying not to sweat through our boom mic. Sometimes we get gold in one take. Sometimes we have to pause because Raymond stepped in a swamp again. Either way, we roll with it.

❤️ Why We Do It

We make It Happens in Florida because we love telling stories that are absurd, unpredictable, and deeply human. Florida is the perfect setting because truth really is stranger than fiction here—and somehow more hilarious.

Every episode is a labor of love, duct tape, and occasional animal control intervention. And the best part? Sharing it with all of you.

Thank you for laughing with us, rooting for us, and spreading the word. We’re just getting started—and we can’t wait to show you what happens next in Florida.