‘South Facet’ Season 3: Contained in the HBO Max Comedy and a Batman Episode

Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin know that having their very own present is a chance that neither of them can waste.

The newest proof of their longtime comedic partnership is Season 3 of “South Side,” the hilarious workplace-adjacent comedy that started its life on Comedy Central and now resides on HBO Max. The present follows RTO, an Englewood-area rent-to-own retailer, as their staff journey by the larger Chicago space, repossessing furnishings and getting caught within the wildest, weirdest corners of the town. When Salahuddin’s Officer Goodnight isn’t someway wrapped up in those self same schemes and scuffles, he’s one of many many characters on the present who will get a full (and typically very complicated) life away from their job.

One method to juggle all these completely different individuals and concepts is to throw as a lot into the combo as potential. Over the course of a single dialog, Salahuddin and Riddle talked about all the following as touchstones, comedies they admire, or work that their reveals share a minimum of some DNA with: “The Pink Panther,” “The Simpsons,” Mel Brooks, “So I Married an Axe Assassin,” “Invoice and Ted’s Glorious Journey,” Ben Stiller, “Star Trek,” “My Dinner with Andre,” the Austin Powers films, “Trailer Park Boys,” and in Riddle’s phrases, “no matter bizarre tune or bizarre science fiction guide or TV collection that we’ve been into recently.”

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And there are many jokes that exist on their very own and don’t have an apparent line to attach them to an affect. (Although, among the greatest episodes of “South Facet” have been longform riffs on beloved movies.) The result’s a collection that has at all times had an unmistakable, welcome, go-for-broke perspective about every new episode. The identical is true for “Sherman’s Showcase,” the wildly funny IFC sketch show that Riddle and Salahuddin head up and co-star in. You get the sensation that, from the instincts of Salahuddin, Riddle, and their many comedic companions on “South Facet,” there’s a continuing effort to pack in as a lot as an episode can maintain.

“Once we first began working, we had been on this author room. And every single day at six o’clock, one of many showrunners was like, ‘Alright, guys, come on. Let’s simply wrap this up. We’re gonna be right here all evening.’ And we had been pondering, ‘Effectively, isn’t the purpose to make this as humorous as potential?’ The funniest factor is likely to be one thing we uncover two hours after the room is over,” Salahuddin stated. “We wish followers to chuckle so arduous that the present strikes quick they usually form of lookup and go, ‘Wait, that’s it. It’s over?’ We like to have individuals simply be breathless.”

With that as a information, Riddle and Salahuddin are steering the ships on two of the pound-for-pound funniest reveals wherever on TV. Naturally, that’s a course of that doesn’t occur with out quite a lot of work and a few sturdy collaborations alongside the way in which. The pair of stars/writers/showrunners talked with IndieWire about harnessing a few of that “South Facet” Season 3 magic.

IndieWire: There are some “South Facet” episodes the place I can think about the place to begin was one thing easy: “Kitty joins a cult” or “Greg goes AWOL.” However Episode 3 of Season 3 is one the place I’m unsure how that will have began.

Bashir Salahuddin: The rule is that each single episode should have the ability to stand by itself and be pleasing. If in case you have by no means seen some other episodes, you’ll be able to watch the primary episode this season and luxuriate in it. However there are issues we put in there for ourselves, little easter eggs, little moments. Final season, we painted a mural of Diallo’s character within the basement. That mural continues to be at play when Greg is down there doing push ups. It simply turns into our manner of adorning and fulfilling the sense of lore across the present, that the issues we do really do matter.

Final season, we did an episode about worry the place Simon and Okay are repo-ing from this dude. He’s telling Simon all these items about the right way to cope with his personal issues. Simon leaves and the man appears to be like within the mirror and goes, “I was afraid of clowns. And now I’m the laughter.” And he smears white paint on his face. On the time, we had no concept what that meant. It simply made us chuckle that this dude was ready till all people left, speaking within the mirror and beginning to make himself up. However then we began to suppose, “Effectively, possibly the Laughter is like a company.” We love the flicks of Christopher Nolan. Chicago is usually Gotham for the Batman universe. And so for us, we started to place two and two collectively. There’s an unseen, over-the-top dangerous man who all people’s looking. Why don’t we do our model of a Batman film? So it actually wasn’t something that anyone got here within the room with totally baked. Sooner or later, you step again and go, “Holy shit, this really all suits collectively. This can be a actually cool puzzle.”

Diallo Riddle: We bought to direct Episode 3. From a directing viewpoint, there are two scenes that actually jumped out to me. One is the scene the place, no spoilers, a sure character jumps off a bridge into the Chicago River. From the time that scene was written. I used to be like, “Bashir, we have to direct this episode.” We grew up within the ’80s and that style of motion comedy. I simply needed to shoot one thing the place Goodnight chases a person, he will get to a bridge, and he decides to leap off the bridge. Each of us had been reveling in each superb element. After our artwork division discovered how we might shoot that scene, it was thrilling to debate how we had been going to do the graphics package deal a part of the scenes. It appears to be like so actual.

BS: They killed it. I’m very impressed.

DR: And it’s a phenomenal a part of the Chicago skyline! The opposite scene I at all times take into consideration has me Bashir, and Quincy at a counter. We do that shot over the shoulders of two of the characters and discover a girl within the background and he or she does this superb factor. Full disclosure, I had only recently watched the horror film “It Follows.” That film is stuffed with these bizarre ’70s zoom-ins on a personality the background, however if you discover them within the background it’s terrifying. These two moments, they had been a lot enjoyable, and I get completely happy each time I watch that episode.

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How unhappy are you that the large Simon head needed to be destroyed in that episode and that you just couldn’t maintain onto it?

BS: Effectively, let me let you know one thing you don’t know, brother. There are three of these heads. I’m questioning the place they’re as a result of anyone has entry to that head. And whoever does, I hope it finally ends up being one thing in anyone’s home sooner or later, they usually by no means clarify it. Individuals simply take a look at it and go, “What the hell is that?” “It’s difficult. Don’t fear about it.”

Our manufacturing designer in all probability has a treasure trove of cool props. But additionally quite a lot of stuff goes into storage after which it simply waits to see if we’re gonna have one other season. Final season, we ended it with this Pyramid. And our artwork division is so good. Our manufacturing designer Natalie Groce, she made child Pyramids for lots of people, so I even have a little bit child Pyramid fabricated from leather-based.

DR: I assumed you had been going to say you had The Pyramid. Flip it into a person cave.

BS: The concept is it’s a pyramid, however it’s the proper four-person sofa. It simply occurs to be a pyramid form. Which is mindless, however we had been simply laughing at it. Diallo, me, and [director/writer] Michael Blieden, we’re fortunate in that every one of us have frolicked in rooms the place we had been instructed, “Oh, that’s too foolish. That’s too bizarre.” Now it’s us one another going, “Oh, that’s not foolish sufficient. It’s not bizarre sufficient. Go additional.”

With “South Facet,” I really feel like there’s an effort to not solely go additional and slot in a bunch of jokes, however actually go for lots of various sorts of jokes. There are just a few that fly by earlier than you actually even have time to register them.

BS: It’s actually a testomony to the writers. We’ve got writers who’ve completely different form of strengths. There’s anyone who’s actually good at punchlines, anyone who’s actually good at situations, anyone’s actually good at making dialogue funnier. You might have all these completely different individuals come collectively after which we kind like Voltron. You actually really feel fortunate to go to work with them every single day as a result of you already know they’re going to be providing you with stuff that you just by no means would have considered your self. One in every of our writers got here up with one within the scene in Episode 1 the place the blokes go to the motel for the primary time. The man on the entrance desk goes, “Hey, that is Helen. She was my sister,” and he simply blows proper previous that. I used to be watching it with some individuals yesterday, they had been like, “Wait a second, ‘She was my sister.’ What does that imply?” And I’m simply laughing at it as a result of that’s how I felt about it. I don’t know what the hell a used-to-be sister is. I don’t even understand how that works.

DR: I’m enthusiastic about two writers specifically. Will [Miles] is superb simply developing with a tough joke. It doesn’t even want a lot setup, however he simply is available in with it. After which Rashida [Olayiwola], I really feel like typically, she’ll simply provide you with a humorous method to say one thing. It’s not that the road is a joke a lot because it’s humorous the way in which that it’s articulated. And I feel that that is without doubt one of the issues I actually appreciated in regards to the room. Bashir and I’ve been in sufficient rooms at this level, that we don’t at all times must say essentially the most. However once we say one thing, it often has some affect.

BS: I feel I’m actually good at figuring out the right way to maintain the comedy coming in and never minimize it off, and never saying one thing that may make anyone really feel shy about pitching. You’ll be able to have rooms which have actually sturdy personalities in them. And in some author rooms, these personalities are inclined to do extra stuff. However it doesn’t imply that the tremendous quiet author on the finish of the desk isn’t humorous, proper? What I like about our room is that the people who find themselves loud and pitching on a regular basis, they get their stuff in. However we additionally actually encourage the oldsters who’re solely gonna say one humorous factor all hour, however it’s the funniest factor anyone stated all hour.

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You talked about at all times desirous to go weirder. “South Facet” is nice at suggesting or solely exhibiting a little bit slice of one thing. I really feel like that’s what Episode 4 does. Seeing that one little scene within the basement like tells you all the things you could find out about this new wealthy household.

BS: I’ve extra questions than anyone about who they’re. What’s attention-grabbing is without doubt one of the guys within the household who performed the son-in-law, we love that actor. However he was really in an episode in Season 1 the place he was a head of a frat. Within the lore of “South Facet,” anytime you see anyone on display screen, it’s the identical particular person. We by no means use anyone as one character on this season they usually’re a distinct character in one other season.

Right here’s the craziest half. Pat [Reidy], the man who performed his Jerry Scottadalehauser in Season 1, he finally ends up getting kidnapped on the finish of Season 1. The lady who performs his spouse is similar actress who’s sitting on the reception desk on the frosting place in Season 3 Episode 2, proper? Then she reveals up once more in Season 3, Episode 3 with Jerry.

DR: Making an attempt to purchase a sofa, of all issues!

BS: We’re comedian guide nerds. It’s good to have a little bit toy field the place we will create our personal lore. We’re actually severe about comedy. After which we’re actually severe about lore. We’ll make very small adjustments to a chunk of set adorning if it’s not fairly proper and according to one thing we stated three seasons in the past.

Do you let your self take into consideration what the present would seem like in future seasons? Or are the 2 of you primarily centered on what you’re engaged on within the current?

BS: I feel we undoubtedly need each reveals to get one other season, we might like to do extra. One in every of my favourite issues is after I run into anyone in Chicago or wherever they usually say that “South Facet” or “Sherman’s Showcase” bought them by the pandemic. The concept that we’ve these reveals which are bingeable and are enjoyable, that individuals can watch and love, that’s actually particular. However I additionally suppose that Diallo and I actually need to ensure that we will maintain making comedy.

DR: I’ve been pondering loads about Robert Townsend recently as a result of I am going again and I watch quite a lot of these issues. Everyone remembers the forged of Saturday Night time Stay that they love a lot. However I didn’t understand till lately simply how a lot the comedy of Robert Townsend, and his “Companions in Crime” collection after I was a child, actually knowledgeable my comedy. It’s not simply “Hollywood Shuffle.” I clearly watched quite a lot of episodes of “Companions in Crime.” I really feel like he’s like Nic Cage, considered one of these individuals who was nice and appreciated by individuals on the time, however his identify doesn’t get introduced up sufficient.

BS: I’ll go additional. I really feel like Robert Townsend is unquestionably the unsung hero of Black comedy. You already know, he’s undoubtedly the man who knowledgeable quite a lot of us. “Hollywood Shuffle,” by the way in which, continues to be manner too rattling related, sadly. Like he would suppose, “Oh, it’s an outdated film. It doesn’t actually have any relevance these days.” And then you definitely watch it and also you go, “Oh, crap. It’s so poignant.”

DR: I really feel such as you and I are so good at discovering expertise earlier than possibly even the town of Hollywood is aware of who they’re. After I watch any of these outdated issues, I’m like, “Oh, there’s a 16-year-old Marlon Wayans speaking to Robin Harris.” It’s not even simply the celebs alongside Robert Townsend. It’s all of the individuals in between the pockets. 10 years from that point, you wouldn’t have the ability to afford to shoot this, as a result of all people’s worth level went up. However at the moment, he was working with so many humorous comedians. I really feel like that’s one factor that we’re actually good at, is discovering who is likely to be massive within the subsequent three to 5 years.

New episodes of “South Facet” Season 3 premiere Thursdays on HBO Max. 

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