Few people would willingly go back to middle school — and even fewer would opt to return during this time of social media, influencers, and clout. It sounds like a nightmare. Making light of the subject comes Amazon Studios' latest adult animation series,Fairfax.
The show’s debuting season dropped on the streaming platform on October 29 and it stars the recognizable voices of comedian Jaboukie Young-White, Skyler Gisondo (Santa Clarita Diet), Kiersey Clemons (Zack Snyder’s Justice League), and Camila Mendes (Riverdale). Amazon describes this show as a “comedy series that follows four middle school best friends on their never-ending quest for clout on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles—the pulsing heart of hypebeast culture.” It’s packed with witty quips, confusing lingo, and the all-too-familiar drive of wanting to fit in.
Related:Interview: Lizzy Caplan Talks Netflix’s Inside Job & The Lessons She’s Learned Over The Years
Ahead ofFairfax’s premiere, Game Rant spoke with Skyler Gisondo and Kiersey Clemons about their respective characters Dale and Derica, their real-life middle school experience, and their relationship with the adult animation genre. Introducing us to Derica, Clemons broke down her character’s journey throughout the series. She expressed, “It’s a beautiful journey. There’s this journey of her sexuality and who she is and what that means. And there’s the journey of finding out that her friends will be there through really hard times and how much they have each other’s backs.” The actor added, “You get to see her grow up in this really important year of her life and that’s really cool.”
Game Rant: Skyler, the last show I saw you in wasSanta Clarita Diet— I was totally obsessed — and you’ve been in so many projects since then. What’s it like bouncing from live-action to animation?
Gisondo:I love the animated world. It’s awesome. Whenever you’re working on a movie or a show, the days are really drawn out, it might be 12 to 16 hours and there’s a lot of time between setups. It takes time to adjust the lighting, move the camera.
You come into every day with all of these ideas and choices you’ve made and sometimes it can be difficult to keep your energy up and stay in that zone. Especially if it’s emotional stuff. Whereas with this, it’s like you pop in for an hour, it’s super quick. You’re just alone in a room. You don’t have to match anything, you’re not worried about what you look like. It’s really freeing to kind of just go nuts. And it’s really such a fun enjoyable process.
You mentioned that you’re a huge fan of the animation world. What are some of your inspirations? Did you watch anything to tap into yourFairfaxcharacter?
Gisondo:No, no character specifically just because Dale—I pretty much am Dale. My favorite animated movie is probablySurf’s Up.
Gisondo:Oh, dude, have you seen it?
Clemons:I’ve seen it.
Gisondo:I recently rewatched it. I just love the whole found footage thing, everything about it. I’ve seenSurf’s Upprobably like eight or nine times.
You mentioned a little bit about the recording process. Did you guys record in a traditional recording booth? Or are you guys using an at-home studio?
Clemons:It was an at-home studio but also, in closets. It was not an elaborate setup. Sometimes it would just be this booth blanket thing on a desk and I would be under there for the whole time recording with one of our creators on the laptop. I’d be screaming like Derica and then, coming out with my neck f***ed up. Other times I was sitting in the closet with towels and blankets everywhere and on the floor in the dark.
Gisondo:The same, yeah, in the closet like a crazy person. It’s like a one-man tent-type situation. They sent us a really nice insulating blanket which I somehow lost. So, I was always using a bunch of towels or coats or trying to tie clothes together to make a large enough blanket situation. And yeah, just yelling in the dark.
Can you sell your show in one sentence? What makes it special?
Clemons:If you believe in rights for all people, you’ll watchFairfax. That’s how you gaslight people. If you believe that Black Lives Matter, you will watchFairfax.
Gisondo:If I find you and you haven’t watched it, I will punch you.
There are some iconic names associated with the series. Was there anyone that you fanboyed over?
Gisondo:They rounded out the cast with such amazing people. Henry Winkler was such a trip.Ben Schwartzwas really cool. I’d seen, a couple years ago, his long-form improv show that was on Netflix,Middleditch and Schwartz. And it was so brilliantly funny. I just think he’s the man.
So when I found out he was a part of it, and we have a bunch of stuff together in a part of a love-triangle situation with Zoey Deutch’s character — she’s also so funny. But it was so much fun to get to mix it up with him.
Where did you find inspiration for your character? Did you find yourself mentally going back to middle school?
Clemons:No, I wasn’t like that in middle school. I think probably just from like, who I am now. And I really, really believe in recognizing in how when you’re in high school, or middle school, like that really is your entire world. And all of those feelings are so intense and valid. I have little sisters, so I’m sure there was some inspiration there.
Do your little sisters randomly go live on Instagram all the time? Because that’s my cousin’s thing. I don’t think I get it.
Clemons:Yes. When live just started happening on Instagram and I didn’t know how it worked — and I’m very protective of my sisters, and my sister invited me to go live. I said “okay” because I thought it would be on like her private little Instagram. As soon as people started coming in, I was like, “What’s going on?” I’m like yelling at my sister like “Oh, we’re done.”
Well, hopefully, she enjoys the show. Maybe she’ll see herself in it.
Clemons:I don’t even know if she knows aboutFairfax. We’re gonna find out.
