“It’s Always Been Inside Me, Wanting To Get Out”

How Godamsterdam, the only ‘90s sitcom filmed in 2010, is testing the boundaries of comedy, making viewers urinate uncontrollably, and ruining one man’s life.

As Jason and I walk up to the Devonshire townhomes on Ponce de Leon Pl., an aloof black cat named Kitty sits on the front stoop licking his paws. The door is unlocked, so we let ourselves into a warm, brightly lit house, and find about a dozen people laughing and talking. Empty beer cans and camera equipment crowd the tabletops, and a green screen divides the kitchen and dining room.

In the living room, a small Ikea table with a television set is the only object that betrays this place as the bachelor pad of Max Fisher, Godamsterdam’s co-producer and writer. The rest of the room is a perfectly realized 1990s girl’s bedroom, complete with Apple 2C computer, floral print, twin-sized bed, and raccoon poster that reads, “You don’t fail until you quit.”

The set was built for Hanna, a main character in Cohenberg Kramerstein’s Godamsterdam, the comedy web series produced by Max Fisher and Ben Cohen. After premiering at the Plaza Theater’s Local Filmmakers Night this summer, Godamsterdam received attention from publications around the city, including CNN.

Atlantans are falling for the show that, in its own words, is “better than a nap.” Even when it’s pushing the boundaries as far as they’ll go, you find yourself wanting in on the joke. So you laugh– even if you don’t get it. Because sometimes there’s nothing to get.

Godamsterdam lives in a bizarre, liminal world, between derivative and groundbreaking, internet and television, grassroots and professional, satire and homage. To understand Godamsterdam, you have to enter into its universe and, moreover, understand the people behind it. Because to know Godamsterdam is to love it.

On this night the cast and crew film transition scenes for their latest episode, “Godamsterdam: A Dinner Party.”

Purge: I am curious as to what made you decide—

Ben Cohen: I look absolutely terrible by the way. I haven’t shaved.

Purge: Jason will Photoshop Tom Cruise onto you. I want to know what made you say, “I think it’d be really cool to make a ‘90s television show for the internet.”

Ben: Godamsterdam didn’t start that way. It didn’t become so specifically that until I set the cast and crew—in particular Max and Chris [Sailor, cinematographer and writer]. The show started as an amorphous sitcom. Every week it was supposed take on a different style of comedy. But we started with a ‘90s sitcom and liked it too much.

Purge: So the ‘90s style stuck?

Ben: We tried out a few more old timey ideas but they weren’t flying as well. Then we realized the ‘90s is where we come from; it’s now the time, generationally, to look back at that period. We know about it; we grew up in it; we’re all obsessed with Fresh Prince and Saved By the Bell and Family Matters.

On the other hand, all of our favorite contemporary shows have abandoned the laugh track and multi-camera format. We loved the idea that we could be liberated enough to use a single camera.

“So Godamsterdam kind of looks like Fresh Prince and has jokes like Fresh Prince, but it’s assertive and dark and offensive the way these single-camera shows are now.”

Purge: There’s something unsettling about the fact that Godamsterdam doesn’t tell you how to react. So when you watch you’re like, “Wait, I think I’m supposed to laugh at that, but there’s nobody laughing already that I can follow…”

Ben: Right. As much as I love the idea of the laugh track dictating to you when to laugh—one of the more remarkable things about sitcoms that we’ve kind of written off as being terrible—I really like that Godamsterdam can look like a sitcom but still allow the viewers to decide for themselves.

Purge: I think that’s where the satire comes in. But even so, when you watch it you’re wondering, is it making fun of that kind of show or being that kind of show? That’s what I like about it.

Ben: That’s the dynamic we’ve set up. It’s hard to not make fun of Saved By the Bell after a certain point, especially the parts that are so heavy. Like those melodramatic social message moments at the end, when the music hits, and the parents have a talk with the kids, and the romance happens, and Jessie is on caffeine pills. We definitely want to poke fun at those moments, but anything you make fun of that much you ultimately love and are paying tribute to.

Purge: I know the ‘90s have come back, but is anybody else doing this kind of pastiche television show?

Ben: Nothing that’s been picked up. I haven’t searched the whole web, but from what people have told me, especially in Atlanta, nobody’s doing this. That’s why we should be on actual TV, as much as we love the internet.

Purge: Television is the ultimate destination?

Ben: Yes. At first we were just going to do three five-minute shorts, but we decided really quickly that twenty-minute sitcoms are what we love to make, and we live in a city that loves to produce them.

Purge: Speaking of being picked up, you’ve gotten a lot of press. You’ve been on CNN, in Scoutmob, Purge ATL—

Ben: Purge ATL, the best one. No offense, CNN. Yeah, and we’ve been mentioned in passing in Creative Loafing. We’ve screened at the Plaza Theater. This will be our 3^rd time at the Plaza if I can finish editing. We also screened at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival.

Somebody on the street the other day recognized one of our extras and said, “Hey, are you on that Godamsterdam? Do y’all shoot that in Atlanta?” I imagine if you don’t know that we shoot it here, then you must not know anybody who’s on set. You just found out about it.

At this point in the interview it becomes very hard to hear. “This Is the Rhythm of the Night” plays as the crew gets ready to film the transitions, which traditionally feature two characters dancing their way past one another in front of a colorful backdrop. Ashley Schindler, who plays Sissela, one of the leads, laughs loudly.

Purge: You’ve done three episodes that have come out online.

Ben: Yes, but we’re actually changing that format because the first one we did is not as 90s and perfect as we wanted it to be. There’s a lot of roughness around the edges. So we’re regrouping. But we have “Yellow Fever,” “Freezer Pop Rollerblade Day,” and now “Godamsterdam: A Dinner Party,” which we’re taglining a period piece.

Purge: How is it a period piece?

Ben: Well, other than the fact that it takes place in the ‘90s, we have a central theme around tampons. So there’s that.

Purge: Can you leak any details about the episode?

Ben: Sure. In this episode we find ourselves catching up with Reginald and Sissela, the couple that can never quite get together, and the girls encounter a long-lost best frienemy, Vicky, whom they haven’t seen since middle school.

The girls have a grudge going way back; we’re not sure why. Out of the blue Vicky pops up and invites them to a dinner party, where they have to bring dates. Let’s just say they bring some familiar faces. That’s as far as I’m gonna go.

Next I approach the two leads, Kelly Frances, who plays Hanna, and Ashley. Kelly is a film student at Georgia State University, where Ben and Max are both getting their Masters in film, and where Ben T.A.s. She just signed with an agency. Ashley has a day job at the High Museum. The girls, including Stephanie Nicholson, who plays Vicky in the newest episode, have been huddled around one another drinking the wine I brought and laughing. I’m a little nervous so I stumble over my words.

Purge: Hey, can I guys… can I talk to you guys?

Girls: Oh, yeah!

Purge: (mocking myself) Can I guys talk to you?

Kelly Frances: You can totally guys talk to us!

Purge: I’m nervous. And I drank too much because I was nervous.

Kelly: We should have you around more often.

Purge: I could be a cast member.

Kelly: She could be a homeless person. That’s like all of our cameos. I wanted to be a homeless person.

Purge: Instead you became Hanna. How did that happen?

Kelly: It’s always been inside me, wanting to get out.

Max Fisher: Print that. That can be the headline.

Purge: “It’s always been inside me…”

Kelly: “…Wanting to get out.” It sounds like I’m birthing an alien right now.

Purge: (to Ashley) And have you always been Sissela?

Ashley Schindler: It was a bit of a progression for me. It wasn’t actually until Ernie’s character, Reginald, her love interest, came into the picture that Sissela clicked for me. Which was interesting because that’s never happened. Normally I just study it by myself and get it.

Purge: From what Ben was saying it sounds like the show came together collaboratively.

Kelly: Well, we got the script. From there we developed the relationship between Hanna and Sissela, and then we added supporting characters.

Ashley: We started rehearsing in November but didn’t even shoot until January or February. We spent the first two or three months just getting to know each other, getting to understand the characters.

Kelly: Figuring out a background.

Purge: How’s the shooting been this time?

Ashley: Hectic, because this was the first shoot where we shot ‘til like three in the morning.

Kelly: It was four.

Ashley: You’re right. It was our first night shoot. We started at six and ended at four.

Kelly: Lotta Red Bull.

Purge: With all the Red Bull and the late nights, does there get to be some drama on the set?

Ashley: I hate everyone.

Kelly: Vicky’s the worst.

Stephanie Nicholson: Why am I the worst?

Ashley: Actually we all work pretty well together. I’m kind of surprised. I thought maybe because we were working so late and so long there would be stuff but it really went smoothly. We all pretty much laughed throughout the night.

Kelly: There was a lot of stuff going on that you couldn’t help but laugh at. I mean, in the next episode you will probably cry.

Ashley: From sadness or from joy? Because I feel like at times it could go either way.

Purge: Sometimes you don’t know what that emotion is. It’s just there.

Ashley: It’s just coming out.

Kelly: Like bodily fluids.

Purge: So the next episode of Godamsterdam will make you laugh, cry, and pee.

All: YES!

Ashley: You will urinate uncontrollably.

Purge: What’s been the worst moment on set?

Ashley: It was during “Freezer Pop Rollerblade Day.” [Ben] put me in children’s kneepads and elbow pads because he wanted me to be super miserable. And I was super miserable.

Kelly: She could not rollerblade at all. We had to catch her when she started rolling away.

Purge: I remember that happening in the show.

Ashley: It was balls hot. I was in these kids’ pads. I can’t rollerblade. It was the worst day.

Purge: Fortunately they worked that into the script.

Ashley: Well, [Ben] was like, “It’s convenient that you’re so horrible at rollerblading, because Sissela is horrible at rollerblading.”

Purge: You’re a natural Sissela.

Kelly: My worst moment would have to be “Yellow Fever.” They actually had me bite into garlic. And then they poured a bucket of water on top of me. Oh, wait, I did that myself. Then I had to do cold wet yoga.

Purge: But you felt so much better afterwards, right?

Kelly: No.

Purge: I guess that’s why that didn’t catch on.

Ashley: My favorite line from this episode is during a flashback scene where we’re all twelve years old, showing how the feud started between the girls and Vicky. And twelve-year-old Sissela says, “God, Vicky, you can really be a chatty little cunt sometimes.” I like that one.

I turn to Max and Ben as they direct Ernie Anderson, who plays Reginald, and Rafiq Batcha, who plays Dr. Doqtar.

Purge: What about you, Max? What’s your favorite line?

Max: Mine?

Purge: Yes. The best line you’ve ever written. Or not written.

Max: Um…

Purge: What’s your favorite snack to eat on set?

Ben: Follow-up question! Pizza bagels is that answer.

Max: Oh my God, pizza bagels!

Purge: Is that true? And if so, why?

Max: This is a hard-hitting interview. My favorite snack would have to be Almond Joy. Because no one else likes them.

Ben: It is only Max’s snack.

C & C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now” plays in the background. Rafik and Ernie’s dancing is hilarious and really distracting if you’re trying to get an interview that makes any sense at all.

Max: Splenda. I like Splenda. (Directing) Both of you walk forward a little. (To me) He didn’t move at all.

Purge: You still haven’t answered that favorite line question yet.

Max: I can’t answer that. This next episode is full of zingers, but I don’t know if I want to reveal any.

Ashley: Oh, come on. It’s fine.

Max: Hanna got her first period. In first period. I thought of that one.

Ben: I think my favorite line from [“Freezer Pop Rollerblade Day”] was something about heroin addicts…

Max: They only use crayons.

Ashley: “Junkies only use crayons!”

Ben: “Junkies only use crayons.” That was it.

Purge: I never really figured out what happens to Hanna in that scene.

Max: Which part?

Ben: When she’s high as shit on crayons?

Purge: Yeah, but instead of getting high she just plays with crayons. There were no drugs used, right? It was just crayons.

Ben: It was just crayons. Crayons have the same effect on Hanna that regular drugs have on other people.

Max: It’s like a metaphor. For drugs. It’s like a simile. It’s like a simile.

Ben: (directing) Watch your light, Kelly. It’s an analogy to a simile to a metaphor. It was just us taking an object and treating it under the same filter as drug movies. We were pulling from Midnight Cowboy and Easy Rider.

The room erupts in laughter at the dancing going on behind me.

Ben: Is there anything better than what’s happening right now (referring to Ernie and Rafiq)? We could spend months writing scripts and there’s still nothing that is more elegant than this, right now.

Purge: Did they practice?

Ben and Max: No!

Ben: It’s all improv, which is crucial to this show. He’s—oh my God, [Rafiq] is fishing for the camera! Just so you know, that man has an MBA and is a producer on a feature film right now. It’s a Bollywood made in the states. You’re gonna have to talk to him about that, but that man, doing those dances right now, our Dr. Doqtar…

Ernie and Rafik step away from the green screen and the room erupts in applause. Talking to Rafiq, I find out that the film he produced is called Mumbai Connection, and will be released as soon as they find a distributor. He describes the film as “Office Space meets Godfather.”

Purge: Max, what’s it like to live on the set of Godamsterdam?

Max: It’s pretty awesome. I get to pretend. I can come down here when no one’s around and dress up like Hanna.

Hanna’s wardrobe, curated by Alexis Walker, is worth mentioning: Keds with glittery gold laces, an inflatable smiley face backpack, faux Chanel earrings. Alexis scoured thrift stores across Atlanta to find it all, and she’s constantly adding items.

Purge: If I lived here I would wear Hanna’s clothing all the time. Do the lines ever get blurred between fiction and reality?

Max: It gets really dark sometimes, living where you work. Only alcohol can cure that.Godamsterdam has basically ruined my life. Now I’m in a downward spiral. It may seem all fun and games, but it’s really not.

Purge: It’s all fun and dance until somebody’s house becomes a set.

Max: It’s all fun and dance until a green screen goes up in your living room.

We get quiet as CeCe Peniston’s “Finally” plays, and the girls begin grooving wildly in front of the camera.

Ben: Do that Nicki Minaj face!

Purge: Nicki Minaj? What’s that mean?

Ben: What’s that mean!

Max: Alright, Mom.

It occurs to me that Max and Ben are the perfect people to make this show. They’re fluent in it all, from Blossom and Babysitters’ Club to The Seventh Seal and Easy Rider, to Oprah and Jersey Shore. No wonder they pull from tropes like the “long lost frienemy” for Godamsterdam storylines; in a way, the series is a bizarre homage to all of television, told through the unique humor of its creators. Watching Godamsterdam is a little like watching Mystery Science Theater 3000, only more confusing.

Purge: So has anyone on set slept together?

Max: Well, Ben and I are an item.

Purge: Hanna and Sissela said that you were.

Max: And Chris. It’s a trinogamous situation.

Purge: Polyamor-trinogamous? How many sides does that have?

Max: It’s like a rhombus of love. But no. Not yet. It hasn’t happened. I would like for it to happen. We’ll make it happen by the time this article is published.

You heard it here first.

Don’t miss the Plaza Theater’s Local Filmmakers Night Thursday, November 11^th, at 9:30, where you can catch a sneak preview of the upcoming episode, “Godamsterdam: A Dinner Party.” While the crew wraps up editing, visit Godamsterdam.com for full-lenth episodes, shorts (including “Surprise Hanna,” the inspiration for the viral video, “Surprised Kitty”), and a daily dose of ‘90s nostalgia.

Also get ready for another Godam Dance party coming up in mid-December, possibly featuring Sealions and likely taking place at the Music Room. Stay tuned for more details.

Photo Credit: Jason Travis