Serge May Storm TV

dorsey tim
by Oline H. Cogdill

In the annals of mystery fiction, Serge A. Storms may be the oddest.

In author Tim Dorsey’s (at left) 19 novels, Serge has emerged as a kind of Florida folk hero.

A serial killer, yes, but one who targets people who disrespect Florida or are just downright jerks.

Now Dorsey’s dark comic novels may be fodder for the TV series Florida Roadkill, named for the first novel in the series and produced by Sonar Entertainment. Evan Endicott and Josh Stoddard are set to write the adaptation and executive produce. The pair created the Amazon comedy series Betas and are currently writers and producers on MTV’s The Shannara Chronicles.

Knowing the nature of Dorsey’s series, I doubt we will see the series on network or cable TV. HBO, Showtime or Netflix seems a better fit, I think.

No date has been set for the series to launch.

Unlike Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter, another serial killer who also is the main character of a series, Serge really has no compunction to kill. Dexter is a monster, who learned to channel his urges toward those much worse than he. The Dexter novels and especially the Showtime series with Michael C. Hall almost became a kind of social commentary on the need for justice.

Serge has no such social issues. And Dorsey plays the series strictly for the humor, exploring every odd bit of Florida behavior that makes it to the news and has people shaking their heads and commenting, “Only in Florida...”

dorseytim coconutcowboyDorsey never has to look far for those stories, either. Like the woman who commandeered a scooter and drove around a big-box store, drinking wine and eating sushi.

Or the senior citizens who are arrested for taking home buckets of food from a buffet.

Not to mention the countless incidents of bad drivers, bad neighbors and just plain rudeness.

And, please, I know what I am talking about. I live in the Sunshine State.

While Carl Hiaasen, another Floridian crime writer, uses a lot of social satire in his novels, much like a modern-day Jonathan Swift, Dorsey goes for the buffoonery, the banana peel on the sidewalk, the pie in the face.

In each of the 19 reviews I have done on Dorsey’s 19 novels, I have likened his series to the literary equivalent of the Three Stooges. And I say that with much affection.

Dorsey’s latest trek across Florida with Serge is Coconut Cowboy.

Dorsey’s Serge is quite popular. His book events bring out the crowds  in Florida—see his photos on his website—so I imagine his fans will follow him to the small screen.

One thing for sure, there is no dearth of ideas about bad behavior in Florida.

Oline Cogdill
2016-01-31 04:17:52