Popular and 'absurd' Netflix show loaded with Wilmington locations, actors

"Florida Man," the darkly comic, sun-drenched Netflix neo-noir that shot in the Wilmington area in 2021, was the No. 2 most-watched show on the streaming service over the weekend.

Released April 13, the seven-episode limited series about gangster goings-on in the Sunshine State features numerous Wilmington-area locations and actors. It stars Edgar Ramirez ("Yes Day") as cop-turned-mob-enforcer Mike Valentine, who decamps from Philadelphia to Florida, initially to find his boss' runaway girlfriend, Delly (Australian actress Abbey Lee), but eventually to pull One Last Score with his dad (Anthony LaPaglia of Wilmington-shot classic "Empire Records") before quitting his life of crime.

Along the way, and as the show's title refers to, the plot weaves in plenty of bizarre, ripped-from-the-headlines stories involving inept criminals — like the one about the man who was being transported to jail when the police vehicle he was in hit an ambulance, which the man then stole.

Created by Donald Todd, "Florida Man" is co-produced by actor Jason Bateman.

The Port City gets involved from the get-go, with Wilmington actor Nick Basta playing Gil Franco, a gambler who owes money to the mob, and who gets injured trying to escape from Ramirez in a wild opening scene. Later, Basta's character is further roughed up by the mob and plays a key role throughout the series, as Gil's name is invoked repeatedly.

"I enjoyed 'Florida Man' immensely. Not only did I get to work with Edgar Ramirez, I got to act with (Wilmington's) Jack Landry for our first on-screen scene," Basta said. "I adore Donald Todd and this is the second time we’ve worked together, so it was all a joy."

Downtown Wilmington is all up in "Florida Man" as it fills in for Philadelphia, with Martinez meeting up with his character's his ex-wife (Lex Scott Davis) for a drink at Hell's Kitchen on Princess Street. Quanto Basta on Second Street is the fancy restaurant where gangster Moss Yankov (Emory Cohen) takes Delly, and Tavern Law on Second can be seen in the background as Ramirez waits to drive Delly home.

Lee, as Delly, walks down Princess Street past Dunkin Donuts, and she and Ramirez are shown outside of the Cotton Exchange on Front Street before Ramirez goes into Clean Juice at Front and Grace, which has been changed into a coffee shop for "Florida Man." (That location has hosted a Port City Java in the past.)

In another scene, Delly has a meal in the White Front diner on Market Street.

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Once the action switches from Philly to the Florida town of Coronado Beach, multiple area beaches get in on the act.

The SeaWitch Inn in Carolina Beach is transformed into the punctuation-challenged Palm's Inn (it's Florida, after all), which serves as Mike and Delly's home base in loads of scenes throughout the series.

Also in Carolina Beach, multiple scenes take place on and near the Boardwalk (the Ferris wheel there provides the backdrop for one cool shot), and the Islander Quik Mart, Carolina Beach Town Hall and Melissa's Coin Laundry pop up as well. When Ramirez's character tries to save a drowning swimmer and is bit by a shark, the action takes place on the Carolina Beach strand.

Jack Mackeral's restaurant in Kure Beach portrays punctuation-challenged bar The Gators Tail, and Lagerheads bar, Roberts Grocery and Crystal Pier in Wrightsville Beach show up in other scenes.

Getting tons of screen time is the Sailfish restaurant at Marsh Creek Marine off Scotts Hill Loop Road, which plays Sonny's, a bar owned by LaPaglia's character.

Elsewhere in Wilmington, Ramirez visits the Starway Flea Market, and a character played by the actor Clark Gregg ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.") is pictured at the Forden Station bus terminal. When Gregg's character escapes from jail, he's shown running at an area near the Rusty Nail bar on South Fifth Avenue, and the Wilmington Riverwalk also appears briefly in the show's sixth episode.

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All Ways Graphics gets some time in the spotlight as the place Ramirez goes to print up some fake business cards, and other scenes take places outside the Wilmington Convention Center and at Front and Chestnut streets. St. John's Episcopal Church near Park Avenue is used as the exterior of a mobster's mansion.

For the many scenes by a sinkhole from which characters are trying to retrieve a truck they believe might be filled with gold, a giant set was built on a vacant lot near the Pointe at Barclay shopping center.

One of the characters in those scenes is the former Wilmington actor Mark Jeffrey Miller, who plays Buzz, a rangy ex-cop with top-notch diving skills. Buzz has been a bit erratic since being electrocuted by faulty wiring while trying to arrest a suspect years before, and Miller captures that off-kilter energy.

Wilmington actress Jane McNeill provides some touching moments as the grieving mother of an ambulance driver on life support, and local actor and Cape Fear Community College theater instructor Jack Landry provides the voice of a man leading a Gamblers Anonymous meeting.

Amanda Goodyear plays a woman in another 12-step meeting, and Jamie Pasquinelli plays a waitress at a restaurant called Breakers.

"Florida Man," which has a banging, garage-rock heavy soundtrack, has generally been more popular with audiences than with critics, with The Spool calling it a "sunny mistake" and Collider deeming it "absurd but mildly entertaining."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Florida Man hits No. 2 on Netflix, filled with Wilmington locations