Fairfax Avenue is a colorful hub that runs north to south in central Los Angeles. It’s a a collection of vibrant micro cultures that is representative of the city. Fairfax is so iconic that it has an animated TV series named after it. We spoke to the show’s creators Matthew Hausfater, Teddy Riley & Aaron Buchsbaum and their exploration of four middle school students quest for social clout and fitting in while standing out.

In a nutshell, Fairfax is about youth culture in 2021. “There are so many elements in influencer culture, streetwear, and pop culture today that haven’t been previously explored in a satire through an animated lens,” said Riley. There is always a danger in making these cultural references so time-sensitive that they quickly become outdated. The key to addressing this issue is by using evergreen universal youth stories that have stood the test of time. “Stories like wanting to go the cool kids’ party, wanting to join the varsity sports team, and wanting to look good at the pool party have been told for years time and time again,” added Hausfater. He likens these stories to the timeless coming-of-age films of John Hughes.

The mission for the writers was to set these stories at Fairfax Middle School where every student presents themselves on social media. Being a thirteen year old is hard work. “In 2021, we’re asking students to know their brands and be their own marketing executives. We added this to the tried and true stories of trying to be cooler than you are while trying to find your place in society.” This is especially true of Dale (Skyler Gisondo), a geeky transplant from Oregon trying to find his feet.

Top to Bottom: Aaron Buchsbaum, Matthew Hausfater & Teddy Riley)

The writing trio grew up in Los Angeles and have intimate knowledge of Fairfax Avenue. “Fairfax was the block we started loitering on as kids,” declared Buchsbaum. “It’s a vibrant cultural hub of fashion and food that was rarely seen on the screen in favor of Hollywood.” It was their opportunity to redirect attention to another part of Los Angeles for the world. “Fairfax Avenue serves as a microcosm for internet culture today.”

When the writers pitched Fairfax to Amazon executives, they struck a balance between pitching a show that felt familiar yet was new and distinct in its own right. “We grew up watching shows like South Park, Recess, Hey Arnold! and Animaniacs,” continued Buchsbaum. “We wanted to pay visual and stylistic homage to them.”

Fairfax moves at the breakout speed reflective of internet culture today while taking short breaths to explore character. “There are two real recipes for making the show. The first is the emotionality of the life and death stakes of what it’s like to be a twelve or thirteen year old,” said Hausfater. This could be something as relatable as summoning up the courage to tell a girl that you like her at a pool party. “Then you can add the window dressing of fun and jokes before getting back to the heart of the episode.”

Aaron Buchsbaum continued, “It was important to us to be authentic to the way middle school kids speak – the cadence, the banter, and finishing each other’s sentences.” It was also imperative to capture the speed at which kids function today. “They are incredibly connected to celebrity culture and what’s going on in the world,” continued Riley.

Meet The Students At Fairfax Middle School

The core characters of the show are Dale, Derica (Kiersey Clemons), Benny (Peter S. Kim) and Truman (Jaboukie Young-White). “The characters came to us naturally because they were representative of our friend groups growing up in L.A.,” stated Riley. “The writers, artists, and actors put their fingerprints on each character to bring them to life.” For instance, Truman’s character was originally written differently until Jaboukie (Young-White) was cast and made Truman his own.

Aaron Buchsbaum added that there is only so much character you can put on the page. “The actors honed in on them and knew what made them tick. The way they speak brought the characters to life.”

The creators are well-aware of the ephemeral nature of youth culture. Fortunately, they recruited their thirteen year old cousins as cultural consultants to ensure the validity of the references. “Nobody daps any more or says ‘dope’. ‘Lame’ is now ‘cringe,’” explained Hausfater.

Derica (Kiersey Clemons)

Moreover, Buchsbaum frequently consulted the internet to ensure the authenticity of the show’s dialogue. The internet was also a source of potential story ideas. “We were watching the Met Gala which inspired the car pool red carpet event that opens episode 2.”

The writers concede that some non-middle school audience may not fully understand all the references in the show. And that’s OK. “Trying to be so self-aware of that can create problems,” stated Riley. “We stayed true to what we found funny. There were jokes on The Simpsons or South Park that flew over our heads because we were too young to understand them at the time.” Sometimes something sounds funny and the audience can look it up on the internet to discover its meaning.

Fairfax is underscored by bigger themes that weren’t going away soon and illuminated with snappy dialogue. “Instagram, Tik Tok, music festivals, health food culture, and influencer culture,” were all low-hanging fruit that would be around for a few years said Hausfater.

The writers were relative newcomers to the TV writers’ room so they relied on the tutelage to their showrunner Peter A. Knight (Bojack Horseman) to keep proceedings on track. “We started the development process with a very grounded, emotional motivation to the episode,” stated Riley. “Once we decided the emotions were real, the jokes came easily. We poured more acid into the punchbowl until we found the style unique to the show.”

The ideation phase of finding the stories and emotional core took around five days. “We had a giant white board on our wall and we’d break each episode into acts and A, B, and C stories,” added Buchsbaum. “We ended up with very strong detailed outlines which contained themes, jokes, plots, and even dialogue woven into it.” The outlines were dispersed to the writers who would return a draft in a similar time frame.

They also faced familiar challenges in the TV writers’ room including writers’ block and becoming paralyzed by too many story ideas. “We set the tone and attitude for the room and persisted through the challenges,” said Buchsbaum. If they were stuck, they’d change the energy of the room and perhaps change location. Some of the writers on Fairfax were newcomers, so they were given plenty of freedom to make mistakes. “There are no bad pitches. There are no wrong answers. Everything is fair game. We’re having fun,” exclaimed Hausfater. “It shook things loose.”

One might imagine that a show that executed at such breakneck speed might run out of material. “Everybody was telling us to cut stuff back. Our scripts came in too long.” confessed Buchsbaum. “That’s our natural pace,” said Riley. “This generation of kids are constantly multi-tasking at high speed,” expounded Hausfater. “Fairfax is a balancing act of theme, character and emotion,” said Buchsbaum. “These elements are always the through line.” For Hausfater, it was also a matter of balancing the internal and external arcs of the characters; their inner wants versus outer needs. “This is how we balanced the comedy with the emotionality.” The comedy must allow you to make fun of a character without being mean.

The animation medium was essential for the show. “If it was made in live action, it would have been too saccharine and sentimental as opposed to highlighting what is crazy and funny about this world,” stated Riley. “We grew up on film, so we always referenced them in the show,” said Hausfater.

Teddy Riley claimed that Fairfax might have been an action movie rather than a comedy if it was shot in live action. “There’s a big action set piece, then you pause to catch your breath before the next action sequence. It’s similar to music. You find a rhythm that feels right.”

Buchsbaum and Hausfater cut their writing teeth on action comedy. “The recipe for success is to weave heart into the story as a base layer. Then you can go as bonkers as you want! That’s why we love animation so much.“