To identify the culprit whospray painted dicks on every car in the faculty parking lot.
It’s a supremely stupid premise, the kind that could’ve been a one-note joke stretched too thin.
But over the course of its two seasons,American Vandalproved to be something much smarter and sweeter.
Tyler Alvarez in ‘American Vandal’.Tyler Golden/Netflix
The show lovingly lampoons true-crime staples likeSerialorMaking a Murderer,delivering a puzzle that’s both ridiculous and compelling.
DAN PERRAULT:We had a sort of unorthodox pitch because it was a very unusual show.
We had all these visuals we prepared for it.
Jimmy Tatro, Tyler Alvarez, Jessica Juarez, and Lou Wilson in ‘American Vandal’.Tyler Golden/Netflix
We would ask executives to analyze the differences, as if they were the actual documentarians.
You don’t have to censor yourself.
I mean, it’s kind of central to the show.
Tyler Alvarez, Taylor Dearden, and Griffin Gluck in ‘American Vandal’.Scott Patrick Green/Netfllix
YACENDA:I think that was the biggest thing we had going for us in that pitch.
Sarah Koenig kind of gave us the template that was peaking when we were pitching the show.
She had such an interesting voice when it came to mystery and true-crime content.
Griffin Gluck, Taylor Dearden, and Tyler Alvarez in ‘American Vandal’.Scott Patrick Green/Netflix
I feel likeSerialwas one of the first times where there was some humility.
I know, it’s stupid, right?"
She was admitting that she was biased.
‘American Vandal’ season 2.Scott Patrick Green/Netflix
She was telling you: “I’m an unreliable narrator.
So, let’s figure this out together.”
To us, that was the perfect voice to pitch a story about a high school.
Dan did a bit of aSerialimpression.
I would just have to say, “No, thesearereal people.”
You talked about how this show was born out of the true-crime boom.
What was it about that genre that you found most fun to play around with?
You’re like, “Oh, I’ll figure it out.
I’m a good judge of character.”
We were like, could you do that in a high school?
Mystery storytelling can be tricky, especially over a season-long arc.
You have to plot out red herrings and clues without ever tipping your hand to the audience.
PERRAULT:It’s a whole lot of reverse engineering.
What are we building toward?
But those inconsequential rabbit holes are part of what’s fun about a high school story.
What I think was a bug in true-crime documentaries is a feature in the comedy that’s satirizing it.
It’s interesting that you’re not parodying a single documentary or true-crime project.
You’re basically poking fun at the whole genre.
What were some of the tropes you had the most fun with?
It’s like, how dumb can we make those side stories?
But how strong can we make the connection to the main story?
I wanted to ask about Nana’s party because that is such a standout episode.
Did you really film the whole thing on actual cell phones?
One thing that always impressed me aboutAmerican Vandalis how the high schoolers actually look and sound like high schoolers.
That’s something that TV usually doesn’t get right.
How did you work with both the writers and the actors to make it actually feel like high school?
YACENDA:What’s interesting is we did a lot of research.
We talked to kids, like, “What kind of music are you listening to these days?”
We also had this philosophy that we didn’t want to use too much current slang.
PERRAULT:Another thing is that our cast was obviously very young.
We did a lot of improv takes, where we’re not coaching them on exactly what to say.
So, it would come out the way it would come out of a young person.
YACENDA:That’s a good point, Dan.
One thing we loved about Sarah Koenig is her incredible passion about the subject and finding the truth.
That sort of investment is infectious.
Tyler, he himself was so invested in the show and the case.
He’s always a part of our conversations when we talk about doing a new season or something.
He’s naturally super interested, and that sort of investment is infectious.
So, you make season 1, and it’s a hit.
Then, you return for season 2, with fewer dicks, and more poop.
What was the process of moving on to a second mystery?
That led to the idea of: What if there was a serial pooper?
YACENDA:That was the big thing.
I know a lot of people are still holding out hope for a third season.
Do you have an idea of what your ideal season 3 would look like?
YACENDA:Yeah, we know what our third season would be and where the series would go.
But the answer is that we do have a game plan that we’re very excited about.
PERRAULT:We’ve now done three seasons of documentaries if you includePlayers.
There were certain things inPlayersthat were an evolution of things we learned fromVandal.
But you always want to bring something new.
That was something I wanted to ask about:American Vandalwas your first show.
What was the biggest takeaway or learning from making those first two seasons?
The great thing is that we were doing something that had never really been done in this way before.
PERRAULT:But we really didn’t know how people would react to it.
It was a really fun ride that people responded.
We were making something a little unusual, but I’m glad we stuck to our guns and tried.
YACENDA:And for Netflix to take a roll of the dice.
It iswildthat they gave this project the thumbs up.
We’re forever grateful.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
