Julie Hinds

Detroit Free Press Pop Culture Critic

"Detroiters," the laugh-provoking vehicle from Comedy Central, will be assembling its 2018 model in the Motor City.

The cable network announced Monday that the series created by and starring Sam Richardson (who's originally from Detroit) and Tim Robinson (who hails from Clarkston) has been renewed for a second season.

More good news? The production will be coming back to Detroit to film season two.

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Comedy Central president Kent Alterman said Monday that the city adds a huge element to "Detroiters."

"Two of the most compelling components of the show are the chemistry and the friendship that Sam and Tim have. And the next one is the third character in the show, which is really the city of Detroit. There's so much character that comes through because Detroit has a lot of character. But also we wouldn't have it any other way. The idea of pretending that it was Detroit, rather than actually shooting there, I think, would be contradictory to the spirit of the show," said Alterman.

Richardson and Robinson met more than a dozen years ago through Second City Detroit and became close friends while working there and at Planet Ant in Hamtramck.

In the series, they play small-time Detroit ad men whose ambitions include landing a big account like Chrysler (fellow executive producer Jason Sudeikis plays a Chrysler exec on the show).

The critical response to "Detroiters" has been largely positive, especially toward the sitcom's goofy, good-natured tone and portrayal of Sam and Tim as best friends. In previous interviews with the Free Press, both actors have said the characters are inspired by their own real-life friendship.

"What we always say is Tim and Sam are the real Tim and Sam if we were twice as dumb and half as lucky," said Richardson.

According to Alterman, the decision to renew the show was driven by several factors, including the network's "total belief" in Richardson and Robinson and the show's entire creative team, the potential to build on the creative results of the first season and the audience's reaction to the series.

"The ratings pretty much doubled in terms of playback, from live in comparison to the playback numbers, and that's always a good sign that it's resonating for people," said Alterman.

The renewal of "Detroiters" ends something of a Detroit TV jinx: The previous two network series that were set and shot here – ABC's "Detroit 1-8-7" and AMC's "Low Winter Sun" – were both canceled after one season.

The "Detroiters" pilot was filmed during a five-day shoot in June 2015 in and around Detroit. The project was approved for more than $445,000 in Michigan film incentives on expected spending of more than $1 million.

About a month after filming wrapped, the State of Michigan ended its incentives program, putting the brakes on the flood of movie and TV projects that had been arriving in the region. "At first, when they took away the incentive, Sam and I were devastated," recalled Robinson earlier this year. "We were like, 'Oh, we have to scrap the show.' We didn't want to do it. It just meant so much to us to shoot it back home."

Fortunately, Comedy Central agreed. "Detroiters" was given an OK by the network for a 10-episode first season and returned to the Motor City in 2016 for filming (and got help navigating the process from the Michigan Film & Digital Media Office and the City of Detroit).

Season one guest stars have included Obba Babatunde, Michael Che, Steve Higgins, George Wallace and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Future episodes will feature Rick Mahorn, Kevin Nash, Cecily Strong and Trick Trick,

Keegan-Michael Key, one of the biggest stars to emerge from Detroit's improv comedy community, will guest star in Tuesday's episode (10:30 p.m.) as Smilin' Jack, a furniture store owner whose billboards are the target of dirty graffiti attacks.

Contact Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.