Pilot Review: Detroiters

Detroiters (Comedy Central)
Premiered February 7 at 10pm

I’m making an effort to really watch every single new pilot that airs this year, though I feel like it’s crazy that we’re already up to so many and it’s barely even February. I don’t regularly watch anything on Comedy Central, but what pushed me to check this pilot out more than anything was the fact that it stars Sam Richardson. Unfortunately, this didn’t quite live up to his past work, and I followed up my viewing of this pilot with a visit to YouTube to enjoy clips of the best moments of Richardson’s character Richard Splett on “Veep,” a far better use of his talents. Here, he and Tim Robinson do have a great partnership, playing off each other to portray two best buds who do a good job sharing the same viewpoints and making speeches, but aren’t always in tune with what’s actually going on around them. Their hot tub commercial wasn’t great to begin with, and giving their art student employee final cut was a poor decision, even if it did manage to spice up the salesman’s marriage. Tracking down Jason Sudeikis’ executive and bringing along stained ties and a receipt to prove that they ate at the restaurant was the height of silliness, and while there were a few laughs to be found, it’s not the most sophisticated humor. These guys did spend a full scene throwing whatever they could at a glass wall just to amaze themselves with how unbreakable it was. That’s only funny up to a certain point.

How will it work as a series? It’s not clear to me whether Sudeikis will be a regular player on this show and they’re going to go toe-to-toe with him on an episodic basis, but I think there’s more than enough Detroit pride to go around for these two to be able to carry every half-hour and have fun doing it, even if it’s not always all that enthralling.
How long will it last? This show seems to have received a good deal of positive reviews, and while I’m not too good at reading cable ratings reports, it looks like the show did okay in its premiere. I think this show has a fun vibe that may work for some and it should be able to become a solid staple for its network.

Pilot grade: C+