Jason Sudeikis to produce comedy about revitalizing Detroit, because that’s a joke

Detroit is a city crying out for relief. Economic devastation and urban blight has ravaged the soul of this once-thriving metropolis, turning it into a shorthand expression of America’s ugly descent into third-world conditions amid the prosperity of its wealthiest citizens. As a longtime Detroit homicide detective says in a recent bestseller about the town which puts the word “autopsy” right in its title, “It’s a dead city. And anybody says any different doesn’t know what . . . he’s talking about.” So naturally, it’s ripe material for comedy. And Deadline reports that Comedy Central is finally taking advantage of this laugh-a-minute premise by picking up Detroiters, a 10-episode series produced by Jason Sudeikis.

The show stars SNL’s Tim Robinson and Veep’s Sam Richardson as “small-time Detroit ad men who aspire to help turn their hometown back into the glittering jewel of the Midwest that it once was.” Sudeikis will appear in a small number of episodes as a “successful automotive executive Sam and Tim relentlessly pursue in an effort to land their first big-time client.” In short, it sounds like their characters’ noble dreams for the city might have an ulterior motive, which makes a wonderful allegory for the many real-life businessmen who have made similar proclamations about the Motor City. And, in a bit of kismet that you couldn’t make up because it would be just too perfect, there are discussions underway to see if the show, whose pilot was filmed on location in Detroit, could be shot in L.A. or New York, instead. So, everyone’s on the same page about revitalizing Detroit, then.