Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson, who also co-created the series and took inspiration from their own lives. Both men started out doing stand-up and sketch comedy in the Detroit area, and when putting together the show, decided to film locally as well.

The series follows two lifelong friends (Richardson and Robinson) who work at an advertising agency that creates commercials for local businesses. Though they are not great at the job, and appear to really dislike it, the comedy comes from the ridiculous situations they find themselves in while trying to land s. Many of the ments created for the show were based on ads they had seen while living in Detroit. Despite having a great critical response, the series did not make it to season 3.

Why Comedy Central Canceled Detroiters

Comedy Central Cites Ratings As The Reason For Cancelation

When Comedy Central canceled Detroiters, it was four months after the final episode of season 2 aired on the network - at least, it seemed that way to fans. According to an Indiewire interview with Tim Robinson, those behind the show actually knew it was canceled just two days after the season 2 finale aired. He explained:

I think Comedy Central wanted to take it to another [network], and that’s why they didn’t announce it right away. [But] it went on, and on, and on, and we weren’t hearing anything. It got to the point where it was frustrating for Sam and I to be asked all the time if it’s coming back, and then having to be dodgy about that question because you can’t say it’s canceled.

Indiewire reached out to the network, and a spokesperson revealed that multiple factors were considered when the decision was made to cancel the show, but that ratings were the real deciding factor. There simply were not enough people watching the show.

Detroiters premiered to an audience of about 447,000 (via ShowBuzzDaily). By the season 2 finale, the show had about half that number of viewers (also via ShowBuzzDaily). Those are not the kind of numbers that can compete with network television where views are in the millions.

Sam Richardson Was Unhappy With Detroiters' Cancelation

Richardson Has Spoken About The Series Ending At Length

All of that combined to make it hard for Detroiters to even retain the viewers they had in the first season, let alone build on that audience.

Though Richardson was carefully choosing his words when the show first ended in hopes that Comedy Central would be able to find someone else to pick the show up for a third season, he did make it clear that he was not happy with the choice made by the network. Richardson once told The Guardian he believed the show did not get the chance it was promised to thrive:

It didn’t get the respect from the network that it deserved, or the chance that it was promised.

This echoes comments made during the previously mentioned report from Indiewire. Richardson pointed out that the second season of the show, which saw viewership decline so much, was originally filmed and edited in time to air in February, but Comedy Central opted to hold the series for a few months and roll it out as a summer season. Richardson told Indiewire he thought then, “That seems like a death dagger.” He was not wrong.

He also pointed out, however, that the show did not get the advertising they expected, which meant the audience did not know when to find the show live. They also ran into problems with audience trying to stream the show after the initial airing:

People don’t really watch TV in real-time anymore. People go to their streaming platforms to watch what they watch. People, right now, don’t go to the Comedy Central app [and] get past the paywall. It was just impossible. […] Someone’s like, ‘How do I watch it?’ And you say, ‘It’s on the Comedy Central app, and you can watch the first one for free, then you have sign up and pay for the app.’ That’s like a nonstarter of a conversation.

All of that combined to make it hard for Detroiters to even retain the viewers they had in the first season, let alone build on that audience.

Of course, it was not just those running the series that were advocating for the show to be saved at the time. Seth Meyers even penned an editorial for Vulture in which he put out a public request for someone else to pick up the show, calling Detroiters, “the most brilliantly stupid TV show.”

What Sam Richardson & Tim Robinson Are Up To Now

Sam Richardson And Tim Robinson Have Not Slowed Down

Despite the cancelation of Detroiters, which was clearly a labor of love for the two actors, neither of them has slowed down since. They’ve both continued working in comedy together and apart, as well as booked a ton of voice over work since Detroiters ended.

Sam Richardson has been in a number of well known projects including voicing Norville in the animated series Velma and Munnin in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He also appeared in the movies Promising Young Woman and Hocus Pocus 2. Richardson's projects have all been drastically different in tone and audience, allowing him to show off his skills as a character actor.

Tim Robinson had a cameo in Scream VI, but like Richardson, he has also been appearing in a variety of different roles. He has voiced characters in Big City Greens, The Simpsons, and Human Resources. Robinson also created and stars in the series I Think You Should Leave, which allowed him to reunite with Richardson, who has appeared in the series with him multiple times.

I Think You Should Leave is a sketch comedy series in which the main character (usually played by Robinson) ends up in an embarrassing social situation. It relies on even more cringe comedy than Detroiters did, but it still allows Richardson and Robinson to make us all laugh again.