As with its previous two episodes, Detroiters season two just gets better with each passing week. Episode three, entitled Duvet Family Reunion, takes place entirely on Belle Isle and is exactly what you think it is: a reunion with all of Sam’s (Sam Richardson) extended family.
Sam introduces a new girlfriend, whom he’s hidden from Tim (Tim Robinson), and thus Tim’s hostility towards her only deepens. Adding to the hilarity is Sam receiving the honor of “Grill Master” from his father (a wonderful Obba Babatundé) who then constantly corrects his efforts after the rest of his family finds him to be unworthy of his new title.
The episode is nothing fancy, which I mean as a compliment. It’s an entire family (plus Tim) interacting in a beautiful park and their conversations are what spark the natural comedy laced throughout the episode. Tim is hurt by Sam hiding his new girlfriend from him, so he tries to badmouth her with some of Sam’s relatives. When he takes it too far, he’s shunned and forced to accept that he can be harsh, which is why Sam kept his new love from him.
It sounds simple enough, but the show, which focuses on the comedic elements of simply being a Detoiter, also pays close attention to character comedy. Sam and Tim are always true to themselves and their friendship is one of the more honest “bestie” portrayals I’ve seen on television in the last decade. Nothing about it is fake and the actors seem to be enjoying themselves in every scene. There’s even a touching moment at the end of the episode between Sam and his father, undercut but not cheapened by a hilarious line that I won’t spoil here.
Speaking of hilarious lines, episode four, Trevor, has many. Where episode three focused on Sam’s family – as did another episode last season – Trevor, focuses on Tim’s, more specifically his brother, the title character of the episode. The opening scene alone, which focuses on Tim’s mother describing Trevor’s passion for including dicks in everything he draws is easily one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on television.
Tim reluctantly agrees to bring Trevor into Cramblin Duvet without Sam’s permission, and finds out in a pitch meeting that Trevor, who has been a slacker his whole life, is better at advertising than he and Sam. Trevor also stays with Tim, which provides several scenes of brotherly love (and hate), much to the annoyance of Tim’s wife, Chrissy (Shawntay Dalon), who is also Sam’s sister.
Sam and Tim live next to one another (adorable), so Chrissy flees to her brother’s house to let Tim and Trevor air out their issues. Overall, Trevor is a great example of siblings behaving like children even into adulthood. At one point Trevor is beating Tim with a giant stick (it’s funny, trust me) as Sam and Chrissy watch from the front room. Chrissy turns to Sam and says, “I never beat you with a stick.” Sam annoyingly replies with, “yes you did.” Chrissy pauses for a moment and says, “Oh yeah” and then begins to laugh.
If it is not yet clear, what I’m getting at with both episodes is the pure joy one feels simply being in the company of every character in Detroiters. It is both a situational and character comedy, with every line and visual gag perfectly composed, tailor-made not only for us Michiganders, but comedy shows in general. So why aren’t you watching yet?
-Matt Giles