Editor’s note: When ϲͼ published its interview with comedian Tim Robinson in our September issue, he told us when we chatted in a May that he was working on a new show called with longtime co-writer Zach Kanin, which HBO ordered a pilot for in April — and couldn’t say much else about it.
As of Sept. 12, more details have emerged: HBO ordered production to begin on the half-hour comedy series. Robinson and Kanin are listed as writers and executive producers, along with Adam McKay and Todd Schulman of HyperObject Industries (the production company behind titles like Succession, Don’t Look Up, and The Menu), as well as Igor Srubshchik.
The new show’s logline is: “After an embarrassing incident at work, a man (Robinson) finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy.” Robinson will portray William Ronald Trosper, and other cast include Lake Bell as Barb Trosper, Sophia Lillism as Natalie Trosper, Will Price as Seth Trosper, Joseph Tudisco as Mike Santini, and Lou Diamond Phillips as Jeff Levjman.
Here’s our interview as it appeared in print:
Long before the hot dog costume, before he introduced us to sloppy steaks, the Eggman game, burger-housing professors, and $1,000 Dan Flashes T-shirts, Tim Robinson was a kid who liked skateboarding and punk rock.
A favorite was Detroit ska punk band The Suicide Machines, whom he used to go see at Saint Andrew’s Hall. He also attended the Warped Tour (once at Pine Knob Music Theatre, once in the Comerica Park parking lot) and trekked out to Westland to catch heavier acts at the since-closed venues Mosquito Club and Pharaoh’s Golden Cup. He even started a band of his own with friends at Clarkston High, in which he played bass.
While he would go on to write and perform on Saturday Night Live and create Comedy Central’s Detroiters and the three-time Emmy-winning , he didn’t always show an outward interest in acting.
His dad worked in construction, while his mom worked at the Chrysler training center. They were a no-cable family, but their antenna picked up CBC, which introduced young Tim to , his first taste of sketch comedy. Later, in high school, his mom took him to see a show at Chicago’s famed The Second City. Inspired, he began taking classes at Detroit’s now-defunct Second City arm in 1999, the year before he graduated from high school. It’s where he would meet Keegan-Michael Key (before he made ) and Sam Richardson — his now longtime bud and comedy counterpart.
He fondly recalls the early days, performing with The Second City and Hamtramck’s Planet Ant Theatre before moving to Chicago, where he debuted on The Second City Mainstage in 2010, about a year before he was discovered by SNL, thanks to a tip from then-staff writer John Mulaney, who had seen him perform at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival.
Today, Robinson lives in California with his wife, Heather (an electrical engineer for Chrysler), and two children. When ϲͼ spoke with Robinson over Zoom in May, he had returned from his I Think You Should Leave comedy tour. We discussed his early years, rise to fame, and future plans.
The Second City Detroit is where you met Keegan-Michael Key. What was your first memory of him?
When I first saw him, he was on the Mainstage. I saw him perform, and he was unbelievable. So then, when he was my teacher, it felt so cool. He felt famous then. It just felt like you’re getting taught by a famous person.
And then you ended up teaching Sam [Richardson] improv [at The Second City]. How quick did you guys become friends after that?
Really quick. I think we hit it off right away. It was a very fast friendship. We’ve been extremely tight since the beginning.
You used to sneak Sam into bars — is that right?
Well, don’t get me in trouble [grins]. We’d go to Town Pump Tavern [a bar near the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit that’s since closed]. We’d just pop in there after shows and stuff. And we would go to 7 Brothers in Hamtramck. It’s gone now. But everybody in the Detroit theater scene would hang out at this bar. It was such a great place. It was owned by this Macedonian guy named George who was just the greatest and loved having us in there.
During those days, did you have any idea that you were surrounded by people who were going to “make it” in the entertainment industry?
Definitely not. It’s actually what was really great about coming up where we did. … People come to Chicago to look for talent for bigger projects. And at that time in Detroit, that didn’t happen. [Talent scouts] weren’t coming through to look for people for TV and movies; SNL didn’t come through Detroit. We were just doing it to get better. I never had a backup plan, and I have no clue what it would have been. I was just like, “This is what I’m doing right now, and this is fun, and I love this.”
Do you have any memories that stand out from your time in Chicago?
It was all pretty memorable — I was there for about five years. It was great to have Sam there. And both my kids were born there.
What was it like when you first got the call from SNL?
It was so surreal. I had some friends who had auditioned, so I had some point of reference, but that doesn’t prepare you for getting there and walking into that building and going on that stage. You walk in, you see something you’ve seen on TV since you were a kid, and then you stand on that stage and you perform for those people.
It must have been crazy to come up with something every week that’s going to be the show on Saturday.
It’s cool. Sometimes I miss that. I was in the cast for one season as a writer. I really loved that. That pressure from that schedule was awesome. By Sunday, you either had a good week or a bad week. In retrospect, I think at the time I was probably a wreck.
You’ve said before that your time at SNL gave you confidence. How so?
The first year was really hard. And it shook my confidence, the most anything’s ever shaken my confidence in comedy. I felt lost. And then when they took me out of the cast and made me a writer, I just worked really hard. There was less pressure, because I was like, “Well, if my stuff doesn’t get on TV, nobody knows.” When you’re writing, nobody knows who writes what. So that freedom kind of let me just write whatever I wanted. By the time I walked away from SNL, I think I left at the right time. I came out the other side feeling great.
And that’s where you met Zach Kanin [Robinson’s writing partner on I Think You Should Leave and Detroiters]. What do you think has kept you and Zach strong as writing partners after all these years?
We just have a very similar sensibility. And we’re completely aligned on what we think is funny. When we’re working on something and we find something we both like, there is definitely a giddiness and a lot of laughing.
When you were at SNL, [cast member] Jason Sudeikis asked if you and Sam [Richardson] wanted to do a show together [which ended up being Detroiters]. Had you and Sam talked about doing a show about Detroit before this opportunity came about?
Definitely. Starting out in Detroit — it’s pipe dream stuff at that point, but we were like, “If we ever do anything, it’s got to be in Detroit.” And when we had the opportunity, we were lucky enough to do it.
When you were shooting Detroiters, the Michigan film tax incentives wouldn’t have been available — is that right?
I think on the pilot, we got them. And then I think when we went to series, they were already gone. It was an obstacle. But luckily, we had already shot the pilot, and the show wasn’t possible anywhere else. There are so many great people in the industry who live in metro Detroit. Our whole crew on Detroiters was so good. I think after the incentives went away, a lot of them had to move to Atlanta and stuff like that so they could work. But the whole crew was fantastic. And I think a lot of those crew members, if the incentive came back, might consider moving back.
Why has it been so important to you to continue to represent Michigan/ Detroit in your career when you didn’t necessarily have to?
It’s truly just because I love it. I’m grateful to have started doing comedy in Detroit. I constantly miss Michigan so much. My family is all still there, and my wife’s family is all still there, so we come back as much as we can.
How About Those Lions
Tim Robinson on his home team.
What was your experience as a Lions fan watching last season? I know you and Sam [Richardson] watch a lot of the games together — is that right?
Yeah, we watch as many as we can together. It was such a fun season. When they’re down in a game, it was hard to rewire your brain to have the confidence that they’re going to come back. It was interesting not to have that feeling anymore of like “We’re gonna lose this.”
Did you ever buy into the whole “same old Lions” trope?
[That] has always annoyed me. I remember watching the Jon Kitna years and just being so excited. I’ve always had optimism. But like with the “Calvin [Johnson] rule” and all that, there’s been a lot of stuff where it just kind of seems like the cards were stacked against us or whatever. And it’s just great to see it change.
Where were you when they lost to the 49ers, when it looked like they were about to go to the Super Bowl? Do you remember your reaction at that time?
I was actually in Manhattan, and I was working on a movie. I have a friend out there; he’s from Garden City. His name’s Travis Grand, and he’s a comedian. We met up and we went to the bar to watch the game. We were so optimistic, and then that first half, I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “We’re going to the Super Bowl.” And it was upsetting. It was upsetting and sad, but I’m still happy with the season.
Any predictions for this upcoming season?
I’m not gonna jinx anything — I’m just gonna go in with the same optimism as I’ve had. But I feel great about this team and where we’re headed.
This story originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of ϲͼ magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of ϲͼ at a local retail outlet. Our will be available on Sept. 6.
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