Sam Richardson showcases Detroit hot spots and swagger in ad campaign timed to NFL draft

Sam Richardson has probably done more for Detroit than most full-time goodwill ambassadors. Now the star of “Detroiters” is again helping show off his hometown with a promotional campaign timed to the NFL draft, happening here Thursday through Saturday.

In a roughly six-minute video from Pure Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Visit Detroit, he takes viewers on a journey to five pretty amazing locations: Hamtramck's Planet Ant Theatre (where he got his start as a performer) and Fowling Warehouse (home to a football/bowling pin game), the record shop/wine bar combo Paramita Sound, the iconic Lafayette Coney Island and Hot Sam’s, the oldest men’s clothing store in downtown Detroit.

Richardson shares the spotlight with a few special guests, including Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders. In addition to the main video, shorter spots will be running on Amazon, ABC, Barstool Sports, ESPN, Meta and TikTok through May 22.

It sounds like a perfect assignment for Richardson, who won an Emmy this year for his guest turn on AppleTV+’s “Ted Lasso.."

”Anybody who’s from Detroit talks about Detroit, we love it so much,” says Richardson, who’s now based in Los Angeles. “It’s nice to do it in a semi-official capacity, but I’d do it anyway.”

Richardson's credits include co-starring in HBO’s “Veep” and AppleTV+’s “The Afterparty" and movies like "Hocus Pocus 2." But his key credit locally is the much-missed Comedy Central series "Detroiters." He and his real-life best friend, Tim Robinson (who grew up in the Motor City's suburbs), created and starred in the critically acclaimed show for two seasons that were filmed here and saturated with Detroit references.

During a conversation via Zoom that has been edited for space and clarity, Richardson spoke to the Free Press about the new campaign, his status as a Lions superfan, his feelings about onions on coney dogs and more.

Question: The video explores Detroit swagger. For those who may not be Detroiters, what is Detroit swagger and how do you get it?

Answer: Detroit swagger, it is hard to exactly describe. You know it when you feel it and you see it. Detroit has its own unique sense of style, and that goes for modern style and historically. We shot at Hot Sam’s, the oldest clothier in Detroit. Looking at the style of clothing, Detroit is known for very specific cuts of suits. Also we’re known for monochromatic suits, gators, all that. I guess I’ve described it by not describing it very well.  How do you get it? You’re born with it. How do you have it? You have it by being there.

Q: There’s a great moment at Hot Sam’s where you ask Barry Sanders about style musts for Detroit football players and he replies, “Something like this,” referring to what he’s trying on. He’s got it, right?

A:  He was swagged out! It was so wild to get to do that with him, too. I was out of my head. His look for that shoot, my look for that shoot, we were both looking real good. It was an all-time moment for me.

Q: GQ called you and Tim Robinson “celebrity psycho fans” for the Detroit Lions playoff run. How psycho? How much were you guys into it?

A: I think a psycho never realizes they’re a psycho. Their thinking is always this is normal, this is completely rational. I think everything I did was completely rational. It was the most exciting season of sports, period, of my adult life. It’s been amazing. To get the invite to come to the games and stuff, there was no other place I’d rather be in the world.

I was in Detroit for the 2023 season opener when the Lions were playing Kansas City, and I was at Tin Roof right by Comerica and Ford Field, and everyone was full of electricity watching us beat the Kansas City Chiefs , last season’s champions. You could see, everybody was like, ‘Uh-oh, this is it! This is the year!’ To watch this team do so well, it’s so rewarding. It ignites the psycho fandom  in me. It’s always there, though. But it’s nice having the world jump on board, too.

Q: To see the rest of the country playing attention to the Detroit Lions, that was mind-blowing.

A: Everywhere, people were like, "Go, Lions!" Anybody I talked to, they were like, "Oh, we were really hoping for the Lions!" It’s not that this is the first year we’ve been good. But this is the first year we’ve had the full respect of everybody. I’m so happy that Detroit has taken the moniker of America’s team. The Lions and the city of Detroit, all this is truly what the American dream or ideal is. The team is an embodiment of the city. The city is an embodiment of America.

Q: Regarding your stop at Lafayette Coney Island, are the onions something you really like on your coney dog or was that for the camera?

A: I love the onions. That’s legit. Its an important part of the dog experience.

Q: Was Lafayette Coney Island an important place for you in your early comedy days after a show? Would that fit into your routine?

A:  Hamtramck (where Planet Ant is located) is a little bit of a hike. But whenever I’m downtown, I do go.  My dad used to have an office in a building right across from it, so I would go when I was 6 and 7 all the time. The Lafayette is truly engrained in me as part of my life and part of my tastebuds. And now I’ve got a signed picture there. I just won an Emmy last year and, maybe, it's better than that.

Q: Thank you for showing the spinning and the sipping at Parmita Sound. Do you remember the first vinyl record you ever bought?

A: I had a vinyl collection growing up. They weren’t new. They were always used or found. I had the “Superman” soundtrack, and I had, like, the “Superman” story on vinyl. I had a "Sesame Street" vinyl. "Sesame Street" disco is actually what it was. It featured songs from Cookie Monster in disco, a great hit, still a legit banger. And the "Rocky IV" soundtrack. And we had a lot of Motown records. Those weren’t my own,  but I’d play them.

More: Your guide to 2024 NFL draft in Detroit: Registration, map, parking, things to do and more

Q: Congratulations on your Emmy for playing Edwin Akufo on “Ted Lasso," a billionaire who’s attempting to buy a soccer team. If through a twist of fate, you became a giant tech billionaire or something, would you pursue buying a professional sports team in Detroit?

A: I would, I would, I would. Just for the good tickets really. I would, hands down.

Q: The Emmys that you received for “Ted Lasso” and that Tim Robinson received for Netflix's “I Think You Should Leave,” I think we all sort of took them as a win for Detroit.

A: That’s what it felt like for me. I will always attribute any success that I have in my life to Detroit., because it’s where I got my start. It’s where my personality got baked and cooked, and my comedy, my comedic voice. It’s where I learned to improvise. That happened here. I’m saying here as if I’m in Detroit, because I’m always talking about Detroit as “here.” I don’t live in Detroit now, because I need to live in L.A. for work. But any chance I get to come home, I take it.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sam Richardson shows off Detroit in ad campaign for NFL draft