HBO Max filming pilot for new comedy series in Ferndale
‘Computer School’ cowritten by Clarkston grad Tim Robinson
Production began in Ferndale this week for a new HBO Max comedy series co-written and produced by Clarkston native Tim Robinson, who will also co-star in the series.
Robinson (“I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson,” “Detroiters”) co-wrote and produced the pilot with fellow Saturday Night Live alum Zach Kanin, also a co-creator and producer on “I Think You Should Leave” and “Detroiters.”
Filming for the “Computer School” pilot began Thursday, April 7, at a home near Geary Park, and will continue through Monday, April 11, according to a letter sent to area residents by the production’s Location Manager Gena Varajon. The crew will also be filming in a house near W Saratoga and Central street Friday and Monday, with some scenes involving exterior shots. As a result, there may be some temporary holds of pedestrian and vehicle traffic while the camera is rolling, and the production has requested no parking on W Saratoga between 1396 W Saratoga and Central, and on Central between Troy and Albany on Sunday evening, April 10.
There were multiple trailers parked in the lot adjacent to Geary Park, as well as dozens of personal staff and production vehicles lining the streets near Central and Earle on Thursday morning. Filming is expected to wrap up on Monday.
“Computer School” is about a recent high school grad and his uncle (played by Robinson) who attend the same computer class in suburban Michigan, according to
Screen Magazine.
It marks the second project Robinson has brought home to shoot in metro Detroit — the first being “Detroiters,” in which he costars
alongside Detroit native Sam Richardson (“Veep”). The duo worked together on “I Think You Should Leave,” and according to a selfie posted to Reddit on Tuesday,
they’re at it again and both in Michigan this week for the “Computer School” pilot.
Robinson, a 2000 graduate of Clarkston High School, launched his comedy career in metro Detroit, where he was a cast member of the Second City Detroit in Novi and the Second City Touring Company — later becoming a member of the mainstage cast of the original Second City Theater in Chicago before moving on to Saturday Night Live, where he met Kanin. Richardson is a Second City alum as well, performing in both Detroit and Chicago.
P.J. Jacokes, a producer and director at Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale, who previously worked with Robinson, spoke with The Oakland Press in 2012 about how versatile the comedic actor is.
“He is one of the funniest people to ever be onstage,” said Jacokes. “He has a lot of energy and he plays very peculiar characters no one would ever think to portray.”