It’s Diarra from Detroit in New Jersey

As you watch the new mystery-comedy series, one thing is clear: This is VERY Detroit.
The title, after all, is “Diarra From Detroit.” Diarra Kilpatrick, the writer-producer-star, calls herself a “walking Detroit ambassador.”
Kenya Barris, who produces the show (and won praise and prizes for “Black-ish”) echoes that. The show (on the BET+ streaming channel) is “a love letter to Detroit,” he told the Television Critics Association.
It has the city’s look and feel, Kilpatrick told the TCA. And … it’s filmed in New Jersey.
That stirs arguments on both sides of a tricky issue. “We’re waiting for Michigan to get their tax incentives together,” Kilpatrick said, “so we can go back there.”
In 2008, Michigan launched one of the most lucrative film-subsidy programs in the country. People invested in studios, education and more; even now, Michigan (like most states) has a growing cadre of independent filmmakers.
Under a different administration (and in a different economy), the subsidies were slashed in 2012 and dumped three years later.
This February, bipartisan bills were introduced to revive subsidies. They face several studies that argue that such programs don’t help a state that much – depending on how they’re done: Some shows – like ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” – stayed for a long time and fueled the economy; others took the money and ran.
Meanwhile, handouts are elsewhere. One source (wrapbook.com) lists state film subsidies. New Jersey has one of the more generous, paying 30-35 percent of crew salaries; Michigan is one of only 12 with no subsidies.
Some people might wish the issue would vanish, so shows are shot in logical places.
Yes, Louisiana offers large subsidies. But it also makes sense for many shows to shoot there; the new “Parish,” for instance, makes rich use of everything from parades to mausoleums. But “Diarra From Detroit” in Jersey?
Barris calls Kilkpatrick “a true daughter of Detroit” … which needs detail. Her half-brother was one of the city’s most famous mayors, but also one of its most infamous.
Kwame Kilpatrick, now 53, resigned as mayor (after almost six years), amid charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Later, he was separately convicted of federal corruption charges and sentenced to 28 years in prison; Donald Trump commuted the sentence after a little more than six years.
Diarra Kilpatrick apparently grew up in a different world from his. She’s about 13 years younger and was born a couple years after his parents divorced. She talks about going with her mother to night school and snuggling with her grandmother (“kind of pressed up against her”) to watch TV mystery shows.
She began acting early – both at Meadow Brook Theater and Mosaic Youth Theatre — and attended the Bates Academy for gifted students and Detroit Country Day.
Her career has an indie-film feel. She’s acted in at least nine shorts and several other small films. She created a digital series (“American Koko”) that was successful. Emmy-winner Viola Davis joined as a producer and narrator; the result ran on ABC Digital and Kilpatrick drew an Emmy nomination for best-actress in a short-form series.
She has also done mainstream shows. She had guest roles in several and was a regular in HBO’s “Perry Mason,” playing Paul Drake’s wife.
Now “Diarra from Detroit” has an indie feel. Kilpatrick plays a Detroit teacher who has a great first date, then doesn’t hear back from the guy. She suspects a bigger mystery; by the end of the first episode, viewers learn she’s right.
The show skips studios and has real locations. It feels like Detroit, Kilpatrick said, “from the dialog to the glasses to even the set.” Except, of course, it’s in New Jersey.