Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brings Comedy to the Workplace

Maya Zach ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police sitcom premiering this fall on Fox starring Andy Samberg, who is best known for his role in Saturday Night Live. If hearing that Samberg is involved isn’t enough to pique your interest, here are a couple other reasons that you should tune into Brooklyn Nine-Nine:
1) The creators are veteran comedy writers Michael Schur (SNL, The Office, Parks and Recreation) and Daniel Goor (Parks and Recreation, Late Night with Conan O’Brien).
2) There will be frequent hilarious guest stars that you will recognize from shows such as SNL. For example, Fred Armisen makes an appearance in the pilot.
3) The show is something new. it is a mix of an office comedy and a police procedural–the best of both worlds!

When you first meet the main characters, they seem generic and stereotypical, but it does not take long to realize that they are actually quite unique. Jake Peralta (Samberg) seems like a total goofball and quite possibly a screwup, but it turns out that JP’s immaturity is balanced out by his amazing detective work. Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) is not just a dedicated detective, but she can also have fun. The new captain, Ray Holt (Andre Braugher) seems like a straight-laced, uncompromising boss, but it turns out he has heart and a real sense of humor. Holt’s second-in-command is Sergeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews), who was a tough as nails cop before he had his twins, Cagney and Lacey, and put himself on desk duty.
The other characters, however, seem to lack a bit of originality. Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) is a clumsy, hardworking detective who spends all of his free time unsuccessfully trying to score a date with Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), the sexy, smart, and terrifying detective. And of course, there has to be a gossip in 99th precinct, so Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti), the civilian administrator, fills that role.
JP and Santiago have a great dynamic because they push each other to become better detectives, but maybe for the wrong reasons. If Santiago gets more arrests, JP has to give her his classic Mustang, but if she loses, she has to go out on a date with her partner. It may be childish, but it has resulted in more arrests, and hey, it’s good television! The two can’t seem to agree on anything, yet still work really well together as partners. JP refuses to submit to Holt’s authority, while Santiago is trying to prove herself and find a “rabbi” to train her into becoming captain one day.
If you were expecting a simple murder or robbery in each episode, you would be mistaken. Since Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police sitcom rather than a police procedural, the cases are going to be obscure and funny. Though the investigation in the premiere does involve a murder, the key piece of evidence is something a bit unexpected–a slab of ham. You are watching a sitcom, after all! 
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is not your average office sitcom, and it is definitely not your average cop show. It is a great blend of the two, showcasing the best of each: humor and action. Unsurprisingly, the tone of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is very similar to that of Parks and Recreation and The Office, so if you enjoy those (which you probably do if you’re looking into Brooklyn Nine-Nine), this show should certainly be on your list of new shows to watch this fall.