Brooklyn Nine-Nine: For Your Consideration

Sitcoms are notoriously hard to get right; and cop genre comedies especially so. TV history is full of huge success stories and miserable failures. For every triumphant series there are four or five flops, many of which never even make it to the pilot stage. But despite the significant challenges involved in creating a popular situational comedy, the occasional show is destined to succeed. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one such success story. Created by Michael Schur and Daniel J. Goor, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is arguably 2014’s best new comedy series and has only just premiered in the UK.

The single-camera series follows a team of detectives and a newly appointed captain in the fictional 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn. Captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher) takes over the precinct, which includes Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), a gifted but childish detective whose non-conformist practices inexorably become questioned by his new Commanding Officer. The main cast includes Detective Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), Jake’s driven and diligent partner; Detective Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), Jake’s people-pleasing and hardworking friend; Detective Sergeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews), a keen bodybuilder who recently left field work after the birth of his baby girls; Detective Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), a rugged and mysterious coworker; and Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti), the precinct’s cynical yet perceptive administrator.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine packs in the jokes, ranging from very smart to very stupid. The series seems refreshingly playful and there is a noticeable effort to get in a substantial amount of character development for by sitcom standards. For instance, Captain Ray Holt is one of the most nuanced and multidimensional gay men I’ve ever seen on television. Holt suffered in the NYPD and despite many years of outstanding service to the department, has only just been promoted to the position of Commanding Officer. He ascribes this to prejudice against his homosexuality and created a group that supported gay African-American NYPD members to address the problem. The Captain himself shows little in the way of outward emotion (something which the cast regularly refer to) but proves to be an attentive and considerate boss who cares deeply for his team.

Despite the core power struggle between Holt and Peralta, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is very much an ensemble series. In shows of this kind, it is often the case that the group will feature one or two characters that aren’t quite as funny or developed as the others. However, each actor seems perfectly cast for the part and they all get a share of the big laughs.

The series employs flashbacks that make for interesting pacing and character advancement. If the dialogue contains some highly convenient piece of information, you can bet someone will point out that it was far too convenient. Yes it’s American and yes it’s a little corny at times, but far less cheesy than the likes of The Big Bang Theory or some other cringe-inducing sitcom. To be clear, I admire the writing of The Big Bang Theory, but somehow I can’t stand watching it. I’ve probably polarised the audience there. Okay, I (don’t really mind/honestly loathe) The Big Bang Theory. Delete according to your prejudices. Happy now?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine grows on you like any effective sitcom until you crave the sense of warmth and familiarity that the characters give you. It is this emotional investment in the characters that makes a popular sitcom look like gold dust to a television network. An added benefit to well defined characters is that the plot can occasionally be less engaging in and of itself and the quality won’t suffer. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an example of one such series and the quality over the first 22 twenty-minute episodes only improved as it went on.

It goes for more enlightened jokes and often deals with topics such as race, gender and sexuality in an intelligent manor. All this, combined with the motley crew of personalities and the peculiar scenarios they are put in, makes for high quality amusement that warms the cockles of our cold, cold hearts. If you are looking for an entertaining and uplifting sitcom to watch during a break from revision or just to relax, then Brooklyn Nine-Nine might just be for you.

_The first series is now on Netflix and the show premiered in the UK on E4 January 15th. _