‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Fans Want Them to Completely Change the Show
It’s a tough time to be the show writer for a comedy series that centers around a group of police officers. As the United States grapples with protests against police brutality that have been coursing from coast to coast, the actors involved with Brooklyn Nine-Nine have been trying to demonstrate their support for the movement even as they star in a show that makes light of the very profession that is so heavily under scrutiny.
Fans of the show have a radical idea that could solve all the problems, and it involves changing the entire premise of the show itself.
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is set in an NYPD precinct
The title of Brooklyn Nine-Nine comes from its setting. The show takes place in the fictionalized world of New York’s 99th precinct, and the catalyst for the entire series is that Captain Ray Holt takes over this precinct. With a hodgepodge of quirky characters reminiscent of The Office or Parks and Recreation, the show’s humor centers on the mix of everyday banalities with bizarre absurdism.
Of course, the entire thing is punctuated by the profession of policing. The show has already had a rocky past. It was canceled by Fox after its fifth season and then almost immediately picked up and resurrected on NBC. Fans were delighted when the show was green-lighted for an 8th season even before season 7 aired, but now that the season 7 finale has come and gone and the world has shifted, what will season 8 look like?
Actors have come out in support of activism against police brutality
Actors who portray police officers are under specific pressure to stand up and make a statement during these historical times. Even though it’s a comedy rather than a more serious drama, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and its cast members are facing this pressure as well. Fans want to see where the individuals stand, and they’re watching carefully to see what they do next.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine became a leader of sorts among other television shows featuring police forces. The showrunner and the cast members came together to announce a $100,000 donation to the National Bail Fund.
Actor Stephanie Beatriz, who portrays Rosa Diaz on the show, went even further. She called for any actor who portrays a police officer to follow her lead and donate individually. She put her money where her mouth is with an $11,000 donation. Griffin Newman, an actor from cop-centric show Blue Bloods, has also been outspoken about donating and urging others to do the same.
Fans have a plan for the future of the show
Season 7 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine just wrapped up with a wild finale. The future of the show is uncertain, and it’s possible that the creators are considering how to shift focus in light of the country’s massive protests against police brutality and institutionalized racism. Fans took to Twitter to explore what a new season of the show might look like.
One fan wrote that season 8 should just have all of the characters quitting the force to become revolutionaries. In response, some other fans suggested that they should instead all quietly return in a completely different profession: “Idk, I like the idea of them being bakers.” Another suggested that Boyle could open a food truck and the whole cast could travel with it.
While these silly suggestions are a lighthearted attempt to draw some humor from a serious situation — and what better place to do that than with a comedic show — the creators of this series and other shows that focus on policing have some meaningful decisions ahead of them.
