Well, it felt sort of inevitable. NBC’s beloved cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine will be coming back, but it won’t be the triumphant return its many fans had been looking forward to. Instead, the Andy Samberg-led series will cap its run with an abbreviated eighth season — one that likely won’t be dropping until later in the fall, after the Olympics.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has developed a loyal following in the tradition of NBC comedies, featuring a terrific cast and charming chemistry. However, the police antics have been complicated in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the global 2020 movement to hold cops accountable for the brutal treatment of Black people. Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews told Access Daily that the writer’s room had thrown out all their early work on the coming season following the Black Lives Matter marches and started over. “We’ve had a lot of somber talks about it and deep conversations, and we hope through this, we’re going to make something that will be truly groundbreaking this year,” Crews said. “We have an opportunity, and we plan to use it in the best way possible.” The cast also donated to the National Bail Fund Network.
That led to rethinking the best way to say good-bye which is, apparently, to limit the season to a ten episode-run — the series’ shortest season so far.
“I’m so thankful to NBC and Universal Television for allowing us to give these characters and our fans the ending they deserve,” said co-creator Dan Goor. “When Mike Schur and I first pitched the pilot episode to Andy, he said, ‘I’m in, but I think the only way to tell this story is over exactly 153 episodes,’ which was crazy because that was exactly the number Mike and I had envisioned. I feel incredibly lucky to have worked with this amazing cast and crew for eight seasons. They are not only among the most talented people in the business, they are all good human beings who have become a family. But most of all, I feel lucky that we have had the best fans in the world. Fans who literally saved us from cancellation. Fans who fill us with joy. Ending the show was a difficult decision, but ultimately, we felt it was the best way to honor the characters, the story and our viewers. I know some people will be disappointed it’s ending so soon, but honestly, I’m grateful it lasted this long.”
It’s not totally clear when the new season will air, but it’s expected to be part of NBC’s fall lineup.
