As ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is all set to return for its 8th season, we take a look at the previous seasons and determine whether another season was necessary.
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is undoubtedly a comfort comedy series for many. Like a dozen other sitcoms in the recent memory, the show is set in a specific workplace, following the lives of a group of diverse characters that interact with each other, making it seem like their workplace is the most fun place on earth. But is it as much fun watching ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ as it was a few seasons earlier? While it is unclear whether it had crossed the threshold of “still good” and has become overrated, there are a few key points that definitely have made the viewers less engrossed into the mad-world of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’.
Highlights —
- ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ review
- Is ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ becoming stale?
- What can we expect from the 8th season?
The show began in 2013, as we saw a clumsy yet super-intelligent police detective Jake Peralta struggling with accepting the appointment of the new commanding officer, Captain Ray Holt, a stern, pretentious, and a disciplined Black man, or rather, a gay Black man. Other inhabitants on the precinct include Amy Santiago, Terry Jeffords, Rosa Diaz, Gina Linetti, Charles Boyle, and two idiots, Michael Hitchcock and Norm Scully. Together, they run the 99th precinct as we also peak into their personal lives while seeing them at work and wonder at how an idiot like Boyle could be an NYPD detective or why an amateur loud-mouth like Jake could be a secret-genius.
There lies the main issue with the series. The characters in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ are just poorly drawn caricatures lifted straight from other sitcoms. That isn’t to say that the show doesn’t surprise us from time to time. There is some character development that seems interesting at first but as more episodes pass-by, it halts again, without moving in any direction. For seasons in a row, the characters practically remain unchanged. Take Boyle for example, he is still the same sentimental clingy Boyle that we have been accustomed to watching right from the first episode.
Is ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ still as good?
This problem isn’t exclusive to ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ though. Almost all the sitcoms are guilty of following this easy path. ‘How I Met Your Mother‘ comes to mind as an exception. The character development as the characters go through changes in their surroundings and chemistries evolve over time and, by the 9th season, you even find it hard to believe they are the same characters. ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ falls into this trope and, unconsciously, the makers made the show stale season by season. By the fifth season, the very little character development which was happening completely stops and we are left with the feeling that we are watching a slightly different re-cap of the previous seasons.
That said, the show does offer some genuine moments of laughter and fun and bonding between the characters, especially the running jokes part. In addition, some recurring characters provide a great source of entertainment. Jake Peralta’s scuffles with his arch-nemesis Doug Judy is fun, while The Vulture, played deliciously well by Dean Winters, makes for a great watch. While the regular star-cast of the show, headed by Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta and Mellisa Fumero as Amy Santiago, consistently delivers some war-moments.
The show is also genuinely funny. And what worked strongly in favour of the series is the fact that it doesn’t take its audience for granted. The jokes are witty, intelligent, and land exactly where they should. The makers have also taken a huge risk of portraying Captain Holt as a no-nonsense gay Black man with a great intellect and overall persona. Which works!
What to expect from season 8 of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’?
The makers announced that the 8th season of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is dropping in 2021. The show’s writers have been seemingly affected with the whole Black Lives Movement last year, which had them scrapping all the written material and begin writing from the scratch. And given the show’s diverse star-cast, we can safely assume that the show is going to feature some race-related commentary in season 8. This can be a good thing. A serious issue presented to the audience in the garb of humour works better than anything else.
We would like to know your opinion in comments on whether ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ is overrated or just a misunderstood little comedy show that still hits the right notes. As of now, the audience is polarizing.
