I’ve written and deleted this too many times because it never felts right. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is set to end after its eighth season and I have way too many feelings about this.
This show is more than just a procedural comedy—it’s a celebration of humanity and inclusivity. For eight years, it has constantly gotten better. (Don’t even at me because we all know the last season is going to be downright perfect, too. Especially since writers have scrapped the material they previously had written in order to bring to light the police brutality against Black lives today.) This show has always gotten everything right, so we are trusting them in this, too.
Still, it’s never easy saying goodbye. And it’s especially never easy saying goodbye to shows that are as inclusive and as perfect as Brooklyn Nine-Nine. (I keep using the word perfect in this, and it’s not just an adjective. This show has reached a level no other comedy has, and we’ll keep saying it.) The series represented so many different people and it did so with incomparably memorable characters we’ll always carry with us. Holt, a gay Black man is Captain of the entire precinct. Rosa, a Latina woman is one of the toughest, most nuanced characters to ever grace our screens and canonically bisexual. Amy, another Latina woman represents so many nerds beautifully and with immeasurable kindness. Charles Boyle is our favorite meme-able (Is this a word? It should be.) shipper. Jake Peralta continues to learn and be so utterly relatable in his moods. Terry and his yogurt will always work. Hitchcock and Scully … well.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine never tried to be “politically correct” for the sake of appeal, it chose to be inclusive because not only is this what the real world looks like, but in celebrating it, the series amplified the marginalized voices that deserve to have their stories told more often.
It’s been one heck of an extraordinary, unforgettable journey. It’s been one of the best rides, and while we will never be ready to see it go, after its initial and stupidly ridiculous cancellation at Fox, we’re happy to know they are going out on their own terms this time. This way, from beginning to end, this series could remain truly faultless. It could remain inimitable. It could remain as one of the leading examples of humanity and inclusivity.
It could pave the road for balance in work place comedies where it’s always hilarious without ever being offensive. Brooklyn Nine-Nine mastered this balance effortlessly–the world hasn’t gotten too sensitive, we have gotten smarter, better, and demanding comedy to be funny without being offensive isn’t being sensitive, it’s being a good person. It’s being, (Captain Holt voice) awake otherwise, everything is garbage.
Leading up to its conclusion, we’ll have a lot to celebrate, and while we’re not ready for this end, we’re grateful to have had this show with us. I know I speak on behalf of all of us here at Marvelous Geeks when I say we’ll miss the Nine Nine too much. Let the rewatch commence–except loads of content from us soon.
We know forever would have been impossible. We know. But if there’s any show we wish we could keep as long as TV should be airing, it’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It sucks, but we get it.
What are your thoughts on this news?