Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Season One

Grade: B+

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The new workplace comedy on Fox is from creators Michael Shur (Parks and Recreation) and Daniel J. Goor (The Daily Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien), and the two have created something so insane and whacky that I cannot believe that it works. But it does work very well. Leading the 99th precinct in Brooklyn is the new Captain Holt (Andre Braugher), a gay African American whom the rest of the crew can’t ever decipher if he’s in a good or bad mood.

The eccentric group of detectives is lead by Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), who is a great detective but frustrates Captain Holt with his immaturity. Playing his love interest is Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), a stickler for the rules and a teacher’s pet to Captain Holt. The two occasionally get along but usually engage in constant teasing and bad-mouthing. Sergeant Terry (Terry Crews) leads the detectives unconventionally with his newly-discovered soft side due to the birth of his baby girls. Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) is Jake’s best friend who loves anything feminine, while Rose Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) is as tough as they come. Rounding out the precinct are Detective Hitchcock and Detective Scully, the dumb and dumber combo of the crew, and Gina Linetti, the wildly bizarre assistant to Captain Holt.

Like every comedy, it takes a little while for Brooklyn Nine-Nine to start rolling, but once you familiarize yourself with the characters, every episode is better than the last. Some highlights of the first season includes:
– Jake’s bets with Captain Holt (stealing his Medal of Valor) and Santiago (who makes the most arrests).
– The detectives and their mutual hate towards the Vulture.
– Charles taking two bullets in the butt.
– The detectives attending Captain Holt’s birthday party.

Like all good comedies, the cast of characters have a great chemistry with one another towards the middle of the first season. Also, the romantic interest between Peralta and Santiago is an intriguing one, but certainly one that’s fun to follow and root for. Another thing that impressed me with the first season was the depth of the characters. No one is one-dimensional, even though they all have consistency in their motives. Terry can be the Ebony Falcon when he focuses, Peralta can be mature, Rosa can be apologetic, Gina can be ethical, Boyle can be masculine and Holt can be hilarious. That’s just how the show is able to keep you on your toes every episode.

Overall, this is a stand-out new comedy that everyone can enjoy, especially for the college and young adult demographic. It’s on the same line with The Office and Parks and Recreation, without the interviews. If you don’t mind Andy Samberg too much, then you’ll enjoy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. As for the future of the show, it’ll be interesting to see if they give us a season-long case that the crew tries to solve on top of the small cases they solve every episode. That and I can’t wait to see how the writers explore the Peralta/Santiago love interest. They’re the least likely couple to work out, but in this show anything is possible.