Although 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' is a lighthearted, easygoing comedy about a police precinct in New York, the reality in New York and across the US is anything but.
Between the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and the protests and movements that have sparked up from them, policing in the US is undergoing scrutiny, and so too is how it's portrayed in the media. 'Cops', the long-running reality TV show, was recently scrapped as was 'Live PD'.
'Law and Order' have said that they'll address the issue, while 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' has gone a step further and said they've thrown out their existing work done so far and started over. According to Terry Crews, who plays Sgt. Jeffords, at least four episodes were canned before they were put into production. "Our showrunner Dan Goor, they had four episodes all ready to go, and they just threw them in the trash."
"We have to start over. Right now, we don’t know which direction it’s going to go in," Crews told Access Daily. "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. We have an opportunity, and we plan to use it in the best way possible."
'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' has covered some serious topics in the past, not to mention one episode where Sgt. Jeffords was racially profiled by a white cop. The show regularly handles topics relating to Captain Holt's sexuality and how it's impacted his career, not to mention Rosa Diaz's as well. Not only that, the show's cast and producers made a $100,000 donation to the US National Bail Fund Network during the protests as well.
No air date has been set for Season 8 of 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' yet, but it's expected later this year.
