Brooklyn Nine-Nine

After tearfully finishing the series finale of Parks and Recreation, I needed to immediately watch another show to pick me up out of the post-finale sadness. I turned to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a sitcom co-created by Daniel Goor and Michael Shur (Shur co-produced Parks and Rec in addition to The Office). So I figured this would be a good choice. As far as pilots go, it definitely caught my interest.

The sitcom follows smart but immature NYPD Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and his fellow detectives plus conflict with the new commanding officer Ray Holt (Andre Braugher). The pilot opens with a very close up & melodramatic monologue from Peralta. Even though the opening is meant to be comical on Peralta's part, it still drew me in because there was dramatic music, a close-up shot to show intense emotion, and even some slow-motion movement. It was a quote from another movie, but nonetheless it made me want to keep watching. Peralta's monologue is cut off by his partner Detective Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) trying to solve the crime, and changes to a single-camera shooting method with many fast zooms. (very similar to The Office and Parks and Recreation styles). Throughout the episode, Peralta finds that all of his work methods are under scrutiny by Holt, including, but not limited to, his lack of cooperation to wear a tie, slightly offensive comments, and method of capturing criminals.

The secondary characters (the other detectives) are introduced by the Sergeant; there is b-roll of the character doing something ridiculous while he narrates the basic characteristics of their character. They include Detective Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), Detective Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), and Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti). They are all very funny, have great chemistry with the main characters, and contribute a lot to the story.

The seeds of other funny storylines have also been planted, such as the rivalry between Peralta and Santiago. They have a bet for who can make more arrests; if she makes more arrests then he has to give her his nice car, and if he makes more arrests then she must go on a date with him. There is clearly a lot of sexual tension between them, so I suspect some sort of relationship will develop. It was also revealed later in the episode that the new captain is gay, so future episodes will probably lean on that fact heavily. 

I really enjoyed the pilot, and will most likely watch more episodes in the near future. (Especially since Andy Samberg is one of my favorite comedy actors).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been a hit so far and has recieved very positive reviews and awards! At the 2014 Golden Globes it won for Best Television Series (Comedy) and for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Andy Samberg). It has also just been renewed for a third season! 

You can catch episodes of the series on Hulu.