On January 10th, 2019, the first episode of American sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine aired on NBC and received the highest ratings it had since 2016. Millions of families and friends gathered together and tuned in to see NBC’s revamp of the original FOX show.
This past May, FOX Broadcasting revealed they had canceled Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a cop show with a diverse and lovable cast set in Brooklyn, NY, and didn’t think much would come from it. This, however, was not the case.
In a span of a little more than twenty-four hours, Brooklyn Nine-Nine went from being canceled, to being heroically rescued not only by NBC, but by the millions of outraged fans, including big names like Guillermo del Toro, Mark Hamill, Lin Manuel Miranda, and many more.
By picking up Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a 13-episode sixth season, NBC saved one of the best shows airing today and a fan-favorite all around the world. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an incredibly important show for all kinds of people.
When it broke out that NBC was picking up Brooklyn Nine-Nine, many comedy and sitcom fans cheered for more than one reason. Not only was a spectacular show being saved, but it was being saved by sitcom (master) NBC. Parks and Recreation, The Office, Friends, Seinfeld, Superstore, and The Good Place, are just a few of the iconic sitcoms NBC has produced, and at long last, Brooklyn Nine-Nine gets to join them.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine isn’t like other cop shows on television. It skips out on the gore and intensity and instead plays up comedic aspects and twisted relationships, all with the interesting complexity of crime in New York as its backdrop.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has an incredibly diverse cast, full of complex and lovable characters. It’s also been acknowledged that each and every possible relationship between characters has been exercised and shown throughout its first five seasons.
By saying it appeals to the LGBT community, I am mostly referring to Captain Raymond Holt, the out and proud leader of the Nine-Nine, and Detective Rosa Diaz, the mysterious, black-clad bisexual hero.
When I refer to Rosa Diaz as a hero, I mean she’s my hero. Growing up, I never saw anyone like me on television or movies. Especially as someone who is biracial, Caucasian and Mexican, and bisexual, I never saw representation or characters that I related to. That all changed in 2013 when I sat down to watch the pilot episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Rosa Diaz is a strong, complex, intelligent woman that I aspire to be like. Brooklyn Nine-Nine showed her struggle with coming out and having a less than supportive family when she did, but by having such great friends in the Nine-Nine, she felt safe and free to be herself.
Portrayed by actress Stephanie Beatriz, who, at the time of the season’s filming, was going through her own coming out story to the public as bisexual, Rosa plays a key role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine that is both realistic and thoughtful.
Overall, Brooklyn Nine-Nine continues to be a funny, lovable, and important show not only to me, members of the LGBT community, but to people all around the world. I believe Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of the greatest sitcoms aired since Parks and Recreation and I can’t wait to see what NBC has in store next for my beloved precinct.