The news that FOX has cancelled Brooklyn Nine-Nine after five seasons is very upsetting, yet other networks, including Hulu and Netflix, have expressed interest in picking up the show.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s been an essential staple of my television diet over the last few years. The show was created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur – the guys behind Parks & Recreation – and it grabbed me from the very first episode. I just loved the immature yet astute detective, Jake Peralta, brilliantly played by SNL and The Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg. But it’s not just all about Peralta and his antics; he’s backed up by an excellent cast who play well-rounded and developed characters.
Andre Braugher’s Captain Raymond Holt, Stephanie Beatriz’s Rosa Diaz, Terry Crews’s Terrence “Terry” Jeffords, Melissa Fumero’s Amy Santiago, Joe Lo Truglio’s Charles Boyle, Chelsea Peretti’s Regina “Gina” Linetti, Dirk Blocker’s Michael Hitchcock and Joel McKinnon Miller’s Norman “Norm” Scully. They all have their little quirks, their own storylines, and each character plays a vital in making the show the delight it is.
Image via @FOX
Brooklyn Nine-Nine was kicked off by a great pilot, written by Goor and Schur, and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, which demonstrated to everyone that this wasn’t going to be your average TV sitcom. This was something else. Something unique and required everyone’s attention. The fact that Samberg left SNL to do this was also proof that Brooklyn Nine-Nine wasn’t something to be brushed aside. Five seasons later, it cemented itself as one of the best shows on TV and arguably one of the best sitcoms of all time.
But, then came the disheartening news that FOX had cancelled the show, and people have been voicing their disappointment on social media loud and clear (including Mark Hamill!). However, there may be a ray of hope, a tiny one poking through the clouds that symbolise the junkyard of great TV shows that have been cancelled before their time (where Nathan Fillion’s Castle and Serenity proudly reside). According to The Hollywood Reporter, other TV networks and streaming services are circling the property.
Image via @FOX
Sources have told THR that “Brooklyn Nine-Nine producers Universal Television have fielded a number of incoming calls from other outlets including Hulu (where the Andy Samberg comedy has an SVOD deal), Netflix (which has business with the studio, including Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), TBS (whose president, Kevin Reilly, developed the series and whose network airs off-network repeats of the comedy) and network sibling NBC.” So it might not all be doom and gloom as we were first led to believe.
There is a history of things like this happening. Arrested Development, for instance, was cancelled by FOX, only to be picked up later by Netflix. ABC cancelled The Killing, and then Netflix stepped in and renewed it. Community was another show that was cancelled (NBC), only to be picked up later on by Yahoo! of all people! So there’s precedent of this sort of thing happening, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine feels like precisely the sort of show that networks would want to own. It has a loyal and vocal fanbase that would watch the show no matter what, and it has real talent behind it, both on-screen and behind the screen.
Image via @Netflix
That said, there have been a few shows that have deserved a comeback but never got one. Joss Whedon’s Serenity was one of them, although that ship sailed years ago. Another show that should have been renewed after its premature cancellation was Hannibal. I know that I didn’t get my Mads Mikkelsen Hannibal Lecter fix before the show was axed.
As far as Brooklyn Nine-Nine is concerned, it certainly feels like the sort of show that would benefit from being on a streaming service like Netflix, and the first four seasons are already on there to binge-watch now. It would be a pretty big coup for them if they could get it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a bidding war over Brooklyn Nine-Nine over the next few days. Personally, I’d like to see Netflix get the show, just because I’m already a subscriber and I feel that it would be a good fit.
There are no comments
Add yours