Why Does Brooklyn Nine-Nine Keep On Getting Renewed Despite Supposedly Low Ratings?

So, you must have been as happy to hear that Brooklyn Nine-Nine was renewed for Season 8 as I was, but, there’s one nagging thought which kept on creeping sinisterly into my mind: why did NBC renew it for another season?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m ecstatic that they did because I love the show, and have done from the very beginning.

However, there’s something that doesn’t quite add up because if you look at the show’s numbers, it’s not doing well well at all, yet it’s now been going on for six seasons, and is about to have its seventh and will have its eighth season.

Shows nowadays don’t tend to go on for that long, and that’s because they get cancelled way before they ever hit those sorts of season numbers.

The only shows I can think of that got eight or more seasons are How I Met Your Mother and Friends, and that was back in a time when TV shows went on forever.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine got a Season 8 despite poor live viewing numbers

Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta in Brookly Nine-Nine (Credit: NBC)

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Nowadays shows get cancelled after maximum four seasons.

Then there’s the fact that Brooklyn Nine-Nine was cancelled by Fox after Season 5, and that was due to poor ratings.

It’s not like the show’s ratings have dramatically increased since moving over to NBC. As a matter of fact, they haven’t.

After five seasons at Fox, the show had just 2.7 million viewers, which isn’t that good for a network like Fox.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 6 ended up being NBC’s 12th rated show in the key 18 to 49 demographic and 17th in live-viewership.

It only got 2.2 million viewers, so it actually went down from Season 5.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s audience is online

Brooklyn Nine Nine renewed for Season 8 – Credit: NBC

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So, why did they announce Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 8 when Season 6 did worse than Season 5?

Well, it all has to do with the fact that not many people watch live television any more, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s numbers are pretty misleading.

Yes, it doesn’t do that well via live TV, but its numbers on Hulu and Netflix are through the roof.

Over here in the UK, we have the first five season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Netflix.

USA Today actually reported that Brooklyn Nine-Nine is averaging more than 3 million viewers online, which is pretty good numbers.

Then there are the people who watch the show in the US via DVR. Over here in the UK there’s a large proportion of people who watch the show on Sky+’s catchup service.

It’s a ‘creeper’ hit

Andy Samberg may have never played Jake Peralta in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Credit: NBC)

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Deadline then reported that Brooklyn Nine-Nine “is believed to be the most popular off-network live-action comedy on Hulu.”

So, to cut a rather long article short, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is what you could call a ‘creeper’ (to use a Lonely Island expression).

This show’s numbers have crept up on NBC, and it was the show’s popularity online that convinced them to take on the show in the first place.

That popularity hasn’t waned, and if anything it’s grown in popularity since the show was made available on platforms like Hulu and Netflix.

That’s the reason why NBC is so confident in the show that they announced Season 8 before Season 7 even aired, and all seems to be right with the world.

What do you make of this? Are you happy that Brooklyn Nine-Nine got a Season 8? Let us know in the comments below.

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