Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an entertaining, diverse, and humorous show that is worth your time. This series, produced by Michael Schur and Dan Goor, follows a squad of nine characters who work as detectives in Brooklyn’s 99th precinct whose lives are full of exciting police busts, investigations, and heartwarming friendships. This sitcom ran from 2013 through 2021, and has eight seasons that are available to watch on Peacock and Fangtago, and the first four seasons of this show are available on Netflix.
There are four main elements about this show that I love: how family-friendly it is, its comedic jokes and characters, its diversity, and its ability to tackle heavy topics in an appropriate way.
Since my sisters and I were young, my family and I have enjoyed watching a show together on weekend nights, but we have often struggled to find a show that is both appropriate and interesting for the wide range of ages in our family. However, this show has proved to be the perfect show for all of us. The jokes included in the show vary in their maturity, but are appropriate enough for my eight year old sister to watch. Additionally, since the jokes are targeted towards various ages, both of my sisters, ages eight and twelve, and my parents find the jokes to be entertaining, and will all be laughing multiple times throughout each episode. Furthermore, something that my family and I love is how heartfelt and kind the relationships between the characters are, for often the humor of sitcoms comes from the characters making fun of each other.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been widely celebrated for its ethnic and LGBTQ related diviersty, for it features many diverse characters, such as Captain Holt, the NYPD’s first openly gay Black commander. Each character has their own unique personality and identity, but in the show they are viewed as three-dimensional people instead of their entire character being based around their ethnicity or sexuality. For example, as Mick Cohen-Carroll said in his article about the series’ diversity, “The jokes directed at these characters’ expense are not based on things that they cannot change (like their race/ethnicity or sexuality), but by the personality they exhibit through their aforementioned quirks.”
Furthermore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine tackles heavy topics such as racial profiling and sexual harassment in a respectful way. In Season 4 Episode 16, titled “Moo Moo”, Sergeant Terry Jeffords, portrayed by Terry Crews, is arrested in his own neighborhood by an officer for the sole reason that he is a Black man, prompting viewers to reflect upon the racism that exists both in the police force and in American society. In Season 6 Episide 8, “He Said, She Said”, this series confronts the issue of sexual harassment at work. In the episode, Detective Amy Santiago, portrayed by Melissa Fumero, investigates a case that on the surface seems like an innocent workplace injury, but as she delves deeper she discovers that the injury was sustained when trying the victim was trying to defend herself against sexual assault. Additionally, Santiago faces her own memories of her assault from when she became a detective in this episode. By the issue of sexual assault in the workplace being presented on the show through a character’s experience, viewers can see this issue through a firmiliar and liked character.
Overall, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a show worth watching, for although it is no longer running, the issues that it tackles are still relevant to our society today. Furthermore, this show is full of comedy that is bound to have its viewers laughing multiple times per episode, and its family friendly content makes for the perfect family show. Therefore, the next time that you are wondering what to watch, give Brooklyn Nine-Nine a try!
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