Brooklyn Nine-Nine was a sitcom created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur that aired for 8 seasons from 2013 to 2021. The 22-episode first season aired during the 2013/2014 TV season. It stars Andy Samberg, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Chelsea Peretti, and Andre Braugher. The supporting cast includes Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon Miller.
The series follows detectives at Brooklyn’s fictional 99th precinct as they adjust to their new commanding officer, Captain Raymond Holt (played by Braugher). Holt is very serious and expects more discipline than some of the detectives are accustomed to, particularly Jake Peralta (played by Samberg), who is good at solving cases but tends to treat much of his job as a joke. Fumero plays Amy Santiago, a competitive detective who is eager to impress Holt, while Beatriz plays Rosa Diaz, who is tough, moody, and very private about her personal life. Lo Truglio plays Charles Boyle, an awkward but enthusiastic detective who is close friends with Jake and has an unrequited crush on Rosa. Crews plays Sergeant Terry Jeffords, who supervises the detectives but is initially reluctant to return to fieldwork because he worries about what would happen to his family if he were killed. Peretti plays Gina Linetti, the precinct’s civilian administrator, while Blocker and Miller play Hitchcock and Scully, two veteran detectives who are generally more interested in food and avoiding work than in solving cases. It is a sitcom with a large ensemble cast that is equal parts story-of-the-week procedural and serial comedy, as events from prior episodes are referenced in nearly every episode.
As of this writing, the individual seasons have been released on DVD. The complete series is available in a Blu-Ray box set. In that set, each season is in its own keep case inside a decorative outer box. The first season's episodes are spread across three discs. The A/V quality of the Blu-Rays is very good, and the episodes can be played with English captions. Most episodes from the first season include deleted scenes, which are the only extras included for this season.
The show is a great comedy with a wonderful cast of characters. It is well-written and well-acted, and the actors do a great job in their roles. The first season mainly develops the various characters and their relationships. The best part of the series is the relationships between the characters, with the funniest being the unrequited love that Lo Truglio’s doofy Boyle has for Beatriz’s dark and moody Diaz. The contrast between Jake’s immaturity and Holt’s serious approach to the job also provides a lot of the humor, as does the competition between Jake and Amy. It isn't extremely family-friendly because it has a lot of sex jokes, but it also has a lot of wholesome comedy. Ultimately, it is absolutely worth watching if you are a sitcom fan, especially if you like other comedies Michael Schur has worked on, like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place.
