Premiere Particulars: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Just watched another Fox premiere! Here are the particulars of the first episode of cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

What I liked:                                

• Andy Samberg. I realize SNL veteran Samberg is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I think he’s pretty funny as smart aleck Detective Jake Peralta. He does a slew of ridiculous things to mock his new boss, all of which made me chuckle.
• The overall feeling of “Psych humor meets The Office filming style (minus the interviews).” I think it’s going to work.
• It feels fresh. I realize cop comedies have been done, but there are so many cop dramas out there right not that it’s nice to see the other side of the coin. Honestly, I can’t remember a cop comedy since Reno 911! (which was hilarious).
• Captain Holt’s surprising secret. It’s fairly unexpected for a cop show (and for his character), but in a good way.
• The script. There are some truly funny lines. For example: Det. Amy Santiago, referring to Jake’s constant chatter: “It’s like a white noise machine.” Jake: “First of all, that’s racist.” I laughed.
• The characters. There are a lot of quirky, contrasting types introduced. It ought to make things interesting.

What I didn’t like:

• Like all shows of this type, it has the potential to get very formulaic and predictable. I said it felt fresh, but it could be hard to keep it that way.
• Jake’s cheesy monologue near the end. It’s not meant to be taken seriously, of course, and I think Jake redeemed the end with his closing line, but it may have teetered for a minute.
• I chuckled, but I didn’t laugh hard. Though that could be because a lot of the funny stuff was revealed in the commercials—always a vice for comedies.

The Potential: Though the pilot isn’t the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen, I did find myself chuckling quite a bit. With a lot of great characters and a clever script, there’s definitely potential for this comedy. If you like Samberg or if you just like comedies in general, I’d recommend trying this one out. I leave you with this unexpected gem from Sergeant Terry Jeffords as he addresses the nickname he had in a former precinct: “They called me Terry Titties, sir.” Did I snicker like a 12-year-old? Maybe.

Premiere Grade: B+