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Movies & TV

12th Feb 2021

Why Brooklyn Nine-Nine is ending after eight seasons

Reuben Pinder

Nine-Niiiiiine!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine will finish forever after its eighth season airs, it has been confirmed.

The show has been running since 2013 and grown into one of the most popular comedies on television, with millions of viewers tuning in every week to watch Jake Peralta and his fellow cops take down bad guys with a tone few cop shows have been able to match.

“I’m so thankful to NBC and Universal Television for allowing us to give these characters and our fans the ending they deserve,” showrunner David Goor said in a statement.

“When Mike Schur and I first pitched the pilot episode to Andy [Samberg], he said, ‘I’m in, but I think the only way to tell this story is over exactly 153 episodes,’ which was crazy because that was exactly the number Mike and I had envisioned.

“Ending the show was a difficult decision, but ultimately, we felt it was the best way to honour the characters, the story and our viewers. I know some people will be disappointed it’s ending so soon, but honestly, I’m grateful it lasted this long. Title of my sex tape.”

It’s clear the show runners have not lost their sense of humour. So why the abrupt ending?

It is likely to be a result of the political context the writers now find themselves in.

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police last year, the show’s writers binned scripts they had written for season eight, wary of problems that could arise regarding the tone of the show and any potential insensitivities.

The cast of the show have spoken openly about their role in a show about police in a world where institutional racism has become so exposed to the wider population.

“We’re taking a step back, and the writers are all rethinking how we’re going to move forward, as well as the cast,” star Andy Samberg told People in July last year.

“We’re all in touch and kind of discussing how you make a comedy show about police right now, and if we can find a way of doing that that we all feel morally okay about.”

And now, with the news that its eighth and final season will be only 10 episodes long, we can see the conclusion they came to was to make it short and sweet. Title of my sex tape.

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