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New York's finest: The 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' gang returns in a new episode

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Author: 
Francis Babin / TV Media
Terry Crews stars in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

Terry Crews stars in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

From "Cougar Town," "Nashville" and "Arrested Development" to "Futurama" and "The Expanse," there are a select few canceled shows that have gone on to find great success after getting the ax from their original networks. The award-winning comedy series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has joined those ranks, finding a new, much more stable home on the peacock network after Fox canceled the series in 2018. On Thursday, Feb. 27, catch a new episode of the police procedural parody as it continues its second life on NBC.

Much like its network stablemate "The Good Place" and many other classic NBC comedies, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has struggled to pull in ratings despite critical acclaim and numerous accolades. While the series may not have the viewership numbers of established procedurals or hit spinoff dramas, what it does have is a loyal following and a very passionate fan base. Between first-run airings and streaming, millions around the world have discovered -- and continue to discover -- the hilarious series, and many of those who tune in even once are permanently hooked. 

For those of you who have yet to check out this series, here's the premise: "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" follows a motley crew of detectives based out of the fictional 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn, working for the tough-as-nails (and very serious) Capt. Raymond Holt, played by the incredible Andre Braugher ("Homicide: Life on the Street"). Well, they were working for him before his dramatic demotion last season, but we'll get to that.

The Nine-Nine is made up of a number of oddball personalities, most notably the incredibly silly, immature and laid-back Jake Peralta, played by "Saturday Night Live" alum and Lonely Island member Andy Samberg. Jake's colleagues include the extremely organized, by-the-book Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero, "One Life to Live"), to whom Jake is now married; the hard-working and weird Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio, "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later"), who is Jake's best friend and biggest fan; the hard-boiled and scary Rosa Diaz ("Stephanie Beatriz, "Human Discoveries"), who is often Jake's best crime-fighting partner; and the enormously muscular and devoted family man Sgt. Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews, "Are We There Yet?"), who loves to refer to himself in the third person.

Oh, did I forget Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker, "Poltergeist," 1982) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller, "Big Love")? The rest of the team sometimes wishes they could forget, too. The team is quirky and weird and sometimes unprofessional, and that's where a lot of the comedy comes from. But the charm of the series comes from the fact that these weirdos are legitimately good at their jobs, and that they're there for each other through thick and thin. They're a family.

Andy Samberg stars in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

Andy Samberg stars in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

Back to Holt's demotion, now -- the new acting police commissioner is Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"), who just happens to be Holt's nemesis, and she busted him down to the patrol duty after finding out that he was promoted to detective prematurely. The current season continues to explore this storyline, and we get to see Holt struggle to adjust to this new role and try to reclaim his former position and glory.

Joining the emotionally challenged former captain as his uniformed partner is the always funny Vanessa Bayer ("Saturday Night Live") as Debbie Fogel. Beyond directing traffic in a busy intersection, look for the mismatched pair to run into many comedic obstacles. Bayer's multiple episodes reunite her with her former "SNL" colleague, Samberg, and her arc marks the 11th appearance time an "SNL" alumni has guest starred in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." Bill Hader ("Barry"), Fred Armisen ("Portlandia"), Maya Rudolph ("The Good Place"), Tim Meadows ("Schooled"), Chris Parnell ("Happy Together"), Nasim Pedrad ("Aladdin," 2019), Jenny Slate ("Lady Dynamite"), Pete Davidson ("The Jesus Rolls," 2019), Julia Sweeney ("Work in Progress") and Adam Sandler ("Uncut Gems," 2019) all came before her, and each one is a great reason to binge previous seasons of this series, if you haven't already (available now on Hulu).

Over the years, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has received much praise for its depiction of serious topics such as racial profiling, toxic masculinity, gun control and sexual harassment, while never abandoning its wonderful sense of humor. The seventh and current season looks to continue this kind of storytelling. If this delicate balance does not sound easy, you are absolutely right. 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, co-creator and showrunner Dan Goor (who previously worked on "Parks and Recreation," among other hit series) discussed the challenge of dealing with serious topics without ever losing the show's funny bone. He explained that he and the writing staff enjoy tackling such issues, but only when they have a nuanced view, and added that they don't want to merely create a big-budget PSA, even if it is a funny one. For instance, the creative team has been wanting to do an episode dealing with immigration and ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for years, but have not been able to strike the funny/insightful balance just right.

Look for entertaining takes on hot-button issues, wonderful guest stars and more as New York's funniest police precinct goes to work in a new episode of the critically acclaimed and award-winning "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," airing Thursday, Feb. 27, on NBC.