New York City has five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn- home, of course, to the indomitable detectives of the 99th precinct. The show I am referring to, Brooklyn 99, is hilarious. It is heartwarming and upbeat and entertaining, which is why it was such a travesty when Fox announced, earlier this week, it was cancelling the beloved show. Although it has since been declared that Captain Holt and Co. will be moving to NBC, when I first heard of the impending cancellation, I was perplexed. Why would anyone want to cancel such a great show?
And (silly me for not realizing sooner), the answer is money. In the society we live in, the answer is always money. While Brooklyn 99 has created a niche group of impressively diehard (lol) fans, it never quite became mainstream. Fox decided not to continue airing the show simply because it was not a huge ratings hit. They felt other shows could be more popular, and thus more profitable.
While I was analyzing semi-successful shows, I also analyzed those that resonated with millions of viewers- How I Met Your Mother, Friends- the most popular sitcoms in America. Those, too, are set in New York. Those, too, have running jokes and one-line quips that only the most dedicated of fans can grasp. And yet those shows, unlike Brooklyn 99, have no reason to stick with the masses. Both How I Met Your Mother and Friends follow a group of all-white, all-straight, upper middle-class twenty-somethings. The characters lounge in their favorite bar/coffee shop, and, if they are seen working, it's only to provide a backdrop for a love story or revelation. These shows don't represent the American public, but rather a twisted ideal for the average Joe to emulate. They teach the lesson that we don't need to work at all- we can just play all day and laugh all night. The characters live in a fantasy world where it's easy to pay the rent, even on two-bedroom apartments in NYC.
While Brooklyn 99 is often seen as unrealistic due to the characters' actions or word choices, the lessons it teaches are much less escapist- and much more important- than those in other comedy shows. Brooklyn 99 manages to maintain a sense of humor while simultaneously exploring what real life looks like. The show is set entirely in the workplace, in Brooklyn's 99th precinct. Characters can have camaraderie with their coworkers and, hey, they actually work. Brooklyn 99 seems trivial and stupid, at first, but it tackles topical issues in nearly every single episode. For example, one of the characters, an African-American sergeant named Terry Jeffords, is stopped on his way home by another police officer because the officer thinks Jeffords is out of place in his middle class neighborhood. Another character, Rosa Diaz, becomes alienated from her family after coming out as bisexual. Throughout the seasons, the characters have dealt with corrupt law enforcement, absent parents, and paralyzing anxiety.
The cast is also super diverse and representative of what America truly is. Of the seven main characters, three are women and two are LGBT+. In addition, four of the stars are people of color- Sergeant Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), and Sergeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews)- while only three are white- Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), Charles Boyle (Joe lo Truglio), and Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti). Brooklyn 99 is not "mainstream" enough, but that might be precisely because of its inclusivity. If shows embody the people who so often aren't represented, those on the fringes of American media, will the people in the "middle" feel ignored?
People who are underrepresented in the media are in the minority, so if numbers and ratings determine what gets cancelled, it will keep happening to the most diverse shows. Sense8, Girlboss, and (nearly), Brooklyn 99 are just the latest in a long list of shows that have been axed, casualties of the war of whiteness.
But now, more than ever, we need these shows. In a time of divisiveness, we need to unite. In a time of hate, we need to love. In a time when we are told "you don't matter," we need to be told "you matter." We need everything shows like Brooklyn 99 stand for. So yes, its renewal gives some spark of hope for the future of television in the United States. The long dark winter might be coming to an end.
We can only wait to see what the next season will bring.
Comments
Post a Comment