Friday, August 20, 2021
Fri-Yay: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Is Addressing Police Misconduct On Its Way Out the Door; Netflix Renews Never Have I Ever for Season 3

by Vincent
Last week, the 8th and final season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine premiered on NBC. It has been 16 months since the show last aired (the 7th season concluded in April 2020 - the show sat out for the regular 2020 - 2021 broadcast season.) Needless to say, a lot has changed in that time, particularly with the topic of police officers. Just a few months after the 7th season ended, the George Floyd video shocked America, and led to a discussion on police brutality and reforming police systems in the US. Brooklyn Nine-Nine threw out all of their previous ideas for the 8th season, hence the long delay in between Seasons 7 and 8. The show's premiere episode last week directly addressed this turmoil. Not only did Rosa quit the police force due to her uncomfortableness helping a system that has wronged so many, but Jake finds himself being called a "pig" and part of the problem.
In some ways, this isn't new territory for the show, which has always depicted the police officers outside of the 99 to be corrupt in many ways. But this was the first time the show seemed to reckon with the fact that its officers could be part of the problem, or at least that its characters reckoned with it. It was an interesting tonal shift for the show, although the second episode of the one-hour premiere was much more traditional Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Still, the final season certainly seems to have a bit of a darker vibe overall. Not only is the show addressing real world issues head on, it broke up Captain Holt and his husband Kevin, in a move that shocked many fans. The show has always been a generally light-hearted sitcom, although it has dipped its toes into serious issues before (such as racial profiling and the Me Too movement), but this feels like the most upfront and personal the show is getting with these issues, and it seems to also be willing to experiment with messing up its characters' personal lives. Typically, planned final seasons of sitcoms tend to be a celebration of shorts, and are often a little lower stakes, meant to celebrate the show that we love and demonstrate where our beloved characters are ending up. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, on the other hand, might be going in another direction. It'll be interesting to see how the show manages to balance these tones as it finishes out its run.
Netflix has renewed Never Have I Ever for a third season. Netflix's Head of Global TV Bela Bajaria broke the news during her TCA remarks. Never Have I Ever is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Original Langster, and Kaling International. Returning cast includes: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Richa Moorjani, Jaren Lewison, Darren Barnet, Lee Rodriguez, Ramona Young with narration from John McEnroe. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming globally, only on Netflix. Never Have I Ever is a coming-of-age comedy about the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl. In Season 2, Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) continues to deal with the everyday pressures of high school and drama at home, while also navigating new romantic relationships. Never Have I Ever is created by executive producer Mindy Kaling, with Lang Fisher serving as co-creator, executive producer, showrunner and writer. The Universal Television project is also executive produced by 3 Arts Entertainment's Howard Klein and David Miner.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Tuesday, July 1
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)
Tuesday, July 1
- Sam Rockwell (F Is for Family) - Catch Sam on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Isabela Merced (100 Things to Do Before High School/Growing Up Fisher) - Isabela is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Mariska Hargitay (Can't Hurry Love) - Mariska appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation), Nico Santos (Superstore) and Pete Holmes (How We Roll/Crashing) - Billy, Nico and Pete are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Annie Murphy (Kevin Can F**k Himself/Schitt's Creek) and Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory/Happy Family/Welcome to New York/Cybill) - Annie and Christine talk about Nine Perfect Strangers on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) and Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Olivia and Amanda talk about Your Friends & Neighbors on a repeat of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Susan Kelechi Watson (Louie) - Susan talks about The Residence on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
- Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear) - Liza talks about The Bear on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Zoë Kravitz (High Fidelity) - Zoë is joining Drew to talk about her directorial debut Blink Twice. She's spilling on what it was like working with fiancé Channing Tatum and her take on their viral NYC bike photo on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
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