We read all the scripts, now we’re watching all the pilots. SSN brings you our insight on the hot new pilots of the upcoming TV season as we watch the screeners and report back to you.
BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
FOX Comedy Premieres Fall 2013Executive Producers: Michael Schur (Parks & Recreation, The Office, Saturday Night Live), Dan Goor (Parks & Recreation), and David Miner (30 Rock) Directors: Phil Lord & Chris Miller (TV: How I Met Your Mother, Film: 21 Jump Street, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) Cast: Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Joe Lo Truglio, Chelsea Peretti
Logline: Brash young detective JAKE PERALTA (Andy Samberg) is good at his job and he has the potential to be great if he can learn to play by the rules just a bit more. When CAPTAIN RAY HOLT (Andre Braugher) arrives, he quietly challenges Jake to become a better cop while also forming a bond with him.
SSN Insight: As FOX tries to bring more men into their viewing tent, this ensemble comedy in the vein of Barney Miller does a skilled job of setting up accessible characters in a recognizable workplace. The show is a fresh spin on a tried and true formula. Mike Schur and Dan Goor have created another show like Parks & Recreation with an ensemble of solid characters who have quirky chemistry when combined.
Especially Good: Andy Samberg in a surprisingly natural, unforced performance, for which directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller deserve applause. Lord & Miller met Samberg while directing his voice talent in their first film, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and manage to get the same sweetness and comedy out of him here. And though you may not think of Braugher for a sitcom, this role fits him like a glove. Terry Crews provides solid support as Sgt. Jeffords, a good cop who has been riding a desk ever since he lost his mojo in a particularly tense situation in the field. Rounding out the cast are topnotch comedy talents Joe Lo Truglio and Chelsea Peretti as fellow detectives with their own idiosyncrasies. Peretti is a talent to watch in her own right as she is also a standup comedian and a writer on The Kroll Show and Parks and Recreation.
Overall, a strong start for a comedy with definite potential for ongoing laughs.