Brooklyn Nine-Nine is ending. But that's okay!
Plus: The TV industry is changing, and that's not a bad thing
Happy Friday, and thanks for tuning in!
You may have heard the news that NBC’s popular police comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, will be ending its run after its upcoming eighth season. It’s come back from cancellation before, but this seems like a final farewell for the beloved series, which stars Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, and Andre Braugher, along with a powerhouse comedy cast.
All good things must come to an end, of course, but if you’re looking for a new show to fill the space B99 will leave in your heart, I’m here to help. In today’s issue, we’ll be diving into a few other shows you might like (and don’t worry — even if you’re not a fan of this particular ending-soon show, there might be something on the list you’ll love!).
As always, feel free to pass this newsletter along to anyone you think could use a little more TV in their life. Or a little less. No judgement here.
Miss Brooklyn Nine-Nine already? Watch these shows
Superstore
Image credit: NBC
Few workplace comedies happen in as familiar a workplace as Superstore, which is set in a fictional (but all-too-real) big-box Cloud 9 superstore. Among the store’s employees are hardworking mom Amy (America Ferrera), well-meaning know-it-all Jonah (Ben Feldman), sweet but clueless Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom), snarky Garrett (Colton Dunn), and competitive Mateo (Nico Santos).
Although these coworkers couldn’t be more different, they each serve a role within the larger Cloud 9 ecosystem. While some have big dreams of moving into management or leaving the Cloud 9 altogether, others are happy to put in the least work possible to collect their paychecks.
Though the show touches on some complicated themes (unexpected pregnancy, undocumented immigration, tokenism), it’s largely very lighthearted and genuinely hilarious, with plenty of heart to go around. It’s also one of the few shows on TV that’s currently diving into how the pandemic is affecting essential workers (its latest, and final, season features an abundance of masks, and many of its storylines are heavily influenced by the presence of COVID-19). But even when it’s handling the pandemic, Superstore remains laugh-out-loud funny.
Superstore is streaming on Hulu and Peacock Premium.
The Good Place
Image credit: NBC
This is the first of two shows on this list that are, weirdly, about death. But actually, The Good Place is about what happens after we die, or at least, an optimistic fantasy of it.
It’s hard to talk about this show without revealing some major twists, but here’s a basic overview: a very flawed woman named Eleanor (Kristen Bell) dies and wakes up, somehow, in what’s essentially heaven. Though she’s not nice, she is smart, and she pretty quickly figures out that she’s not supposed to be in the Good Place, but when she meets fancy perfectionist Tahani (Jameela Jamil), chronic overthinker Chidi (William Jackson Harper), and dumb-but-endearing Jason (Manny Jacinto), Eleanor realizes that the Good Place is a lot more complicated than it seems.
Ted Danson and D’Arcy Carden also play essential roles in this cast, which has a charming chemistry that keeps you rooting for every single character. And for a network comedy, there’s unexpected complexity here; the show’s many (excellent) jokes and rewarding character development pave the way for some truly thought-provoking commentary on morality, humanity, and whether any of us really deserve the Good Place.
The Good Place is streaming on Netflix.
New Girl
Image credit: Fox
This is the kind of show I would normally never watch. A comedy about 20-something roommates and their dating adventures? Pass. (At some point in this newsletter, I’m going to have to address my strong dislike of Friends.) ButNew Girl is one of the best of its subgenre, and while it has its flaws, I like it, enough to recommend here. I have a soft spot for found family stories, and this is certainly that.
After a rough breakup, optimistic teacher Jess (Zooey Deschanel) needs somewhere to live, and she ends up in an apartment with three single men, all struggling in different ways. Although there are growing pains, the four, along with Jess’s best friend Cece (Hannah Simone), start to build unexpected bonds, and try to help each other along their paths to becoming functional adults.
New Girl is experiencing something of a popularity resurgence lately, as depressed quarantiners have discovered the endless relatability of Jess’s roommate, the kind but worn-down Nick (Jake Johnson). This one character has spawned countless memes, but the whole show is pretty hilarious, so even if you are only interested in seeing why there are so many images on Twitter of the same guy at various points of a personal breakdown, you’ll probably find yourself sticking around.
New Girl is streaming on Netflix.
Pushing Daisies
Image credit: ABC / HBO
This is the most out-of-left-field pick on this list, but I promise, it deserves to be here. Pushing Daisies is the whimsical, weird story of a pie-maker named Ned (Lee Pace), who just happens to be a necromancer. A local private investigator (Chi McBride) makes use of this unusual gift to help solve murders. Is it cheating to collect reward money if the murder victim tells you who did it?
Of course, solving murder mysteries, even with a necromancer at your side, is rarely that simple. And to complicate things more, Ned’s gift comes with rules — if he doesn’t keep his back-to-life magic touches within a short time frame, the universe claims a life for a life, permanently. And once someone has been brought back to life, Ned can never touch them again, which makes things difficult when some of his closest loved ones are among the recently-dead.
For a show that’s so heavy on the death, it’s pretty lighthearted, and the cheery color palette helps with that (a sunny Kristin Chenoweth helps too, as does a very sweet Anna Friel). Ned himself is much more charming and innocent than you’d expect a necromancer to be. In all, it’s a funny, breezy watch, and a delightful little gem.
Pushing Daisies is streaming on HBO Max.
Bonus Features
Some novelists are making the jump to writing for TV, using their well-honed writing skills to build out the characters and plots modern viewers crave.
Joss Whedon, the creator behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, The Avengers, and many other fandom favorites, has come under fire in recent years, with allegations of racism, sexism, hostility, and a host of other inappropriate on-set behaviors coming from many people from his personal and professional circles. This week, several former Buffy cast members, including Charisma Carpenter, Michelle Tractenberg, and Amber Benson, shared their own stories of abuse, standing with Justice League star Ray Fisher, who accused Whedon last summer of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior onset.
For some reason, Wipeout is coming back? John Cena and Nicole Byer will host.
That’s all I have for this week! As always, feel free to drop a comment. Until next week, happy watching!