Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg spoke to People Magazine on Monday about the upcoming eighth season of the popular NBC comedy. According to Samberg, everyone involved in the show has taken a step back from production to consider the best way to move forward in light of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests against systemic racism and police brutality.
Considering that the sitcom is a lighthearted comedy revolving around the lives of police officers at a precinct in New York, some social media users have taken issue with the series as of late, even going so far as to label it propaganda.
“People making jokes about how the ‘brooklyn nine nine’ characters are ‘the only valid cops’…..this is why we call the show cop propaganda and your stupid a** tweets are the proof that its working i cant STAND you people,” tweeted one person.
A growing movement to defund the police force — or call for reform — has taken the internet by storm since George Floyd’s highly publicized death at the hands of several Minneapolis cops.
Samberg addressed the “challenge” the show faces moving forward.
“We’re taking a step back, and the writers are all rethinking how we’re going to move forward, as well as the cast. We’re all in touch and kind of discussing how you make a comedy show about police right now, and if we can find a way of doing that that we all feel morally okay about.”
His sentiments echoed co-star Terry Crews’ previous comments about Brooklyn Nine-Nine ‘s future.
Last month, The Inquisitr reported that Crews alleged showrunner Dan Goor had thrown out four completed scripts in light of current events.
The actor, who plays Terry Jeffords on the show, said they did not yet know “which direction” the series was “going to go in.”
He said Goor and the writers planned on returning to the drawing board to start from scratch.
People also reported that the cast had donated a combined $100,000 to the National Bail Fund Network in support of the BLM movement. Goor tweeted the news on his official Twitter account, and encouraged his followers and fans of the show to donate as well if they were able.
Aside from discussing the future of Brooklyn Nine-Nine , Samberg also promoted his upcoming romantic comedy film Palm Springs during his interview with People .
Palm Springs stars Samberg as a guy stuck in a Groundhog Day -style time loop, forced to repeat the same wedding over and over again.
Cristin Milioti of How I Met Your Mother fame co-stars alongside Samberg in the upcoming Hulu film, which is set to release on July 10.
