Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andy Samberg on how show will handle issues which inspired Black Lives Matter movement
The comedian has explained that the new season will see the characters "examine their roles in the world".
Andy Samberg has outlined how the upcoming eighth season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine will handle social issues related to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The comedian and his co-stars had announced in the wake of the killing of George Floyd that they would be taking pause to consider how to tackle issues of police brutality on the sitcom, with four scripts for the new season being scrapped in the process.
And he has now revealed the new season will see several of the show's characters examine their place in the world.
Speaking to Variety, he said, "The challenge is going to be being honest about what is going on in the world and not shying away from the fact that there are serious problems, and also not punishing viewers who like our show and care about our characters.
"Our characters need to examine their roles in the world. They're going to be forced to look in the mirror and see who they're complicit with."
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Samberg also said there has always been implicit criticism of the police in the sitcom – which he says regularly features "corruption and breaking protocol", while he pointed out that it was not solely down to his show to shine a light on the issue.
"I think it's important for us and for anyone watching our show to keep in mind if we're looking for a half-hour comedy show to be the ones to solve this problem, we're in trouble," he said.
"Our job is pointing out that stuff isn't getting done right and spreading the word that we're hopeful that it can get better."
In June, Terry Crews explained that the stars had been discussing how best to handle issues of police brutality in the new series during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
“We actually all got on a Zoom call just the other day, because of what’s happening in this country and we were witnessing so many abuses of power,” he said.
“We had some sombre talks and some really eye-opening conversation about how to handle this new season.”
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Meanwhile, in August, former star Chelsea Peretti told IndieWire she had thought the show "should just defund the police and have everyone going to do community-oriented work”.
The cast and crew of the series donated $100,000 to The National Bail Fund Network back in June following the killing of Floyd and the nationwide protests.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine will return for season eight in 2021. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
