Brooklyn Nine-Nine Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m., Fox.
The new sitcom landscape for the fall TV season looks pretty bleak, but one bright spot is Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a charming workplace comedy from Parks and Recreation co-creator Michael Schur and Parks writer Dan Goor. Although it deals with detectives in New York City, and the first episode features a murder investigation, Brooklyn is goofy and lighthearted while also remaining grounded. In short, it’s a lot like Parks, another municipal comedy full of funny, likable characters.
Brooklyn also boasts a great cast, led by Saturday Night Live veteran Andy Samberg as the precinct’s top detective, who thinks a little too much of himself. Although Samberg’s Det. Peralta clashes with his new boss, Capt. Holt (Andre Braugher), in the first episode, it’s a sort of gentle conflict that gets resolved in a sweet but amusing way at the end of the episode. The show uses Braugher’s renowned intensity to great comic effect, and the supporting cast, which includes Terry Crews, The State’s Joe Lo Truglio and comedian Chelsea Peretti, shows a great deal of potential, with each character getting small, promising moments in the first episode.
Most importantly for a comedy, Brooklyn is funny, with a solid mix of character-based humor and 30 Rock-style flashback gags. A handful of jokes fall flat, but the pace is lively enough that the show easily moves past them. With all the painfully unfunny duds set to premiere in the next few weeks, Brooklyn is the surest bet for a comedy worth following as the season progresses.
