The last day or so has been quite the emotional roller coaster for fans of the ensemble cop comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. News broke yesterday that the show wouldn’t be returning after the season 5 finale, and things actually seemed to get worse from there. However, it seems that this particular story will have a happy ending after all, as NBC has picked up the show with a 13-episode season 6 order.
Joining Brooklyn Nine-Nine on the chopping block were The Last Man On Earth and The Mick, which were to be replaced new sitcoms, including a revival of Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing. In the wake of the news, fans everywhere pinned their hopes that Hulu would pick up the show for its sixth season, but earlier today we learned that they weren’t moving forward with the deal. For a short while, the future looked bleak.
Related: Hulu Passes on Rescuing Brooklyn Nine-Nine
That all changed tonight when co-creator and showrunner Michael Goor tweeted that the show had been picked up by NBC for a sixth season. Then, almost immediately, Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Michael Schur confirmed the news from his Twitter account. Before long, cast members Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumar, Chelsea Peretti, and Stephanie Beatriz joined in to celebrate the announcement. Per CNN, the sixth-season order is for 13 episodes. NBC Entertainment chairman Roger Greenblatt commented, “Ever since we sold this show to Fox I’ve regretted letting it get away, and it’s high time it came back to its rightful home.”
While Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a very passionate fanbase, the show’s ratings had steadily declined since its premiere in 2013. It’s geared toward a younger audience, which means fewer people watch the show when it airs, instead opting to catch it on their DVRs, or simply stream the episode later on Hulu. Along with TBS, Netflix had expressed interest in picking up the show up going forward, which seemed like an ideal solution.
With that in mind, it is a little surprising then that NBC was the one to save the day here. Once the king of primetime comedies, the network had shifted its focus to reality TV and hour-long procedural dramas in recent years. It even scrapped their ‘must see Thursday night lineup’ back in 2015. But thanks to the success of shows like Superstore, which also boasts a diverse ensemble cast, the network has started warming up to sitcoms once again. It even brought back its ‘must see TV’ tagline in 2017.
Additionally, Schur has a lengthy history with NBC. In addition to his work on The Office and Parks and Recreation, he currently serves as showrunner for their afterlife comedy The Good Place, all of which are shows with devoted followings. All considered, it certainly seems possible that Brooklyn Nine-Nine will flourish at its new home. Ultimately, Nine-Nine fans don’t really care what network (or streaming service) the show calls home, so long as they can continue to enjoy the hijinks of the 99th precinct.
