Andre Braugher Talks Future Of Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the Wake of Police Protests: ‘Everything’s Changed’

NBC

Andre Braugher opened up in a new interview about the future of his comedy cop series, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and how the show will adapt to the current climate. The actor, who’s played several cops over the course of his career, spoke about the challenges of tackling police brutality and systemic racism while still making an audience laugh.

“I have no idea what Season 8 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is going to be, because everything’s changed,” Braugher said in a new cover story for Variety. The actor plays Capt. Raymond Holt opposite Andy Samberg’s Det. Jake Peralta on the hit comedy show.

Holt has rich backstory, being a gay black man who fought his way up the ranks of the NYPD. The show hasn’t shied away from subjects such as racial profiling and police harassment, but with the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide protests, the comedy faces its biggest challenge yet in how it represents police departments.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine has to commit itself, as a comedy, to telling the story of how these things happen, and what’s possible to deal with them,” said Braugher. “I don’t have any easy answers, nor do I have a window into the mind bank of this writing staff. Can you tell the same story? Can anyone in America maintain any kind of innocence about what police departments are capable of?”

Although Braugher hasn’t seen any scripts for the upcoming season, he speculated on how his character might handle a case of police brutality. “It might mean that Holt is a staunch defender of the NYPD, or that he tries to burn the whole thing down,” said the actor. “I know that he is a pragmatic man; I do know that he’s a loving, [if] robotic person. I’m anxious to see what that’s all about.”

Still, Braugher says the show’s writing staff and cast and crew are “willing to take it on and give it our best.” He concluded, “I think we have a damn good chance to tell the kinds of stories that heretofore have only been seen on grittier shows.”

Back in April, Brooklyn Nine-Nine showrunner Dan Goor told The Hollywood Reporter that the series is mulling how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. “The question is how they have been affected by the virus and the pandemic as New York City residents and as first responders in New York City,” said Goor. “How do we keep the show funny? How do we do that while still making them of this world and of their world? It’s challenging.”

Season 8 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine will premiere on NBC sometime in 2021.