In the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of the Minneapolis police and nationwide protests against police brutality, Brooklyn Nine-Nine will completely reimagine the show's upcoming eighth season. In an interview with Access Daily, Terry Crews—who plays Lieutenant Terry Jeffords on the sitcom—revealed the writers are scrapping everything they've written so far and starting from scratch.
“Our showrunner Dan Goor, they had four episodes all ready to go, and they just threw them in the trash,” Crews revealed. “We have to start over. Right now, we don’t know which direction it’s going to go in.”
Not only are the writers of Brooklyn Nine-Nine trying to figure out what this huge social justice movement mens for the show, the cast is doing so, as well. Crews said he and his cast mates have been discussing the best way to address systemic racism and police brutality on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which typically paints a silly and lighthearted picture of police work.
“We’ve had a lot of somber talks about it and deep conversations, and we hope through this, we’re going to make something that will be truly groundbreaking this year," Crews shared. "We have an opportunity, and we plan to use it in the best way possible.”
The cast, as well as showrunner Goor, have taken action in real life, as well. Stephanie Beatriz—who plays Detective Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine—took to social media to call on actors who portray cops on the big or small screen to make a donation in support of those protesting police brutality. Diaz made an individual donation of $11,000 to the Community Justice Exchange, while Goor and the cast, including Beatriz, made a $100,0000 donation to the National Bail Fund Network.
In addition to their donation, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine team released a joint statement saying they “condemn the murder of George Floyd and support the many people who are protesting police brutality nationwide.”
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