The summer hiatus drags on, and I'm missing the weirdos over at the Nine-Nine. The Season 2 finale of the FOX's cop comedy was the show's most emotionally satisfying/draining so far: most notably, Jake and Amy finally admitted their feelings to each other (yay!), and Captain Holt took a reassignment to keep his unit together (no!). Those are some pretty dramatic changes to deal with, and when Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns for Season 3, it will no doubt jump right back into exploring the repercussions of those decisions. Do these story developments also mean cast changes, or will the entire ensemble be returning this fall? [UPDATE: Deadline reports Brooklyn Nine-Nine will return Sep. 27.]
Executive Producer Dan Goor told The Hollywood Reporter that dumping Andre Braugher (Captain Holt) and Chelsea Peretti (Gina) just wasn't an option. "If we got rid of them, Fox would have the right to call the police, handcuff us, and throw us off of cliffs. They are critical, wonderful castmembers who are incredibly funny." Sweet relief. At least until matters are righted and Holt is back behind the desk where he belongs, the show will follow the movements of both the Nine-Nine and the Captain and his trusty (?) sidekick Gina in their new assignment.
All signs indicate that the rest of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine main cast are coming back to their posts as well, including Andy Samberg (Jake), Stephanie Beatriz (Rosa), Terry Crews (Terry), Melissa Fumero (Amy), Joe Lo Truglio (Charles), and — to their colleagues' chagrin — Dirk Blocker (Hitchcock) and Joel McKinnon Miller (Scully). So, that's the good guys sorted.
But Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a history of populating its precinct with cool, well-cast guest stars, as perps, allies, or family of the main characters. There are surely some new cameo ideas in the pipeline, but I'd like to see some old favorites return. Goor also told THR that, "We take a page from Parks and Rec, who took a page from The Simpsons, which is that once somebody is in our world, we like for them to stay in our world, and we want to see them as much as possible. Any one of our characters can come back as long as they are still alive." It's those recurring characters that have kept Parks and Simpsons feeling fresh but familiar for years, and can do the same for Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
So who's a likely repeat offender? The easy money is on the return of Kyra Sedgwick as Chief Wuntch, Holt's long-time nemesis. Her character is very much a part of Holt's arc still, and she told The Wrap that she's enjoyed her time playing the humorless cop, saying, "it was such a fun and easy job." I'd expect Sandra Bernhard and Stephen Root to appear again as Gina and Boyle's newlywed parents. And with Boyle's help, Nick Cannon's character Marcus is still scoring points with Rosa. There's always room for Craig Robinson as Jake's tormentor, Doug Judy. And though Jake finally found closure with his dad, Bradley Whitford could come back if the Peraltas decide to take another crack at father/son bonding. I'm also crossing fingers for Jake to butt heads again with the cocky Homeland Security Agent played by Nick Kroll.
I'm confident that another original, charming season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is on its way, with a balance of new characters and returning favorites. Now, is it fall yet?
Images: Frank Micelotta/FOX; Giphy (2)
