Is ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s’ Sunday move Fox’s best of the season?
If you’ve been a frequent CarterMatt reader as of late, then you are probably familiar with our perspective on Fox as a network right now. We’re not fans. So far this season, they’ve had a huge bomb in “Utopia,” a slightly smaller bomb in “Gracepoint,” the slow decline of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Tuesday-night comedies that are struggling, and a failure to get many viewers to check out “Red Band Society.”
There have not been many winners … other than at least “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” The comedy is the only scripted show on the network to be performing just as well, if not better, than it was at this point last year. What’s the reason? It is all in a move.
We know that it is easy to just scoff at the increase in numbers for the show, and say that it is because of the show moving to Sunday nights, where it follows “The Simpsons” and football. Having the great lead-in helps, but it is also a smart strategic move. Were “New Girl” or “The Mindy Project” in this spot instead of Andy Samberg and company, we don’t see them getting the same numbers. In terms of tone alone, they are not a match on the same level for the silly Animation Domination block.
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has that sort of silly humor that appeals to men watching Fox at that time, but it also has characters that go beyond just a fart-joke or Simpson demographic. Fox hasn’t put a live-action comedy in this timeslot for years, but this show is proving that it can work. It also helps that creatively, this show is just as funny as it was last year. While we’re sure that there are some wishing that the show would tell longer stories like another Mike Schur project in “Parks and Recreation” does, we don’t quite mind what they are doing right now. It’s also a sharp move for all the streaming viewers to jump on board, or syndication viewers if the show makes it that far.
If you’re not watching this show yet, start. It’s pretty much the best thing Fox has going for it save for “Gotham” in the live-action department, and we get a sense it will be staying put for a while.