8 Years Ago, The Best Sitcom of the 2010s Was Saved From Cancellation (And It Lasted Three More Seasons)

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Many funny sitcoms have been cancelled too soon, before they could really shine. However, one popular, quirky show from Fox was fortunate enough to get a second life when another network quickly picked it up in 2018. Throughout TV history, plenty of comedies haven’t lasted long enough, whether they were quickly forgotten like Freaks and Geeks, or abruptly ended with loose ends, as happened with My Name Is Earl. There’s a long list of great sitcoms that were cut short before their time.

Luckily, some TV shows don’t stay cancelled forever. Family Guy and Community are well-known examples of shows that were brought back after being initially canceled, with Family Guy going on to run for many years. Brooklyn Nine-Nine faced a similar situation when Fox cancelled it in 2018, but NBC quickly picked it up just a day later. The show continued for three more seasons before ending in 2021, though fans had to wait a while for the shorter final season.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine Was Cancelled (And Then Revived) On May 10, 2018

Premiering in 2013, Brooklyn Nine-Nine quickly earned praise from critics. The first season won a Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and received an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show’s popularity continued to rise, achieving a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes just one season later. Similar to other popular workplace comedies like The Office and Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s success was largely due to the incredible chemistry between its talented cast members.

I loved watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine! It was amazing seeing Andy Samberg lead such a talented cast – a great mix of fresh faces like Stephanie Beatriz and Chelsea Peretti alongside seasoned actors like Joe Lo Truglio and Andre Braugher. Braugher, especially, was brilliant – he brought that same serious energy from Homicide: Life on the Street to his role as the hilariously dry Captain Holt. The show was genuinely funny because of how well everyone played off each other, but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to keep Fox interested when the ratings started to drop in the fourth season.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Final Season Fell Victim To A Major Modern Sitcom Problem

As a big fan of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, I remember when the show was really popular! The first couple of seasons, each episode would pull in almost 5 million viewers. But things started to dip – by seasons 4 and 5, those numbers had fallen to around 2.7 or 2.8 million. That’s actually why Fox cancelled it right before the season 5 finale. Luckily, NBC stepped in and saved the day, and we got a sixth season – ratings even bumped up to 3.1 million then! It’s a shame though, because even though some of the very best episodes were made during its time on NBC, the show ultimately ended like so many other comedies do – a little abruptly and unsatisfactorily.

Like The Conners and New Girl, two other successful sitcoms from the 2010s, Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s final season was cut short to just 10 episodes. This was a significant problem because the show wanted to address important, real-world issues with policing that were being discussed after the protests following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. The limited number of episodes prevented the show from fully exploring these complex issues, but it also couldn’t go back to the lighthearted humor of its earlier seasons. As a result, Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s final season felt uneven and ended with a disappointing finale.

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2026-05-11 20:42