“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is shaking things up for Season 3, as Andre Braugher‘s Captain Holt has been reassigned to another precinct across town by his nemesis Deputy Chief Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick).
Enter Bill Hader, series producer and star Andy Samberg‘s old “SNL” castmate, who becomes the Fox leading man’s new TV boss on the premiere.
The reunion has been a blast, Samberg told TheWrap during a recent interview. Hader was “super fun to play with,” the comic actor said, explaining, “he’s my friend, [but] also a lunatic.”
So why the shift for Fox’s No. 2 live-action comedy (behind “The Last Man on Earth”) now? After all, Holt served brilliantly as both mentor and foil to Samberg’s Det. Jake Peralta, and Braugher has been so good in that role that he’s scored two Emmy nominations in as many years.
“It feels like the right moment,” Samberg said. “People who have stuck with the show know the characters enough now to see them in slightly adjusted environments, and see how they react.”
Braugher’s somewhat changed on-screen role should not be seen as a downgrade — if anything, it may allow him to stand out (even more) from the talented ensemble surrounding. Plus, nothing on television is ever necessarily permanent, especially when a big comedy star like Hader is cast in a supporting role and the original anchor character is set out to sea.
Either way, “It’s not going to be a huge tonal shift,” Samberg assured us of his show’s adjustment and upcoming run overall. “It’s just scenery is a little different.”
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” returns to Fox for its Season 3 premiere on Sunday at 8:30 p.m.