Brooklyn Nine-Nine to write coronavirus plotlines into show ‘without it being super tragic’

The new season of the hit cop sitcom will deal with ‘how [the characters] have been affected by the virus and the pandemic as first responders in New York City’

Popular sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine will incorporate the coronavirus pandemic into its storylines, according to the series’s showrunner.

Dan Goor, who co-created the lighthearted cop show, told The Hollywood Reporter: “The question is how [the characters] have been affected by the virus and the pandemic as New York City residents and as first responders in New York City.”

Brooklyn Nine-Nine stars an ensemble cast including Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, Andre Braugher and Stephanie Beatriz, and has just finished airing its seventh season in the US.

Writing for the next season has already begun, with discussions about storylines taking place over video messaging in accordance with social distancing regulations.

Goor said: “We think there is a value to escapism, but at the same time, we don’t want to be ignorant. There is a debate about what next year will look like.”

“I don’t think anybody wants us to, nor do we want to, have our characters toiling away in the depths of the pandemic. I don’t think that’s the direction we’ll go in.”

He continued: “I do think it’s possible that there will be an episode or parts of episodes that do explore what their lives are like now — or were like now — because that that informs who they are. But we are really trying to figure it out... There are ways in which we can try to bring the real world into Brooklyn without it being super tragic.”

There is currently no word on when season eight of Brooklyn Nine-Nine will make it to screens, with filming potentially delayed until the end of the pandemic.