TV cops are among the most common kinds of characters for shows to center on, but there are very, very few that can compare to Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Jake Peralta. Andy Samberg's detective is one part abundant self-confidence and two parts cool-cool-cool, cool-cool-cool as a cucumber, with a heaping dash of silliness spread around the rim. So how does Detective Jake compare to Actor Andy?
Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz spoke with CinemaBlend's Jeff McCobb and a couple of other outlets at a recent NBC press junket. When he asked about the Jake and Andy Samberg balance, here's how Beatriz responded:
Andy is only like Jake in that Jake Peralta's character is very, very thoughtful and probably the smartest guy in the room. And I think Andy is usually the smartest guy in the room, but he's not cocky about it. Andy is really brilliant, and not only is he a great writer and a great performer, but he's also just very socially conscious and really aware that our show has a large reach. And in particular how we are talking about groups of people and what we are saying about each other. I think, as the seasons have evolved, the social consciousness of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is really what a lot of young fans really gravitate toward. I think a lot of that has to do with Andy and his own social consciousness and his wanting to raise the bar, I think, a little bit.
Not that Jake Peralta is hyper-prejudiced and lacking any social or civil bone in his body. Anybody who voluntarily spends that much time with Charles can accept virtually anyone else for who they are, amirite?
In any case, Stephanie Beatriz was nothing but complimentary about her co-star and friend Andy Samberg, and I'm pretty sure she'd be in his corner if the SNL vet ever had to face his character Jake in an electronic simulation or some kind of a dream-based battle of the brains. Jake would be so into that. But then he'd probably be a terrible Golden Globes host, unlike Samberg.
Stephanie Beatriz spoke further about Andy and Jake comparisons.
But [Jake] is a little ADD. Let me rephrase that. I think Jake Peralta has undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder, because he's very brilliant, but he can't always stay on track. But within that 'not staying on track,' he's often able to solve really complex cases. I think Andy has an attention span that gloriously allows him to bounce from one idea to the next. He's like a moving train, he's always, always, always thinking. He's 20 steps ahead of you, if not more.
It's generally desired for both police detectives and TV stars and writers to be as whip-smart as possible, though obviously for far different reasons. But as long as Brooklyn Nine-Nine's brilliant writers keep making Jake Peralta one of the funniest characters on TV, then fans will hopefully get to keep watching the equally brilliant Andy Samberg solving ridiculous cases.
We also want to see as much of Stephanie Beatriz's Rosa as possible, too, obviously. (And her mom.) Rosa and Jake were at the center of one of the sitcom's best episodes of its first season on NBC: "The Crime Scene," and I'd love to see more episodes that spend more time on specific characters, even if it sometimes means cutting back slightly on the ensemble.
In fact, those specific kinds of bottle episodes are right up Beatriz's alley as well. Here's what she said has been so cool about making the move to NBC.
One of the coolest things about moving to NBC, I think, has been the trust in allowing the writers to do these – I don't know what you would call them – almost like a pod episode, or an episode that still is in the world, but feels very different from the other episodes in the show. Like the episode with Rosa and Jake in the apartment trying to figure that out, like the Hitchcock and Scully episode. They're taking these risks that we've never taken before, and I think a lot of that has to do with our move to NBC.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs Thursday nights on NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET. No need to worry about its future for now, either, because it's already been renewed for Season 7.
