Andy Samberg has disclosed that he and the Brooklyn Nine-Nine crew will be taking a step back from the hit television show to reevaluate how to produce it in light of the recent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Following the death of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor - amongst others - the cast and crew of the show have been forced to consider whether it's acceptable to create a comedy about law enforcement at such a time of civil unrest.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Samberg stated: "We’re taking a step back, and the writers are all rethinking how we’re going to move forward, as well as the cast."
"We’re all in touch and kind of discussing how you make a comedy show about police right now, and if we can find a way of doing that that we all feel morally okay about," Samberg who portrays Detective Jake Peralta added. "I know that we’ll figure it out, but it’s definitely a challenge, so we’ll see how it goes."
This comes after the cast and showrunner of Brooklyn Nine-Nine donated $100,000 to The National Bail Fund Network in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Showrunner Dan Goor and the cast made the announcement on social media, writing "The cast and showrunner of Brooklyn 99 condemn the murder of George Floyd and support the many people who are protesting police brutality nationally."
Last month, Samberg's co-star, Terry Crews, told Access Daily that they have removed several episodes from the upcoming season eight.
"We’ve had a lot of somber talks about it and deep conversations and we hope through this we’re going to make something that will be truly groundbreaking this year. We have an opportunity and we plan to use it in the best way possible," he said.
"Our showrunner Dan Goor, they had four episodes all ready to go and they just threw them in the trash. We have to start over. This is an opportunity right now for us all to united and get together and understand what this is and that we have to battle this together."
