The network's studio counterpart Universal Television produces the show.
It's official:
NBC has revived
Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a 13-episode sixth season.
The abbreviated 13-episode pickup comes a day after Fox shockingly canceled the Universal Television-produced single-camera comedy after five seasons. Universal TV, the vertically aligned studio which produced the Mike Schur and Dan Goor comedy, received almost immediate calls from mulitple outlets to potentially revive the series.
NBC was among those outlets that expressed interest in a potential sixth season given the show's ownership structure and the outcry that ensued as the Andy Samberg comedy's cancellation became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.
Hulu, Netflix and TBS were also said to be among those outlets who reached out to Universal TV after the cancellation. A day later, a potential revival looked bleak after Hulu — which retains SVOD rights to Brooklyn — and Netflix both passed on a potential sixth season.
Hours later, NBC has now swooped in to renew the Golden Globe-winning series for an abbreviated 13-episode season in one of the biggest stories of the 2018 Upfronts.
“Ever since we sold this show to Fox I’ve regretted letting it get away, and it’s high time it came back to its rightful home,” said Robert Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment chairman. “Mike Schur, Dan Goor and Andy Samberg grew up on NBC and we’re all thrilled that one of the smartest, funniest, and best cast comedies in a long time will take its place in our comedy line-up. I speak for everyone at NBC, here’s to the Nine-Nine!”
Schur and Goor — who were college roommates — both exec produced NBC hit Parks and Recreation, with Schur having also worked on The Office. And Samberg rocketed to fame on the network's star-making Saturday Night Live.
"Hey everyone, just wanted to say no big deal but .... NBC JUST PICKED #BROOKLYN99 UP FOR SEASON 6!!! Thanks in no small part to you, the best fans in the history of the world! Nine-nine!!!!!!!!!" showrunner Goor wrote late Friday night on Twitter.
For Schur, meanwhile, he will now have three comedies on NBC's 2018-19 broadcast season with Brooklyn joining returning entry The Good Place and newly ordered Abby's. All three are produced by Universal TV — where Shur is under an overall deal; Dr. Goor Productions and 3 Arts Entertainment.
This is the second year in a row that NBC has delivered an Upfront surprise. Last year, the network canceled Timeless only to reverse course days later following an empassioned pitch from producers Sony Pictures Television. In that case, Sony TV gave up a large piece of ownership on the Shawn Ryan drama in exchange for an abbreviated-episode renewal. The drama now finds itself on the bubble yet again as its season two finale is said to feature a massive cliffhanger. The Brooklyn deal echoes a similar move from Universal TV in 2015 when Fox canceled the studio's The Mindy Project after three seasons. Universal TV then successfully sold the show to Hulu, where it would go on to run for three more seasons. (The studio also took The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to Netflix — where it scored a two-season order — after NBC decided it was too niche for broadcast.)
For its part, Fox canceled Brooklyn — among several others — as the network changes course amid the pending $52.4 bilion sale of assets including its studio to Disney. Following the sale, which is expected to gain regulatory approval the network wil court a broad demographic with a roster of newly ordered procedurals and multicamera comedies while also itself reviving Last Man Standing a year after ABC's shocking cancellation.