In 2016 New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine gifted viewers with one of the most fun and underrated crossovers on TV. One would think combining two successful sitcoms from a major television network would be a massive event but, unfortunately, the episode didn't receive much attention.
For fans of New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, however, having the tenants of apartment 4D and the officers of the 99th Precinct come together was a dream come true. It was also an innovative idea from Fox's perspective. Both sitcoms were immensely popular at the time and possessed talented and versatile casts. Here's how these comedic worlds collided, and why it is one of TV's most underrated crossovers.
The crossover between these two heavy-hitting sitcoms happened in two parts, with each of the casts appearing on the other's episode, airing back-to-back. The first part occurred at the end of Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 4, Episode 4, "Nightshift." Though Zooey Deschanel was the only New Girl cast member to appear in the episode, fans were still treated to a satisfying interaction between Deschanel's Jessica Day and Andy Samberg's Jake Peralta.
In their time on screen together in this episode, Samberg and Deschanel demonstrated great chemistry. Their characters argued with each other amid the chaos of the scene in a way that fits both Day and Peralta. It was an ideal way to portray the two main protagonists of these shows.
Part two occurred in New Girl Season 6, Episode 4, "Homecoming," in which the mixing of the shows' cast members was more prevalent than in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. While it began with Jake Peralta once again commandeering the car Jessica Day was driving, it also included additional cast members of each show.
Most notable is one scene featuring multiple cast members from both comedies. New Girl characters Nick and Winston impressed Brooklyn Nine-Nine character Charles Boyle with their street-performing skills. Additionally, there were two entertaining scenes featuring Jessica Day in the Brooklyn Nine-Nine 99th Precinct in which she interacted with Gina and Captain Holt separately.
This crossover deserved more credit, if, for nothing else, the barriers it had to overcome. Fox had gone through ambitious crossovers, notably, with its highly successful crime drama Bones and supernatural series Sleepy Hollow, in 2015. In the case of New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the shows had coexisted for a number of years and often aired on the same nights. Even so, they had drastically different comedic styles and were filmed in different studios. Nevertheless, Fox placed these groups of characters together.
Fox's decision to bring together two flagship comedies can be classified as a spontaneous opportunity. Combining these already-fun and chaotic groups was refreshing and creative, blending the differing comedic styles of the two shows, demonstrated in how Jessica Day and Jake Peralta met: The writers used thematic elements from both sitcoms, with Jess buying soup and then being dragged into a police chase.
While it is arguable that Fox could have done more from a marketing standpoint, the crossover still deserves more credit than it ultimately received from viewers. The network combined two of its most successful sitcoms in a small but effective way that was memorable for fans. Ultimately, when considering the success and popularity of New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, this underrated comedic union deserves to be on the list of some of modern TV's best crossovers.