Of all the TV shows ending in 2021, few are on the same level as NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Granted, that level is completely topsy-turvy, it's filled with pranks, and both Hitchcock and Scully have spilled their lunches all over it, but it's authentic to the Nine-Nine. (Nine-Nine!) Now we have our first extended look at Brooklyn Nine-Nine's final season, which kicks off looking somewhat like a Law & Order: SVU promo before flipping back to the goofy humor fans expect and adore. And keep your eyes peeled for the return of Chelsea Peretti's Gina Linetti, as well as an awesome Scrubs vet.
That's right, beyond all of the normal chicanery involving Charles' adoration for Jake and Holt's adoration for not getting past-its-prime slang correct, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is giving fans at least one more appearance from former series regular Chelsea Peretti as the self-awarely ego-driven Gina. And it should surprise no one that she's on a stage and dancing. One has to assume that the G-Hive is still thriving, unless she's moved on to other ventures.
Another familiar face returning to Brooklyn Nine-Nine for its final season is Craig Robinson as Doug Judy, the former Pontiac Bandit whose series-long arc has remained fun and unpredictable, so his swan song in this series should be a fun one. Especially since Nailed It! co-host Nicole Byer is also returning as Pontiac Bandit 2.0 Trudy Judy, presumably for the same episode, though it's perfectly fine if they want to extend the Judy-verse throughout all of Season 8. Spinoff! Spinoff! Spinoff!
For all the familiar faces, though - and yes, Jason Mantzoukas is definitely in that bunch, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 8 trailer also reveals a cameo is coming from Scrubs vet John C. McGinley. Will he be reprising his corrupt Chicago P.D. character Brian Kelton, who would clearly have needed to move to Brooklyn at some point? Nope, since he would also have to resurrect himself. But it should be a good time all the same, since McGinley is A+ in everything.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine's creative team, including co-creators Dan Goor and Michael Schur, have talked about how Season 8 was a hard one to put together, especially as a final season, in the wake of police reform protests and the host of cop-related controversies in the past couple of years. It's hard to tell what is actually different about the show going just by the trailer, but fans will presumably learn about those changes when the final season finally arrives, more than 16 months after Season 7 concluded.
The final season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine will debut on NBC on Thursday, August 12, at 8:00 p.m. ET. (And will be streaming on Hulu the day after.) Be sure to check out everything else hitting the small screen soon with our 2021 Fall TV schedule.
