New police comedy on Fox is arrestingly humorous

Somewhere Barney Miller is smiling. If you’re too young to recall, the reference is to the classic cop shop sitcom Barney Miller. The comedy aired on ABC from 1975 to 1982, with Hal Linden playing the police captain in the title.

The comedy followed the misadventures of the detectives in the fictional 12th Precinct of New York — a squad room that was filled with colorful characters (e.g. Fish, Wojo, Yemana).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a new comedy on Fox, is channeling the spirit of Barney Miller with

Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg heading a talented ensemble that’s sure to start you chuckling, especially if Samberg is reined in from his tendency to overly goof.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine debuts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday with the unfortunate circumstance of following the new sitcom Dads, the most universally panned firstyear comedy of the fall season.

No kidding. Dads is crass and off-putting. It’s also from Seth MacFarlane, the master of puerile humor — humor that ceases being funny once you are past the age of, oh, 14 or 15. Hopefully Brooklyn Nine

Nine will survive its lead-in, especially since the series is followed by the hit New Girl and

The Mindy Project. The four comedies are Fox’s attempt to own Tuesday nights with humor.

I’ll go out on a short limb and proclaim Brooklyn Nine-Nine the best police comedy since

Reno 911! It doesn’t take itself as seriously as Fox’s The Good

Guys and seems more realistic than Fox’s Bakersfield P.D.

Not that realism is any criterion for success on TV, but it helps.

I realize that Samberg is intended to be the first among equals in the ensemble, but it’s the presence of the droll Andre Braugher that raises the bar.

The single-camera series is from the fertile imaginations of writers/producers Dan Goor and Michael Schur, creators of

Parks and Recreation. It’s essentially about what happens

when a talented, but frequently irresponsible detective and his eclectic gaggle of colleagues get a new captain who has a lot to prove.

Samberg plays Detective Jake Peralta, poster boy for Peter Pan syndrome. He has a natural gift for the job — so gifted that he has never had to work too hard or follow the rules all that closely.

The reason he gets away with all his flouting of the rules is that he has the best arrest record in the precinct. His behavior has been indulged, even enabled, throughout his career.

That behavior comes to a screeching halt with the arrival of Capt. Ray Holt (Braugher) to the 99th precinct.

Holt goes by the book. The detectives in the precinct may be a talented and capable bunch, but they have long lacked any degree of discipline and leadership. Holt, by the way, is gay. The rest of the squad: Melissa Fumero ( One Life

to Live, Gossip Girl) plays the precinct’s designated straight arrow, Detective Amy Santiago.

Naturally, she’s the most pleased with the new leadership that Holt brings.

Having grown up with seven brothers, Amy is extremely competitive about everything. She is determined to collar more criminals than Jake, and she’s keenly aware of how many arrests she needs to close the gap.

Terry Crews ( Bridesmaids,

Everybody Hates Chris) is Holt’s second in command, Sgt. Terry Jeffords. A beefy guy who looks as if he can handle himself, Terry lost his nerve when his wife had twin girls (named Cagney and Lacey) and now he lives in fear of not seeing them grow up.

Joe Lo Truglio ( Superbad) plays Detective Charles Boyle. He idolizes Jake and is the precinct’s go-to guy. He’s not all that smart. He’s not physically gifted, but he works harder than anyone else to get the job done.

Poor Charles also carries a torch for Rosa. He has no chance. Not ever. Stephanie Beatriz ( Modern

Family, The Closer) is the loud and opinionated Detective Rosa Diaz. Rosa is tough, sexy and very, very scary. Finally, Chelsea Peretti ( Parks

and Recreation) is the decidedly odd and self-absorbed civilian office manager. Chelsea is always in everybody’s business.

As with any successful workplace comedy, Brooklyn Nine

Nine aims not really to be so much about the job, but about the relationships. Still, the creators want to establish verisimilitude.

“This is a workplace comedy that happens to be set in a police precinct,” Schur told Variety. “The idea is that they’re real cops and the crimes they’re investigating are real crimes.

“I loved Barney Miller and Dan did too. We read this survey of police officers [about] the most realistic depiction of police work on TV, and overwhelmingly they said Barney

Miller. That was very inspiring to us because that meant we could do a modern comedy set in a police precinct without having to rely on that constant drumbeat of detective work.”

Thirteen episodes have been ordered. If the show is successful, the “back nine” will be added to round out a full season.