'Brooklyn 99': Why Andy Samberg Almost Turned Down Lead Role!

Imagine “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” without Andy Samberg. There’s a different actor saying Jake Peralta’s jokes and acting alongside Melissa Fumero.

Fans of the series may have a hard time imagining the show in this way, but it was a close reality! Lead actor Andy Samberg almost turned down this acting role, according to Screen Rant .

Samberg established his roles in the comedy scene with his work in “Lonely Island” and his seven-year-long act in “Saturday Night Live” (SNL). However, the grueling schedule of the late-night segment eventually took a toll on Samberg.

Samberg wanted to focus on movie roles to have a “more relaxed” schedule and he announced his departure from SNL in 2012 for these reasons. However, his career plans were halted when show creators Michael Shur and Dan Goor offered him the role of Jake Peralta in the series – the last thing he needed to have a lighter schedule!

“I was not looking to do a TV series at all but I was a huge fan of Parks,” he told The Wrap , referring to Shur and Goor’s “Parks and Recreation” series starring Amy Poehler. “I’d seen what these guys had done with Amy.”

“They came to me and said, ‘How would you feel about doing a series? This is the idea.’ And I was like, ‘Give me a couple of days to think about it,’ but I already knew I was going to say yes, because it was too good to pass up,” he said.

Samberg’s decision later earned him a Golden Globe award for “Best Actor in a Comedy” in 2014 where the show also bagged an award for the series.

Samberg acts alongside Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews, Chelsea Peretti and Andre Braugher in this comedy series about police detectives in a New York precinct.

Fans are no longer new to twist and turns in decisions that run the show. In 2018, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” was cancelled when Fox pushed the series aside after five seasons. Immediately the day after, NBC picked the series up for another season.

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Season 7 will air on January 2020 with 13 episodes.