'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' continues fresh, witty humor in season opener

Perhaps best described as the epitome of funny and satirical police shows, FOX’s "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (2013 - present) premiered its second season on Sept. 28. The show follows a team of detectives for the fictional 99th precinct of the New York City Police Department and their newly appointed leader, Captain Holt (Andre Braugher). This detective-style parody show is silly, but the jokes still come off as refreshing. The writers have done an excellent job in refraining from overused storylines and have made sure to give their gags a new take.

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" has a rich cast comprised of comedians and actors that each bring their own style to the program. The show centers on Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and the cases that he is assigned. Intelligently written,"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" also features supportive storylines for other zany characters. Peralta, along with other detectives played by Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio and Stephanie Beatriz, are constantly catching quirky criminals (e.g., perps named Joe Uterus).

Season one ended with Detective Peralta leaving the precinct in order to go undercover with the FBI for six months after confessing his feelings of attraction for Detective Santiago (Fumero). Boyle (Truglio) and Gina (Chelsea Peretti) awkwardly wake up in bed together, both horrified. Season two’s premiere, "Undercover," answers many of the questions that remain after the first season finale.

The season premiere begins with Peralta finishing his undercover duties, coming back to the precinct and learning via flashbacks what the rest of the gang was up to in his absence. This brilliant tactic makes the viewer feel as if the 99th precinct of the NYPD actually exists and didn’t take a six month break. Thankfully, these scenes were so fleshed out that viewers, if they had been following the series, would automatically feel caught up with their favorite characters, as if they hadn't missed a beat.

Then, in roughly 12 seconds, Peralta impressively recounts his time undercover and everyone goes back to their duties. Throughout the episode, we see snippets of different situations -- Peralta confronts Santiago regarding his feelings, Boyle and Gina feel ashamed of what they’ve done (regardless of the fact that they end up sleeping together again) and Captain Holt has Terry (Crews) pose as potential victims: a confused old woman and a seven year old boy. The center of the storyline focuses on Peralta and Boyle trying to track down one of the mobsters that got away from the sting operation, which leads them to a crazy trigger-happy girlfriend, a couple of fist fights and overall hilarity in tense situations.

Only one possible issue might threaten to thwart the show's success -- "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," at times, could be re-dubbed "The Andy Samberg Show." Though all of the characters are vital to the show’s development, the writers do not give supporting cast members enough attention to satisfy viewers. The supporting characters are too shallow, and this lack of depth results in the show relying too much on its humor to succeed.

Nevertheless, "Brooklyn" does a superb job at making audiences laugh -- the jokes are quirky, witty and simply entertaining. They’ve also managed to avoid cliches; it would be all too easy to create a love triangle between Peralta, Santiago and the man that she’s seeing.

Never failing to bring the laughs, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is a different take on the typical cop show. Some might consider it a "mockumentary" style program and its humor can best be compared to the early years of "The Office" (2005 -- 2013). The deadpan humor and offbeat styles of the detectives drive "Brooklyn" forward. With a bit of character development to advance the story, it should reach soaring heights in the weeks to come. Best of all, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" isn't plagued by a sophomore slump (at least not yet) -- season two starts strong, promising good things to come.