"Renewal" is the 8th episode of the
eighth season of the American television
police
The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
series ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'', and the 151st overall episode of the series. The episode was written by story editor Stephanie A. Ritter and Beau Rawlins and directed by
Beth McCarthy Miller. It aired on September 2, 2021 on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, airing back-to-back with the previous episode, "
Game of Boyles".
The show revolves around the fictitious 99th precinct of the
New York Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and the officers and detectives that work in the precinct. In this episode, Holt announces he has set up a vow renewal ceremony with Kevin and tells the detectives he will retire after he and Amy pass the police reform program. On the day of the ceremony, they find out that O'Sullivan has sabotaged their data and they intend to recoup it before Kevin finds out.
According to
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.31 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the new character development for the show.
Plot
Holt (
Andre Braugher
Andre Keith Braugher ( ; July 1, 1962 – December 11, 2023) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the ...
) announces he has set up a vow renewal ceremony with Kevin (
Marc Evan Jackson
Marc Evan Jackson (born August 21, 1970) is an American comedian and actor. Some of his roles include Sparks Nevada in the '' Thrilling Adventure Hour'', Kevin Cozner in ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (he also hosts a podcast based on the sitcom, titled ...
) and tells the detectives he will retire after he and
Amy (
Melissa Fumero
Melissa Fumero ( Gallo; born August 19, 1982) is an American actress and television director. She made her professional debut in 2004 in the recurring role of Adriana Cramer in the television soap opera ''One Life to Live''. Following several ...
) pass the police reform program, surprising the squad. He asks Jake (
Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, musician, writer and producer. He is a member of the comedy music group the Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. ...
) not to say anything to Amy until the program passes and he agrees.
On the day of the ceremony, they find out that O'Sullivan (
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in '' Scrubs'', Bob Slydell in ''Office Space'', Captain Hendrix in '' The Rock'', Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's ''Platoon,'' ...
) has sabotaged their
CompStat
CompStat (also written COMPSTAT) is a police management system created by the New York City Police Department in 1994 with assistance from the New York City Police Foundation. Today, variations of the system are used in police departments worldwid ...
data, leading Holt and Jake to try to steal O'Sullivan's laptop computer from his mother Carol (
K Callan), while Terry (
Terry Crews
Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former professional American football, football player. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/The CW Television Network, CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which air ...
) and Amy use O'Sullivan's
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
admiration to secure his thumbprint with fake gum, all while hiding from Kevin that Holt is working on the day of their vow renewal. However, things get complicated when O'Sullivan wants to keep the fake gum, Amy gets distracted after learning of Holt's retirement from Terry, and Jake and Holt are caught and locked in Carol's basement.
At the ceremony, Cheddar exposes Holt's work to Kevin. Terry simultaneously convinces Amy and O'Sullivan to move on with their lives and gets O'Sullivan's thumbprint. Kevin and Rosa save Jake and Holt from Carol by posing as police officers. He accepts that Holt is too passionate to retire and the two renew their vows before delivering the proper data to
1 Police Plaza
One Police Plaza (often abbreviated as 1PP) is the headquarters of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). The building is located on Park Row in Civic Center, Manhattan, near New York City's City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. Its bl ...
. Two weeks later, Holt informs the precinct that the commissioner accepted the reform proposal and plans to implement it citywide. Holt then announces that he will not retire, as he will be promoted to deputy commissioner in charge of the reform and he is taking Amy with him, with a promotion to chief. That night, Amy questions how her life will change with her new promotion but Jake assures her they will know what to do.
Production
In August 2021, it was announced that the eighth episode of the season would be titled "Renewal" and that story editor Stephanie A. Ritter and Beau Rawlins would serve as writers while
Beth McCarthy-Miller would direct. Despite being the eighth episode of the season to air, it was the seventh to be produced.
Reception
Viewers
According to
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.31 million household viewers and gained a 0.3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. This means that 0.3 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.
This was a 29% decrease over the previous episode, which was watched by 1.84 million viewers and a 0.4 ratings share.
With these ratings, ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' was the highest rated show on NBC for the night, fourth on its timeslot and fourth for the night, behind ''CMA Jam'', ''
Big Brother'', and ''
Thursday Night Football
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...
''.
Critical reviews
"Renewal" received generally positive reviews from critics. Vikram Murthi of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave the episode a "B" rating, writing, "As I've said before, there was no way for ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' to please everyone with their post-2020 worldview adjustment, but the ways they've addressed the zeitgeist have generally fared better than I expected. This was the first time when their efforts felt a bit phony, and try as they might, a zany undercover scheme can't distract from the core naïveté of it all."
Brian Tallerico of ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' gave the episode a 3 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "A better episode than its partner on this penultimate night in the history of ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' still disappoints a bit, in part because of what it sets up in its first few scenes but also because it feels like the writers are kind of bringing this complex season to a close in what could end up being a pretty shallow manner."
Nick Harley of ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
'' wrote, "Comparing the end of this episode to the dark reality of the first feels like you're watching two completely different shows. It's understandable that a sitcom might want to have the sunny side ending, but this opens up the issue of whether this show was ever the appropriate place to be having these conversations in the first place. It's yet another example of how this season of ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' just cannot please both sides of its audience."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Renewal (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
2021 American television episodes
Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 8 episodes
Television episodes about same-sex weddings
Television episodes directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
2021 LGBTQ-related television episodes