Forget spinoffs — the new TV trend taking over the small screen is crossovers!
Networks just can’t get enough of the ratings potential that putting two popular shows together generates. We’ve seen it on the CW with their vampires and superheroes, we’re seeing it on every Marvel Netflix show, and FOX has just started to get in on that crossover game with last season’s wacky Bones and Sleepy Hollow crossover.
The next crossover heading our way? FOX fan-favorite comedies Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl! The network announced today during the 2016 Summer TCA press tour that the Andy Samberg- and Zooey Deschanel-starring series will meet in New York in the “crossover event of the year” in October. The one-hour crossover will feature back-to-back episodes beginning with Brooklyn Nine-Nine at 8 p.m. and then concluding with New Girl at 8:30 p.m.
FOX TV boss Dana Walden explained that the crossover came about because “the shows definitely feel compatible.”
“They came up with a really fun story for the crossover,” she said. “If it feels organic and it feels like something that can exist between two shows, I find that most creators these days are very open to anything that will ‘eventize’ their shows, make them stand out. These two shows are so funny. I know that our actors on both shows are looking forward to interacting with each other. It was just a fresh and fun idea for them and they were both on board right off the bat.”
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine crossing over with New Girl is very exciting, but (and this is supposed to be a secret) it’s just the first step,” Brooklyn Nine-Nine executive producer Dan Goor said. “Stay tuned for our two casts to do a soulful R&B number on Empire, co-anchor the FOX 10 O’Clock News and connect for a touchdown on FOX NFL Sunday. But in all seriousness, we’re all huge fans of New Girl here at the Nine-Nine, and we’re excited to see our characters interact and to work with their incredible writers and producers. And also to see what their craft services are like, compared to ours.”
“The crossover episode has historically been the artistic high point of any show that has dared to attempt it,” New Girl executive producer Elizabeth Meriwether said. “Maybe you remember ‘Blackout Thursday’ on NBC, or even further back the infamous Alf-Gilligan’s Island crossover of the late 1980s. New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine will proudly and humbly go where few shows have gone since the 1990s. We know we have big shoes to fill, and we look forward to disappointing everyone. There’s a 50% chance Alf will also be in both episodes. But there’s also a 50% chance that is a lie.”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine season four picks up with Jake (Samberg) and Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) in Florida under the Witness Protection Program, with only one human link to their regular lives – U.S. Marshall Karen Haas (Maya Rudolph). New Girl season six begins with Jess (Deschanel) facing Nick (Jake Johnson) for the first time after realizing she has feelings for him, while Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Cece (Hannah Simone) begin a frustrating hunt for their first house.
Image: Fox
Brooklyn Nine-Nine season four and New Girl season six premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 20. The one-hour Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl crossover will air Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on FOX.
