Brooklyn Nine-Nine is moving forward with a #MeToo storyline in Season 6. The episode, which is focused on Melissa Fumero’s Amy, marks the directorial debut of Fumero’s co-star, Stephanie Beatriz.
“I’ve never done an episode like this,” Fumero tells TVLine. “You see a side of her that you’ve never seen before.”
For Fumero, having Beatriz at the helm was especially important given the material at hand. “I think it would have been nerve-wracking if it had been someone else, or someone I didn’t know,” she says. “It was really wonderful to have my friend directing, where we already have a shorthand… It was so amazing to just have that trust, to feel protected and safe.”
Back in August, series co-creator Dan Goor told reporters at the Television Critics’ Assoc. summer press tour that the producers were contemplating a #MeToo episode. At the time, fellow EP and series star Andy Samberg said that they wouldn’t move forward with the issue-oriented episode “unless we have the right take that does it justice.”
According to Beatriz, the writers ultimately came up with an “amazing script” for Fumero, adding, “I think she’s [an] underrated actress. I don’t think people understand the scope of her talent, and I am really thrilled I got to be witness to it on set that week. Melissa’s a star.”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine makes its NBC debut on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 9/8c. An airdate for the #MeToo episode has not yet been announced. (With reporting by Diane Gordon)
