Chelsea Peretti shocked fans when she announced her exit as Gina in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but why did she really leave the popular NBC sitcom?
Chelsea Peretti played Gina Linetti on Brooklyn Nine-Nine for several seasons before she was abruptly written out of the show. Here's why Peretti left. As one of the original cast members, Gina served as the 99th Precinct's civilian administrator who was known for weird antics, sarcastic remarks, and working as hard as possible not to have to work hard. While she often came across as rude, she was also clever and efficient when needed which caused much of the squad and the show's audience to genuinely love the character. It came as a big surprise when it was originally announced that Chelsea Peretti would be leaving the series with the character getting a farewell episode.
Viewers of the show had a tumultuous 2018 after Brooklyn Nine-Nine was canceled by Fox, which would've unceremoniously wrapped up the series with a cliffhanger. After an outpour of support online with high-profile celebrities such as Lin Manuel-Miranda and Mark Hamill calling for it to be renewed, NBC swooped in and picked it up for its sixth season. Fans of the show were thrilled to know that the squad was coming back only to be hit with more sad news not long after the season debuted - Peretti was leaving the show.
Peretti was a Brooklyn Nine-Nine regular from season 1 to season 6, episode 4 - titled "Four Movements" which functioned as her farewell outing. She returned to the show in the same year's finale ("Return of the King") as a guest star, as well as a few other times. Narrative-wise, Gina decides to it's time to leave the Brooklyn 99 precinct, realizing that her talents would be better used elsewhere like being an online celebrity. While the rest of the gang is sad to see her go, they support her choice and send her off happily. However, why did Peretti really leave Brooklyn Nine-Nine, especially since she was one of the unique characters that made the series much more fun to watch?
The Reason Chelsea Peretti’s Gina Left The Nine-Nine
According to the actress, the decision to leave the sitcom wasn't entirely on her. She refused to get into specifics of what transpired behind the scenes regarding her exit, however, so it's unclear whether the show was already looking to write her out or she was already looking to exit. For some reason, it felt like the perfect time to push through with it, so they did. Peretti also emphasized that she's close friends with Brooklyn Nine-Nine creator Dan Goor, as well as co-star and producer Andy Samberg, adding that the split was somewhat mutual and amicable.
Between the timing and Peretti deliberately declining to reveal the real reason behind her Brooklyn 99 exit, it's possible that it was a decision made by people above her pay grade. As she noted in her extensive interview for her farewell episode, she's just a "lowly actor ... without much status." Given the show's standing at that point, having just been picked up by a new network after being canceled, perhaps NBC was wanting to cut costs to be able to move forward with it. This forced the sitcom to downsize its ensemble cast, and since Gina was the only non-cop character, she was the one to go.
When Brooklyn Nine-Nine aired its eighth and final season, the show looked to wrap up a lot of important character arcs and plotlines. As part of the elaborate final farewell that the characters threw for each other (and that the show threw for its audience), Chelsea Peretti made a return appearance as Gina for the two-part season 8 finale. As the precinct embarks upon another elaborate Halloween heist, Gina is brought in as a part of the plans and gets to be a part of the full celebration. A final scene at the end shows that, even with many of the characters having left the Nine-Nine, they were able to regroup for an annual Halloween heist including Terry, Jake, Amy, Holt, and of course Gina herself.
Will Brooklyn Nine-Nine Ever Come Back?
With or without Gina, Brooklyn 99's ending after season 8 was a sad blow to many viewers, although it was also a logical move for NBC and the cast, given the increased scrutiny and reduced support for the police over the past few years resulting from the Black Lives Matter movement. The final Brooklyn 99 season attempted to address this issue, and also provided a touching and complete-feeling sendoff for all of its main characters. There are some who want to see the show return in the future, however, and Terry Crews is one of them. According to Crews, much of Brooklyn 99's cast would be open to participating in anything from a full reboot to a Brooklyn 99 movie to an annual Halloween Heist episode moving forward (via CinemaBlend). It's unknown at this time whether any of these hopes are likely to pan out, but knowing that Crews and others would be interested in a Brooklyn 99 reunion of some kind means it's not off the table.
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