I’m still trying to wrap my head around why Brooklyn Nine-Nine stole the Golden Globes, but was shut out for the Emmys, but whatever the case, it’s an objectively good show, and the best new comedy to debut in quite a while. It has a great cast of characters, led of course by ex-SNLer Andy Samberg who gets the lion share of the attention.
But really it’s the supporting cast that makes the show what it is, and Andre Braugher’s Captain Ray Holt is far and away the best of the rest of them. Braugher is not normally thought of as a comedic actor, but he was perfectly cast here as the almost completely deadpan Holt, who almost never has emotion register on his face, even as he’s being provoked by his underlings. And yet, when compared to all the other more “zany” characters on the show, Braugher’s Holt gets a huge amount of laughs for his straight-faced delivery. When he does display some measure of humor or heart, it’s far more effective than when any more traditionally emotional characters do the same.
Past that, however, Holt is significant as a prominently gay character on television, but one that doesn’t conform to any set stereotypes. We finally met his husband in one of the last few episodes of the year, and found that he was just as dry as he was. The two were made for each other. It’s interesting to have his orientation be a part of his character without being entirely who he is, which is a trap many gay characters can fall into on TV.
Holt is absolutely hilarious with little effort, and makes up part of the incredible ensemble of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine cast. Emmys or no, hopefully it’s one that’s going to stick around for quite a while.
[Photo via FOX]
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