Why ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, ‘The Mick’, And ‘The Last Man on Earth’ Deserve Some Closure

Yesterday’s news of the Fox comedy bloodbath wasn’t just sad because it means we’ll miss some of our favorite funny, albeit low-rated, half-hour comedies — it’s also infuriating because of the cliffhangers these seasons ended on. Spoilers ahead for The Last Man on Earth and The Mick, whose seasons have already come to a close, and only very vague thoughts on the Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 5 finale, which airs on Sunday, May 20th.

Half-hour comedies have evolved much beyond a slew of jokes amongst friends sitting around and chatting in a coffee shop or bar. These shows in particular developed a style of storytelling that could not be contained within one installment, and were given the creative freedom to explore a lot of new territory. That includes introducing storylines that will ultimately go unresolved, and that’s simply no laughing matter. As viewers who have connected with these on-screen characters, we’re not wrong in feeling like we’re owed some kind of resolution about how things work out for our TV pals.

The Last Man on Earth

Look, this show was on the bubble A LOT, so the fact that the show completed four seasons on network TV is kind of a miracle, and nearly one on par with discovering fellow humans are alive on Earth once you thought they were all wiped out by a terrible disease. The Will Forte comedy was one of the weirdest and most unique shows on the air anywhere, and only improved with each season, as the comedy and the emotions grew deeper amongst the group and the viewers. I mean, Jason Sudeikis pulled out his armpit hairs, is that not enough for you?

Season four ended with the discovery that Tandy & co. weren’t alone on Earth — in fact, there were dozens of people living underground and wearing gas masks. They’ve cornered the group, but they haven’t removed those masks. We need to know who they are! Are they good or bad? Will they wonder where Tandy’s eyebrows are? Will they be played by a celebrity for a longer than 3-second cameo? These are the questions that will go very annoyingly unanswered.

Which is simply too bad. It might be a bit much to ask for a full, even 13-episode season of the show. But some answers would sure provide some closure to this one. Can we get an hour-long movie? A six-episode order to just tell us who this group is and if Melissa shoots them all? From the sounds of this Forte Entertainment Weekly interview, the writing staff had a full plan for this group, and to be robbed of the chance to see their interactions, well, I’m sorry but that really makes Fox look like friggin’ turds.

The Mick

The Mick’s cancellation hurts because it was the youngest of these three, and–while it found its gear in the pilot and never let off the gas–it still had a full tank of comedy. Okay, clunky car metaphor aside (but not unwarranted, considering how many times Kaitlin Olson’s Mickey was run over on this show), this sucks because The Mick was one of the funniest and most dangerous shows on primetime TV. Built around Olson’s cool yet panicked and frantic demeanor, The Mick found kid actors that could actually go toe-to-toe with the hard-drinking scoundrel that is Mickey. This show was violent and wrong in so many ways, but also so very right–like the comedy partnership between Mickey and Alba (Carla Jimenez).

Surprisingly, The Mick stealthily did a lot for representation. First of all, Olson is the funniest leading person on TV, and giving her another show besides the reliable It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was the right move. But second, giving Carla Jimenez this platform to be just as filthy (but with a wide-eyed innocence) was gutsy. And then there were the Pemberton kids, which included the gender non-conforming Ben (Jack Stanton) who challenged his stuffy elementary school’s rules, and the openly bi/pansexual Sabrina (Sofia Black-D’Elia). This show was doing a lot more than slicing off fingers and trapping people in hot cars (although it did that, too).

This show needs a proper goodbye season because the Season 2 ending is rough. The episode focused on the fraught relationship between Mickey and Sabrina, one that ended with the high school graduate getting electrocuted after holding up a katana in a lightning storm (this show is beautifully ridiculous). The last shot of the season, and now maybe the series, was of the family surrounding Sabrina’s hospital bed, with the doctor saying that she’ll have brain damage if she ever wakes up. Major bummer! Especially because The Mick isn’t a show where injuries last (Chip’s fingers are a-okay now). One would expect Sabrina to be fine in the Season 3 premiere, that’s what the show does, but if we never get that episode… yikes! What an unintentionally harrowing finale to a show that was essentially a live-action Looney Tune (with blood).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine did approach their season 5 finale very wisely. As they’ve built towards the Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy (Melissa Fumero) wedding, the characters also achieved professional goals, with Amy securing a promotion and Jake (sadly!) saying goodbye to his ultimate frenemy Doug Judy (Craig Robinson) earlier in the season. The wedding is incredibly satisfying and ultimately, would not serve as a disappointing series finale as well. Not that the show ties up all loose ends before they close out the series/season finale though.

The internet fervor for the show was honestly unexpected to me as a viewer who tunes in each and every week and can count on one hand the number of people I know who also watch. But more importantly, the comedy consisted of many characters that highlighted a lot of the representation, especially when it comes to LGBTQ communities and non-white ethnic groups, people long to see on network TV.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine remains one of the silliest and wittiest shows, one that you should not be waiting to binge, but should be enjoying right now in this very moment. Seeing why this show matters to audiences, beyond the spectacular use of boy band jokes which I endlessly appreciate, gives me hope that it is picked up, not even just for closure, but for another full season. Nine-Nine!

Where to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine