Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Watch Sean Astin try to save the precinct from a hacker

Similar to The Goonies, Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans never say die, which is one of the reasons that the beloved police comedy was rescued by NBC last May after being canceled by Fox. Last month, superfan Lin Manuel-Miranda did his guest turn on the show, and now it’s time for another famous supporter, Sean Astin, to step in front of the camera.

The Lord of the Rings and Stranger Things alum will guest-star on Thursday’s episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In this installment, which unfolds in real time, the Nine-Nine detectives set out to track down an elusive hacker who is gaining illegal access to the precinct’s servers. Astin enters the fold as Sergeant Knox from NYPD Cyber Operations Unit, who will try to help flush out this tech-savvy criminal. (Could this faceless, lawless individual have ties to Cyber Crimes division leader Devin Cathertaur, played by Paul Scheer? That seems like a stretch but felt like a fun question to ask.)

“Working with Sean Astin has been a dream of mine since I saw first saw Rudy,” Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Dan Goor recently told EW. “I’m what you call an Astin-head. When he tweeted his support for Brooklyn Nine-Nine as a member of the Guardians of the 99, I was blown away. I’m so excited to have him on the show.”

Astin — who recently popped up on The Big Bang Theory — lobbied the nebulous powers that be for a second chance for Brooklyn Nine-Nine on social media last spring. “Here’s the thing about Brooklyn 99 being cancelled, I don’t want it to be,” he tweeted at the time. “I love all of those people & they earned the right 2 have a final season victory lap where I could emotionally prepare. Don’t know them. Have nothing 2 do with the show. I’m just a fan who deserves better.”

Now he’s a fan who can help the Nine-Nine onscreen. And, as you will see in this exclusive clip from the episode, Jake (Andy Samberg) and Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) find Holt (Andre Braugher) having a low-key meltdown over a hacker breaking into their servers, while Sgt. Knox does his best to protect the Nine-Nine’s fort. It’s definitely going to take Rudy-like determination to get out of this digital disaster.

“Ticking Clocks” airs Thursday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Related content:

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine renewed for season 7
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Andy Samberg on season 6, Jake’s Split moment, Chelsea Peretti’s exit
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine: See Lin-Manuel Miranda in action as Amy’s competitive brother