Synchronicity is a weird thing.
Prior to my October trip to Greece, I hadn’t really watched Brooklyn99. I’d heard great things about it, but for whatever reason – I had not tuned in. Then on a 13 hour leg between Zurich and LA, I found myself binge watching the entire first season. I’ve been hooked ever since
The timing could not have been better. Two days after getting home, I found myself giggling like a schoolgirl on the set, taking pictures with the cast and taping up my loud shoes so I could walk around in the background of a shot.* I’d been invited not only to visit the set, but to be an extra in a scene, walking around in the background of the precinct office.
*Note, if you are ever lucky enough to be an extra on a set, leave your loud shoes at home. Frye boots are hot but not on a hot set. Rubber soles, folks.
My set visit to Brooklyn99 almost didn’t happen. That morning I had one of the worst commutes to LA ever*. I was over an hour late for my call as an extra, and felt ridiculous showing up in the middle of the taping. I never made it into the scene but just being there at all was worth being mortified for.
Note: If you have to be on set for a show at 9 am, leave Orange County at 4 am. You might be cooling your heels at Starbucks for 4 hours but better that than arriving on set feeling like a total ass like I did in that pic above after a THREE HOUR commute. I figured if I at least got a selfie on the lot, it wasn’t a total loss of a day.
Set visits are my favorite kind of field trip. There’s a palpable energy on back lots. You walk on and peek into the giant warehouses where all the shows you are familiar with are being filmed and the air sizzles. Busy messengers whiz around on bicycles and golf carts, and even the food service workers and parking lot attendants look and act like they love their jobs. Weave your way between the buildings and you’ll see costumes and props, executives on cell phones, and signs and plaques letting you know the current and past shows being taped in each building. The temptation to duck down alleys and explore can be almost overwhelming.
Inside the massive hangar-like buildings, on the sound stages, is where the magic really happens. Watching the machinery-in-motion, the detailed and precise collaborative human and mechanical efforts that go into making a show, always gets me.
When you think of television shows, you think of the actors and possibly the writers. What you see when you visit a set are the script supervisors and the lighting guys, the prop masters and the makeup artists, the directors and producers and yep, the sound guys, who tape foam to the soles of the extras shoes so they don’t walk too loudly. All this and so much equipment. Booms and cranes and wires and dollies and cameras everywhere.
Dozens and dozens of people all working together, like a well tuned orchestra, are what makes television possible. And oh how I love a chance to see that organized chaos first hand!
The cast was friendly and unaffected. So much talent on this show. They didn’t set out to cast the show as a “multi racial” show, but rather chose the actors that seemed to own the parts and this approach paid off. The cast is diverse but doesn’t feel planned that way. It feel like an actual workplace.
Knowing the comic genius of Andy Samberg and other talented cast members, and having an improv background of my own, I was curious to know how much of the show was ad libbed. I had to ask, and was delighted to discover that they always include a few fun takes, after shooting scripted.
Touring the set was a highlight of the visit. A whole city tucked into a few relatively compact areas. There are NYC shop and station exteriors for the outdoor takes and the interior of the bar where the characters like to hang, is so lovingly handcrafted. Right down to the music on the jukebox and pictures on the wall – it’s easy to imagine yourself ordering a beer in a city dive. 
The producers are proud of this show, proud of the cast and everyone who so skillfully works on it. Rightly so. I’m grateful that I had the chance to see it all, and to sit in the captain’s chair.
If you haven’t checked out Brooklyn99 already, give this show a chance. Don’t wait till you’re stuck on a transatlantic flight like I was.
The wry and witty comedy and winning characters will grow on you.
Catch the latest Brooklyn99 buzz and recent episodes on the Fox website.
I LOVE Brooklyn99! It’s such a fun show. Andy Samberg was the reason I tuned in, but the whole cast is fantastic.
This is AMAZING! I know this is 3 years old, but i would love to learn about how to get access to the set or a meet & greet with the cast!