Viewers used to watch TV shows with a kind of wide-eyed naiveté, eager to experience each new episode with a fresh perspective. But thanks to pre-air reviews and an obsession with spoilers, that age of viewer innocence is over. As such, Entertainment Weekly sat down with Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s executive producer Dan Goor and star Andy Samberg to get the inside scoop on what to expect ahead of the show’s season two premiere this Sunday. For those who prefer not to have their TV watching experience unfold in real time, we’ve collected some highlights below.
[Season one spoilers ahead]
The premiere will pick up six months after the season finale that saw Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) heading undercover for the FBI after confessing his crush on his coworker Amy (Melissa Fumero). The finale also implied lovelorn Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) slept with sardonic administrator Gina (Chelsea Peretti). According to Goor, all three cliffhangers will be addressed, teasing, “The payoff of one of the three involves a velour sweat suit. I won’t say which.”
In terms of guest stars: As previously announced, Craig Robinson will return as car thief Doug Judy/the Pontiac Bandit for the show’s Christmas episode. Meanwhile, Jenny Slate will play the “tight-lipped” mob mistress Jake must go “head-to-head” with in order to track down an elusive mobster. Eva Longoria will have a three-episode arc as Jake’s potential love interest, defense attorney Sophia. And Kyra Sedgwick will antagonize Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) as his female counterpart, deputy Chief Madeline Wunch. According to Goor, “She’s deadpan and all business. At one point, he shows a graph that’s all black-and-white, but it has one line that’s red, and she accuses him of trying to ‘wow’ her with his ‘light shows.’ That’s the level of her gravitas.”
Goor also explain that Amy and Jake’s relationship will be a big part of the season, and while it may not get a resolution, he hopes it is “more complicated and real-world” than the usual will-they-won’t-they sitcom romances. According to Samberg, Jake “takes a beating” when it comes to his love life. “There’s a lot testing his resolve, physically and emotionally. We’ve been sore the last couple of weeks,” he says.
Trendy chocolate shops, Halloween party buses, football games (featuring former NFL Pro-Bowl wide receiver Terrell Owens), and Patton Oswalt’s Fire Marshal Boone will all also make an appearance over the course of the season. And while Samberg takes a moment to get sincere about his costars—“I would say Andre [Braugher] is on absolute fire this season,” he says— Goor prefers to share the more absurd news that “Charles learns five new sexual positions” and “[Gina] changes her spirit animal to a naked mole rat from a wolf.”