Manhunter and boyhunters alike strapped in for what was supposed to be an exhilarating season premiere of cop-comedy show “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” but it mostly felt like a kiddy ride. The season seven premiere was flat and needed more from its all-star cast to elevate the show to new heights. The show is known for its fresh take on the cop-show genre and television tropes, but the premiere was formulaic in all the worst ways possible. 

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” follows the detectives of the NYPD’s most dysfunctionally functional precinct. The workplace comedy always had a sense of wit and banter between the cast, but in the first two episodes of the season so far, it is severely lacking. The season six finale left us with a lot of questions about the future of the Nine-Nine, but ultimately the show could not answer them.  

The season seven premiere answers questions about Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) as a beat cop and his new dynamic with the squad. Episode one, “Manhunter,” follows the precinct in search for a suspect of an assassination attempt. It divides the cast into two groups and doesn’t do a great job at connecting them until they finally catch the guy. The episode is predictable, as fans have seen the same plot points between Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and Holt. 

Episode two, “Captain Kim,” answers questions of how Holt’s replacement is going to work and who will replace him as captain. The episode falls flat with the same problems. It’s not well connected and its division of the cast makes the episode feel all over the place. It’s also the same premise of the season three premiere where they get a new captain only for them to be replaced at the end of the episode. 

Holt being demoted to a beat cop needs to take more precedent. There is no doubt in fans’ minds of his ability to solve a case, but this needs to be more of an obstacle for him, going as far as to sideline him for the season. 

Some of the flatness is due to Peralta and Holt’s dynamic. We have seen the two in almost every situation —  to the point where I think it is hard to find them something new to do. It won’t be a problem when it comes to the fan-favorite Halloween heist episodes, but the writing team needs to get more creative with the two. Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) and Peralta’s dynamic is also barely present. 

Going forward, the show needs to lean on its other character dynamics. It was an easy choice to focus on Peralta and Holt, but these stories are used up. We always learn more about Peralta and his abandonment issues when the two are together, but these episodes are a little  too predictable. The show needs to bench Holt and start the rest of the cast for it to succeed. A show known for its ensemble cast isn’t featuring all of its stars, and it shows.