By Maan Patel

B99 and True Detective Essay

Crime drama has become a prominent television genre, focusing on conflict and resolution to capture the
interests of viewers throughout all different ages. It appeals to audiences by incorporating crimes against
humanity that are solved through truth and justice. Brooklyn Nine-Nine created by Dan Goor and Michael
Schur in 2013, under FOX, combine both crime and comedy into one show, producing a sitcom series
focused around detectives Jake Peralta, Amy Santiago and Captain Raymond Hold of the NYPD’s 99th
Precinct. Similarly, True Detective is a crime drama/ thriller made for mature audiences. It was directed by
Cary Fukunaga and was released in 2014. The crime that this show is centred around is the murder of Dora
Lange, a young girl. Through form, language and context, both crime dramas opt for completely different
approaches in conveying the conventions of the crime genre.

The two shows Brooklyn Nine-Nine and True Detective use central characters and settings to create
contrary portrayals of crime drama. True Detective has two main detectives, Rustin ‘Rust’ and Martin
‘Marty’. They are portrayed as serious and professional and focus their whole lives to the job of being a
detective. This is shown from Marty’s wife who says ‘missed you the last couple days’ as Marty had spent
the last few days and nights on the case. In contrast, detectives Santiago and Peralta are leading detectives
in the 99th Precinct of Brooklyn, who are light-heartedly portrayed through their ongoing competition and
rivalry. Peralta and Santiago have a bet on how many arrests they can get in a year and will do anything to
win. True Detective intrigues the audience to want to know what is going to happen next, whilst Brooklyn
Nine- Nine engages the audience by making them laugh and enjoy the playfulness of the show. Settings in
both shows are different as the directors, Lord, Miller and Fukunaga depict crime drama with two different
approaches. Brooklyn Nine- Nine is set in a busy, urban environment of Brooklyn whereas True Detective is
set in the 90’s in the isolated, unsettling countryside of Louisiana. Brooklyn Nine- Nine appeals to people
who want to watch a comedic show whereas True Detective appeals to people who want to delve deeper
into the crime and make them think. Central characters and settings are portrayed in contrary ways in both
shows; Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a light-hearted, busy approach whilst True Detective has an unsettling,
serious portrayal.

Brooklyn Nine- Nine and True Detective portray gender equality in two contrasting ways. Brooklyn Nine-
Nine has two dominant female characters, detectives Santiago and Diaz. In True Detective the only female
characters are victims of crimes or those in relationships, they are portrayed as lower class in the town.
Men dominate the workforce as no female detectives are present as they work in lower class jobs. This
show is set in 1995, where these were the traditional social views of a ‘southern’ country town. The victim,
Dora Lange who was murdered was simply labelled as a ‘prost’ (prostitute). Society was not overly
concerned by the murder of the character but her satanic murder does become a symbol in the town for
religion an godliness vs atheism and evil forces. This makes the audience feel the same way and focus more
on the two detectives. The show Brooklyn Nine- Nine portrays has an equal representation of strong male
and female characters. The two female detectives are strong willed, and the male detectives fear their
opinions in certain situations. Santiago and Diaz are some of the top detectives in the precinct and can
work just as effectively as Peralta. Gender portrayal is used in both pilot episodes to show different time
periods and attitudes. True Detective shows a male dominated society in a country town to make the
audience think about the crime in a more serious manner and to take them back to 1995 when this was
the norm. Brooklyn Nine- Nine was made to entertain the audience and uses strong female characters to
inspire young females and show that both genders are equal. Brooklyn Nine- Nine portrays gender with a
By Maan Patel
modern approach showing gender equality whereas True Detective is set in a male dominated society in
1995.

Both pilot episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and True Detective explore the use of tone and subject specific
language in contrasting ways. Brooklyn Nine- Nine has a range of characters that have different
personalities that contribute to the informal language used in the precinct. Conversely in True Detective,
both detectives have a more serious tone as they are more focussed on the crime itself. The detectives use
lots of formal language and technical terminology. Rust describes the body in a technical manner
“Haemorrhaging around throat. Lividity at the shoulders, thighs and torso”. This engages the audience by
making them shocked and understand the severity of the crime. On the other hand, Brooklyn Nine- Nine
uses lots of language that does not refer to the crime itself and uses casual, conversational language in the
precinct. Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine is childish with an extroverted personality. This is shown in the
opening scene when he talks to a teddy bear with a hidden camera. As he holds up the bear he says “His
code name is…..Fuzzy Cuddle Bear!” His tone is immature and silly. True Detective has two detectives on
the case, Rust and Marty. Rust speaks through philosophical statements and mainly only speaks when
someone asks him a question. Marty is blunt and is not afraid to mask his judgement on any situation. The
more serious dialogue used in True Detective is used to create suspense and mystery to the show whereas
Brooklyn Nine-Nine uses a more comedic approach to entertain the audience. Language is utilised
throughout both episodes to engage the audience as True Detective deeply engages the audience in the
crime using serious and professional language whilst Brooklyn Nine-Nine shows a more comedic side to the
crime with workplace banter and a more upbeat tone.

Brooklyn Nine- Nine and True Detective portray the conventions of crime drama in two different ways to
appeal to their respective audiences. The settings and central characters in Brooklyn Nine-Nine are upbeat
and busy whilst in True Detective they are unsettling and serious. Tone and subject specific language are
used in True Detective to delve deeper into the storyline whilst it is used in Brooklyn Nine-Nine to show a
comedic side of crime drama. Brooklyn Nine- Nine has an equal gender representation whereas True
Detective is set in a male dominated society. Both pilot episodes twist the typical conventions of crime
drama to engage and entertain their viewers.