'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' faces pressure to publicly support the George Floyd protests and address police violence in the show

• As protests over the death of George Floyd spread across the US, some people on Twitter are calling for the NBC comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" to release a statement in support of the protests. Others called the series police "propaganda."
• As of Tuesday morning, Stephanie Beatriz was the only main cast member who had tweeted directly about her role as a police officer on the show, calling on other actors who play cops to donate to an emergency relief fund that's supporting bail and bond funds.
• Other cast members and showrunner Dan Goor had posted on social media in support of the protests against racism and police violence, but hadn't addressed their involvement in the show.
• The protests have highlighted how pop culture depicts police officers. Kathryn VanArendonk wrote for Vulture that the series "sanitizes the police."
• The series has addressed racism in the past, but not police violence specifically. The eighth season is currently being written remotely.

The protests across the US over the death of George Floyd have sparked a national conversation about police violence. The conversation has started to extend to some fictional police officers, too.

Some on Twitter have called for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," the NBC comedy about a group of NYPD officers and detectives, to release a statement in support of the protests, which have in some cases resulted in violent clashes with police (videos on Twitter showed an NYPD cruiser ramming into a group of protesters behind a barricade over the weekend, for example).

"I really think that the whole cast, producers and writers more than talking about #blacklivesmatter have to talk about all this violence, racism and police abuse, bc they do a police show and they NEED to show that they disagree with that sh--!," one Twitter user said.

"I understand shows don't take stances on social issues, but as a modern (best) cop show that has semi addressed police bias before, and a show with such a diverse and vast fanbase, something should be said," another tweeted.

Protests against racism and police brutality spread across the US over the weekend after George Floyd, a black man, died last Monday after a police officer knelt on his neck for roughly eight minutes in Minneapolis.

The protests have shined a spotlight on how cops are depicted in pop culture. Some on Twitter called "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and other police-focused shows "propaganda."

"'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' is fun, but its silliness doesn't change the way it prioritizes police perspectives over anyone else's," Kathryn VanArendonk wrote for Vulture. "If anything, the show's lightness makes it an even more effective way to generate empathy for the police, who come across as sweet, thoughtful people just trying their best. It sanitizes the police."

As of Tuesday morning, Stephanie Beatriz was the only main cast member who had tweeted directly about her role as a police officer on the show. She called on other actors who "make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in residuals from playing a cop" to donate to an emergency response fund to support bail and bond funds. She posted a screenshot of her own donation of $11,000.

Other members of the main cast, as well as showrunner Dan Goor, had tweeted or retweeted in support of protesters but hadn't spoken directly on their involvement with the series.

The show's official Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages hadn't posted anything related to the protests. NBC tweeted on Sunday, "We stand with our Black employees, colleagues, partners, and creators in outrage at acts of racism."

Representatives for actor Terry Crews, who plays an officer on the series, directed Business Insider to a video statement he made on the protests and the death of George Floyd. Representatives for other members of the main cast did not return requests for comment.

"George Floyd looks like me, George Floyd could be me," Crews said in a video on his Instagram on Saturday. "I could easily be that man on the ground with that police officer's knee on my neck. It makes me sad and disappointed ... law enforcement is supposed to protect us and that's not what's been happening."

Business Insider also asked representatives for the series for a statement on the protests and if the show would address police violence in future episodes, but they did not provide answers. The series has addressed racism in the past, but not the subject of police violence.

The eighth season is currently being written remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.