My wife is much more versed in the world of modern TV shows, and so many times she sees shows long before I do. One of them that she’s really enjoyed lately has been Brooklyn 99. She’s been encouraging me to watch it, and since she was right about Parks & Rec, I decided to give it a try.

The past few weeks we’ve been blowing through the first 4 seasons and are getting close to being caught up with the broadcast. Being a 22 minute show, it’s really easy to just cram a bunch of episodes into an evening while we’re doing nothing. It’s a nice mindless show that you don’t need to invest too much intellect in to enjoy.

The plot of the show follows a rag tag group of detectives from the 99th precinct as they solve crimes around New York. It’s setup as a sit-com and and is genuinely funny most of the time. The lead detective, Jake, is quirky and messy, but he’s also brilliant, solving crimes and arresting bad guys like crazy. However, one of the best characters on the show is Raymond Holt. The dry, non-nonsense captain of the precinct with deadpan humor expressions and delivery. He is often one of the most hilarious characters in an episode.

One of the cool things about binging a show that’s taken years to make is how you see the characters grow. Seeing the actors really develop their characters into more than caricatures of themselves. Seeing Holt develop into a real person with a personality, and seeing Jake grow up, has been a really fun thing to see. And, you only really see that type of thing when you’re watching it in such a compressed format.

If you’re looking for something fun to watch, that doesn’t take much brain power, check out Brooklyn 99.