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It's kind of been a running thing that the only way to make a group of cops the good guys is to have them point out how bad most cops actually are. There's an episode where Terry gets racially profiled and has to sacrifice a promotion so he can get even a little bit of justice. There's an episode where NYPD posters keep getting defaced, and Gina has to point out how most people hate cops for good reasons. The series starts with Holt pointing out the NYPD kept him from getting promoted due to being a gay black man, then promoted him when they thought it would make them look good.
Heck, all of season 8 is spent opposing a police union and trying to stop police corruption.
It's copaganda that desperately didn't want to be copaganda.
Exactly. Literally every other part of law enforcement is vilified, including all precincts other than the 99, federal law enforcement (mail police(?)), lawyers (defence lawyers definitely, I don't remember if prosecutors were really present).
Honestly I don't know if the show had a pro-cop agenda. If it did, it failed to deliver it, but I don't think it even did. I think they just wanted to make a high-energy sitcom about cops, and they didn't want to make the main cast unlikable.
Defence lawyers are only really vilified for opposing the police. After all, they're helping someone the police arrested, and everyone the police arrest are evil, right?
In the show, defense attorneys were called out for being knee deep in the system and their careers holding more value than 'justice', or that's how I read into the Jake-dating-a-lawyer episodes. Her boss was dirty, she was mad he exposed that and jeopardized her career.
Right, that's one legitimate way to read it, but this take doesn't work for any of the others I've mentioned. "Everyone is awful except the main cast" is consistent.
Also the one car thief that they always partner up with? What's the deal with that?
Pretty sure Doug Judy is only a thing because Andy Samberg and Craig Robinson have amazing chemistry
I'm about as ACAB as it gets and I still love that show.
They're barely cops. It's just a good comedy.