“I think she’s been a loyal kind of helper even though she can be off-topic at times or in her own world,” Peretti said of her character, Gina Linetti, the precinct’s pithy and punishing civilian administrator. “She’s also proven that she has everyone’s backs, and I feel like in her departure, they show that they have her back, too.” And while Peretti isn’t revealing the details behind the decision, she added, “It’s amicable and it’s done in a cool way.”
On Thursday, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” debuts on NBC, which rescued the sitcom a day after it was canceled by Fox in May. Season 6 begins with the honeymoon of Jake (Andy Samberg) and Amy (Melissa Fumero) and the pending promotion of Capt. Holt (Andre Braugher) before presenting Gina with a stylish undercover assignment and a two-episode send-off, giving Peretti a chance to indulge in some of the physical comedy that makes her swoon.
“It really has a little bit of everything, like a gumbo,” she said. “People will not leave feeling like they’re missing something.”
Peretti, 40, has already wrapped her portion of the season and gotten on with business in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband, Jordan Peele, and their 1 1/2-year-old son. In a phone interview, Peretti spoke about her poignant farewell, her next big thing and more.
Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.
So when is Gina’s last episode?
For some reason they’re not saying the exact episode but I’ve already completed it.
Will we be crying along with you and Gina?
Yeah. Me and Andy didn’t really talk about what was happening personally, so I felt like we processed it all through the scenes that we had. So it wound up being very intense. And I remember thinking afterward, “That might be the longest I’ve held eye contact with Andy in my life.” It was definitely weirdly beautiful.
Was it your decision to leave the show or theirs?
A. No one in Hollywood is a completely open book, and there’s a million reasons you can’t be. But if you were my close friend I would tell you everything.
May I be your friend for today?
We have a goal in 2019.
What are you doing with all your newfound time?
Well, I’m writing a movie, and so I’m pretty consumed with that. I want to write a comedy that’s funny because I feel like comedy movies haven’t been that funny for a long time. For me, “Bridesmaids” was probably the last remarkable comedy.
I’ve been watching “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” — Steve Martin movies. I feel like what I see in these older movies is people really allowing comedic performances to sing.
Last year you tweeted that you disliked roundup lists of good female comedians.
I have always wanted to be seen as a great comedian, and when you throw “woman” in front of it, it just makes me see that you see me as some kind of freakish subset. You don’t say, “This is the funniest male comedian.” But it’s this weird thing that subtly indicates, “I don’t see you as really in the running on a comedy level.”
You’re married to another funny human being. Can I start a family feud and ask you to spoil Jordan’s new movie, “Us,” for us?
Yeah, right. Very cute. No, you have to analyze the poster like everyone else. I’m purely doing this out of duty to my marriage, but I will say it’s very scary, it’s very good, and I’ve been thinking about some of the deeper themes ever since.
Has being a parent changed what you write?
Having a child makes me see everyone as someone’s child. And because of how things culturally and politically have shifted, I have so much more of an awareness that I don’t want to hurt anyone in my comedy.
In September, you set the internet ablaze with a picture of how you eat your cake. You left behind all the yummy frosting.
The thing is, people get too extreme because I actually like frosting when it’s the lighter, softer one. I was not coming out with a hard anti-frosting stance. I just don’t like when it’s half an inch thick and like an actual stick of butter.
What’s planned for your next Twitter firestorm?
The whole fun of Twitter is just being caught up in the moment and just being spontaneous so I don’t really have any itinerary.
As of this interview, an Oscar host hasn’t been named. Would you consider stepping in?
I’ll let you know after I host the WGAs [Writers Guild Awards on Feb. 17]! Keep in touch.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.