The issue came up because Samberg pointed to his comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” as a sterling example of inclusion and diversity behind of, and in front of the camera, done right. “It was fortuitous in terms of the Venn diagram of being inclusive, because they were great,” Samberg said of having Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero on the show. “We knew that [diversity] was important, but we also had no difficulty pulling the trigger.

“The Oscars thing, people having issues with that, it’s insane,” Samberg said. “The parameters, if you look at them closely, you could have the whitest cast in the history of cinema and still very easily meet them by just doing a few roles behind the camera. People that have problems with it can f*ck off.” Related Oscars 2023: Best Visual Effects Predictions What Does the SAG Ensemble Award Say About the Best Picture Race? Related Growing Number of Contenders Makes 2023 Best International Feature Race Less Predictable Nightmare Film Shoots: The Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from ‘Deliverance’ to ‘Mad Max’ to ‘Avatar 2’
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new metrics for inclusion — which call for Best Picture contenders to check a certain number of boxes to meet diversity requirements — have been hotly debated since announcing on September 8. While some argue this levels the playing field to allow for more diverse creators to make their stories known, others say this tampers with creative expression. (Bill Maher recently took the Academy to task for the decision.) The new measures don’t take effect until the 2024 Oscars. Samberg stars in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which finished airing its seventh season in the spring, and was quickly snapped by NBC for a eighth-season renewal. Samberg says that the writers are still trying to figure out now only how to integrate COVID-19, but also address the issue of police brutality on the cop comedy show. Head over to Variety to listen to the full podcast, which also includes a conversation with “Palm Springs” co-star Cristin Milioti. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.