Brooklyn Nine-Nine Fans Are Accusing The Quebec Version Of Whitewashing Latina Characters
Ever since the release of the first trailer for the Quebec version of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, dubbed Escouade 99, Twitter has been abuzz with fan reactions. While many have said they're excited to watch the French-language adaptation, much of the conversation has focused on its apparent lack of Latina characters. Brooklyn Nine-Nine actors Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz were among the first to raise questions about representation on the new show.
"Gotta [say] though after watching this... I’m suddenly curious about the Latina population in Quebec. Just sayin," Fumero, who plays Sergeant Amy Santiago, wrote on Twitter.
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At the time of writing, the post has received almost 8,000 likes.
"While I understand the Latina population is v small in Quebec (& how many of them are funny actors?) the Amy n Rosa roles could’ve gone to ANY BIPOC so it’s disappointing to see that missed opportunity," she later added.
"If the show is successful I hope the creators take that opportunity to hire more BIPOC in supporting and guest roles."
Stephanie Beatriz, Detective Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, replied to Fumero's initial tweet with just a series of "woozy face" emojis.
The ensuing fan discussion has taken aim at both the showrunners and a culture of recreation in Quebec media.
Some commenters were quick to point out that the Latinx population of Quebec is much smaller than that of New York, but others rejected that excuse.
@melissafumero 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴— Stephanie Beatriz (@Stephanie Beatriz) 1597960625.0
@melissafumero As a Quebecer, there are a lot. Very disappointing casting choices.— Matt Campbell (@Matt Campbell) 1597950217.0
Asked about these accusations of whitewashing, Club illico, the streaming service that will air Escouade 99, told MTL Blog that "the adaptation of a series of this kind is a great challenge that the distribution, the direction and the writers of Escouade 99 successfully took up."
Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans are otherwise just generally skeptical that the Quebec adaptation can live up to its cult-hit inspiration.
TIL there’s a Quebec version of Brooklyn 99... that also happens to look like a porn parody version of Brooklyn 99. https://t.co/0tm9C6hNLI— Rick Mele (@Rick Mele) 1597954113.0
@eddytheaxe @AdrianFollert I speak french and am from Quebec, you’re not missibg much the first episode is basicall… https://t.co/CeaJ0l0VnJ— em🙃🙃 (@em🙃🙃) 1597955751.0
Escouade 99 premieres on Club illico on September 17.
We'll have to wait and see whether showrunners take Fumero's advice and include more BIPOC people as the show progresses.