Jake Johnson’s Return to TV in New ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Dupe Arrives in 7 Months

Everything’s been coming up Jake Johnson ever since his breakout role in New Girl ended in 2018. After appearing in everything from the Spider-Verse movies to Jurassic World, the ill-fated Mummy reboot starring Tom Cruise, and his directorial debut comedy Self-Reliance, he’s in the middle of perhaps his busiest year to date. He’s been to SXSW for his latest Joe Swanberg team-up, The Sun Never Sets, joined comedian Gareth Reynolds‘ big starring moment in the mockumentary Give It Up, and has been shining as Tatiana Maslany‘s ex-husband Karl on Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. Later this year, he’s also set to take the pickleball court with Mary Steenburgen in Apple TV’s The Dink and venture into the Wildwood for Laika’s much-anticipated stop-motion return.

However, one of his upcoming projects getting the most buzz is his return to network television. NBC picked up a few pilots for the 2026-27 television season that received high marks behind the scenes, and among them was Sunset P.I., a new half-hour, single-camera sitcom crime procedural pairing Johnson with another beloved star in Keith David. According to the longline, the series “continues the proud tradition of Los Angeles private eyes that began with Philip Marlowe and will end with this show,” casting Johnson as a beleaguered LA-based detective named Mickey. Smart yet cynical, he started as an LAPD officer until his life came crashing down around him a few years ago, landing him at the agency of the hard-nosed Julius Royal (David). On top of that, it has a fitting and very talented comedic duo at the helm in Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-creator Dan Goor and executive producer Luke Del Tredici.

Beyond its leading duo and creators, Sunset P.I. has a lot going for it. The Naked Gun director Akiva Schaffer is taking the reins for the pilot, adding even more comedic creative firepower. The rest of the cast is also stacked with talent, including Langston Kerman as Julius’ beloved detective son, Justin, Jane Levy as a sharp investigative journalist named Faye, and, in what looks to be a breakout role, newcomer Mary Shalaby as Raya, the office’s disinterested receptionist. When describing the series to Collider’s Perri Nemiroff back in March, Johnson gave the impression that it’ll be a sort of homage to and spin on classic detective fare, in addition to a hilarious ride that captures a similar energy to Brooklyn Nine-Nine. “It’s a workplace comedy set in the world of P.I.s, so it’s going to be a new way of looking at the P.I. genre, but we’re going to still have great guest stars coming in,” he said. “But it’s really going to be about the office.” As of now, there are officially seven months until its premiere, as NBC’s fall schedule has the series locked in for February.

‘Sunset P.I.’ Is Part of a Strong Crop of New NBC Series

While Sunset P.I. was viewed internally as potentially the strongest series NBC picked up for the upcoming season, it was a productive round of orders for the network. Also gaining a ton of buzz was the much-anticipated Rockford Files reboot, starring David Boreanaz as Jim Rockford, which will debut just one month earlier in January. This fall, meanwhile, will welcome former 9-1-1 lead Peter Krause back to network television as part of Line of Fire, a new drama airing on Mondays at 10 p.m. starting in December, following a family working across all branches of law enforcement who find themselves at the heart of a deadly conspiracy. Rounding out the bunch is the sitcom Newlyweds, starring Téa Leoni and Tim Daly, which will give Happy’s Place a comedy partner at 8:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Sunset P.I. debuts on NBC in February. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the new comedy as its premiere nears.