Why did Chelsea Peretti leave Brooklyn Nine-Nine?

Though those of you on Netflix checking out Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the first time only have the first four seasons of the comedy, some of you may have decided to head over to Peacock to watch the final four seasons as well. As a fan of the show, I definitely wouldn't be surprised if most of you got hooked on it!

One thing you'll come across is that Gina Linetti actress Chelsea Peretti ends up leaving in season 6. She has a big goodbye episode that's as dramatic as she is, and we love it! In season 6 episode 4, "Four Movements." Captain Holt's assistant announces that she will be leaving her job at the Nine-Nine and plans to spend the next two weeks before her departure giving her co-workers special "Gina moments" as her farewell. The character decides to leave the precinct to channel her skills into something else like becoming an online personality.

So why was the character written off and why did the actress leave? In speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Peretti didn't really want to explain the exact reasoning behind the departure. Though it sounds like the decision was a mix of her ready to move on and the creative team, executive producers Dan Goor and Mike Schur, feeling like it was the right time to do so. We shared what she said to THR below:

"Well, it wasn’t just a solo process. [Laughs.] I wasn’t just like, 'I’m leaving!' and I swing my cape. I can’t get into the exact breakdown of how it all transpired, but it wasn’t just my solo decision. I’m friends with Dan, I’m friends with Andy [Samberg], I’ve talked with them about the situation over the years. I think it came together this was the time to do it. It’s not always easy to make changes in life, but I feel like everyone came to a point where everyone was like, 'OK, this is the time' That’s the gist of it."

She continued on answering another question that "it was somewhat mutual. And it was amicable. That’s the best way I can put it." Gina's character is definitely a fan-favorite, and it's always disappointing when characters you become invested in are written off or the actor decides to leave. Or in what it sounds like in this case, a mix of both.

Luckily for us fans and Brooklyn Nine-Nine though is that even with one of the main ensemble cast members gone, the series was not affected very much in terms of the workplace comedy no longer being interesting. That happens so many times on television projects. But B99 was able to continue on, and do so successfully. And hey. Gina wasn't completely gone! She made an appearance a couple more times.

Let's go back for a second. Peretti was a series regular from seasons 1-5, even though the actress was actually on maternity leave in 10 episodes of the fifth season. And so her character Gina also got pregnant and her absence was explained as Gina being on maternity leave as well. Then she came back in season 6, and we got her dramatic exit with her co-workers. However, Peretti did come back! She guest starred on season 6 episode 15, "Return of the King" where we find out she's now a YouTube star after starting the channel, G-Hive. Peretti and Gina also returned in the series finale.

After B99, Peretti continued voicing Monica Foreman-Greenwald/Cellsea on Big Mouth, Maria in Harvey Girls Forever, Suki Lane in Sing 2, and Pam in Netflix's My Dad the Bounty Hunter. She also starred in the movies The Photograph, Friendsgiving, and Cora Bora. The talent directed, wrote, produced, and will star in the film First Time Female Director which is set to come out in March 8, 2024. We can't wait to see it!

The first four seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine are now streaming on Netflix.