Stephanie Beatriz, I Love You!

I realize that I'm several seasons late to the Brooklyn Nine-Nine party, but forgive me. I only loosely followed the show previously because, quite frankly, I didn't have the time between teaching high school full time and raising two daughters.

It's funny how a global pandemic can introduce you to the most wonderful things, but here we are. My husband, my two girls (aged 15 and 11), and I are home, trying to make things work in spite of being in each other's spaces most of the time, which is not really something we're used to. My oldest, being 15, fell into Brooklyn Nine-Nine's snappy dialogue and quick wit about three years ago, when we first got #Netflix, and has been hooked since, so much so that she's now rewatching the series for I think the third time. Usually, she's been watching on her iPad, but since the #COVID19 pandemic really took hold, it's usually the first thing she flips on the living room TV, and we all end up watching together.

I realize that Andy Samberg, who plays Detective #JakePeralta, is listed on the credits first, and I do enjoy him and the rest of the cast, but it's #StephanieBeatriz, who plays Detective #RosaDiaz - one of Jake's closest friends who has known him for years - who I'm captivated by. Sure, she first comes across as the ultimate tough girl who is definitely not to be messed with - the inscrutable features, the measured words, and the no-nonsense attitude are all sort of a dead giveaway that she is prepared to back up the notion that she is a true badass who is not to be trifled with - but her character is really one of the most nuanced on television now.

She doesn't fall into stereotypes. She holds her own with the men in her world, and she is highly respected for the work she does. As the seasons have developed, though, Beatriz has demonstrated that her Rosa Diaz is not the stereotypical female cop we may have seen in previous shows. She's strong but still feminine without needing to wear some of the tailored suits that we've seen her counterpart, Sgt #AmySantiago, wear to express herself. Some of the best scenes in the series involved Rosa dealing with her own coming out process, and the anguish on Beatriz' face as she conveys what Rosa is feeling because her family isn't overly supportive is so nuanced that it's hard not to have your own heart hurt because of it.

As the seasons pass on #BrooklynNineNine, it's a joy to watch Beatriz work. Her Rosa becomes a more rounded, sensitive character as she's grown from waiting for her boyfriend Pimento to come out of hiding to someone who becomes less afraid to express what's in her heart to her friends. While she has fantastic timing in her work with the rest of the cast - some of her scenes with #MelissaFumero (who plays Santiago), #ChelseaPeretti (Gina) and #TerryCrews (Lt. Terry Jeffords) are some of the best in the series - she's not there to deliver the jokes. She's helped drive many of the relationships on the show, and her work as Rosa Diaz quite honestly has helped Diaz become my favorite character on the show.

I realize that there are those who are Santiago-Peralta shippers, and there are those who think #AndréBraugher's Captain Holt is perhaps the funniest man on television today (for the record, I love Braugher in this role). However, Stephanie Beatriz has left me wanting more with every episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine I've watched. Rosa is the sort of character I'd love to sit and have a beer and shoot pool with. I'd love to sit with Beatriz and have a similar conversation.

She's just that cool.