'Brooklyn' aims to look like America.

• Author: Elber, Lynn
• Position: Living

Byline: Lynn Elber

Stephanie Beatriz was preparing for her second-round audition for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' when she heard that another Latina actress, Melissa Fumero, had won a role in the Fox sitcom. Beatriz's heart sank.

"I thought, 'That's it. The network is not going to allow there to be two Latinas in one show,' '' Beatriz said. "I was so used to, 'There's only room for one.' ''

Beatriz was wrong. The "Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' cast includes both of the actresses, along with two African-Americans and five whites.

Making sure "Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' reflected the melting-pot world it's drawn from was key for Daniel J. Goor and Michael Schur. The veteran writers and producers, whose credits include "Parks and Recreation,'' were mulling a joint project when they quickly settled on a New York-based police comedy.

"Police deal with people of all types: races, genders, sexualities, which allows for an unbelievable number of stories,'' Goor said. "And when you look at the NYPD itself, it's an incredibly diverse police force.''

Added Schur: "It seemed like the more diverse, interesting-looking group of people you had, the more fun the show would be.''

The payoff for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' so far includes a 2014 Golden Globe best comedy series trophy and solid ratings that earned it a sophomore season.

Diversity also provided more than a wealth of lively material for the show's nine-member writing staff, which includes black, Indian-American and gay writers, along with Goor and Schur, both of whom are white.

"From a practical point, it meant we could open up the casting process really to anyone, which is a tremendous advantage,'' Goor said. "We could say to the casting director (Allison Jones), we want to have two male cops and two female cops of this age, and we can audition anyone.''

Word of Andy Samberg's decision to leave "Saturday Night Live'' came after Goor and Schur had a deal in place with Fox, and they pursued him for the role of freewheeling police Detective Jake Peralta.

Terry Crews, the NFL player turned actor, was hired shortly after to play Sgt. Terry Jeffords. Crews' audition was so impressive that "we came up with a character named Terry, which was really a bad negotiating tactic,'' Goor joked.

Andre Braugher was brought on as stern precinct Capt. Ray...