Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick) was one of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's best recurring villains, but the show killed her off in season 7. Since becoming the captain of the 99th precinct in Brooklyn 99 episode 1, Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) is mostly level-headed and pragmatic, with his lack of apparent emotion being a running joke among his subordinates. That changed when his arch-nemesis Madeline Wuntch was introduced in Brooklyn 99 season 2. While Holt has remained stoic most of the time, he just couldn't help but be petty around his long-time rival.
Holt and Wuntch's mutual hate became the center of several Brooklyn 99 episodes. The pair apparently started as good friends, but a string of misunderstandings drove them apart. Wuntch died rather suddenly in Brooklyn 99 season 7, episode 7 titled "Ding Dong." The 99th precinct was shaken by the news that she had passed on, with Holt initially suspicious that this could very well just be another one of her schemes. Eventually, he's convinced when he's tasked to give a speech at her memorial service. While it was difficult for him to be genuine about it, he ultimately admitted that he's going to miss Madeline and their prank wars. Wuntch's death came out of nowhere and there was never solid justification provided for this Brooklyn 99 plot twist, but there are several possible reasons behind the move — chief of which may have been Kyra Sedgwick's schedule.
Why Brooklyn 99 Killed Off Madeline Wuntch
Wuntsch probably died as a way of writing out her character due to scheduling conflicts. In March 2020, Kyra Sedgwick was confirmed to play the leading role on the ABC sitcom, Call Your Mother. Slated to premiere during the 2020-2021 midseason, filming was supposed to begin in March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic — the same month Brooklyn 99 revealed Wuntch's death. Since Sedgwick was set to play the headlining character on an upcoming sitcom from a different network, it's possible that she signed an exclusive contract that would prohibit any additional appearances on the NBC show. Given this, the creatives behind Brooklyn 99 decided to wrap up her arc instead of dealing with her prolonged absence. In any case, it would be odd to resolve Captain Holt's demotion in Brooklyn 99 without the need to bring her back. There's also the possibility that Wuntch's arc on the show was simply done. After all, she had done the worst thing she could possibly do to Holt by demoting him.
How Madeline Wuntch Died In Brooklyn 99
Interestingly, Brooklyn 99 offers very few details about the nature of Wuntch's death. In fact, it's never revealed at all how Madeline Wuntch died. Since her cause of death is not officially disclosed to Captain Holt or anyone other characters in Brooklyn 99, it easily leaves open the possibility that Wuntch was never actually dead. Given that her dying act was to set Brooklyn 99's Captain Holt up for self-sabotage by making him organize her memorial service, and by having her nephew Adam try to trick Holt into humiliating himself in front of high-ranking NYPD officers, the chances seem high that the whole thing was an elaborate prank and that Wuntch is canonically still alive somewhere in the world of Brooklyn 99. Perhaps she was put in witness protection and, since she's quite a prominent figure in the NYPD, they had to go to great lengths to keep her safe.
Since the specifics of Wuntch's death are murky, Brooklyn 99 may have been intending another plot twist revealing that she's not actually dead. This could have been intentional to provide an opening in case Sedgwick could return to the show again. Of course, since Brooklyn 99 was canceled after season 8, audiences will never truly know how Madeline Wuntch died or whether she's still out there somewhere.
What Kyra Sedgwick Did After Brooklyn 99
Kyra Sedgwick left Brooklyn 99 to appear in Call Your Mother as the lead character — unfortunately, her show got canceled after only one season. Call Your Mother was about an empty nester who reasserts herself back into her grown children's lives, however, the show tanked and ABC subsequently gave it the ax. Sedgwick, who has an illustrious career outside both Brooklyn 99 and Call Your Mother, was unhappy about ABC's decision and was very vocal about it. The After Darkness star took to Twitter prior to the final episode, thanking fans of the show for tuning in. The tweet in question read, "Before it goes out there in the world I want my fans to be the first to know that next Wednesday will be the last episode of Call Your Mother. You guys have been so wonderful to tune in every week, or every other week or every two weeks! The rollout was nuts!", which was followed by a facepalm emoji.
While Sedgwick's show was canceled, she has faced some success in the director's realm. Her second feature directorial, titled Space Oddity, is based on a spec script featured on the Black List by Rebecca Banner. The movie follows Alex (Kyle Allen) as he prepares to take to the stars thanks to a Mars colonization program. Space Oddity also stars heavy-hitter Kevin Bacon, Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid's Tale), Carrie Preston (The Good Fight), and Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory). The movie premiered at the Tribeca film festival, and Space Oddity was so successful that it's getting a wider release. So, while Kyra Sedgwick may not have found immediate success in the acting world following Brooklyn 99, her latest directorial endeavors seem to be going well.