--- title: "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" year: 2013 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/brooklyn-nine-nine" fi1m_score: 78 critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 7 published: "2026-09-17T18:58:51.639969+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T18:58:52.226789+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013) Created by Daniel J. Goor, Michael Schur · MPA TV-14 · Comedy, Crime **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 75 from 7 reviews *In a sentence:* A precinct where the only real crime is Jake Peralta’s missing tie, and Andre Braugher prosecutes it for eight years > Michael Schur and Daniel J. Goor’s precinct comedy runs on formula and knows it. What makes it more than that is Andre Braugher’s Captain Holt, a straight man of unusual stillness; the laughs hold for six seasons, then thin, and the last run is uneasy. ## Synopsis Brooklyn’s 99th precinct, 2013. Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) closes more cases than anyone in the squad room and behaves like a twelve-year-old while doing it. His new commanding officer, Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), arrives on the first morning with no visible sense of humour and one instruction: wear a tie. Jake’s rival Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) wants Holt’s approval and a promotion, and the two bet on who can make more arrests. Around them: Sergeant Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews), keeping himself behind a desk since his twin daughters were born; Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), who worships Jake; Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), who frightens everyone; and Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti), the civilian administrator who does the least work in the building. ## Review Michael Schur and Daniel J. Goor set a workplace comedy in a Brooklyn police station and gave the workplace a boss who does not blink. That is the whole idea, and *Brooklyn Nine-Nine* ran on it for eight seasons and 152 episodes, from 17 September 2013 to 2021. Andy Samberg’s Jake Peralta is the gifted, childish detective; Andre Braugher’s Captain Raymond Holt is the man sent to make him grow up. The series is warm, quick and formulaic, and for most of its run the formula holds. We recommend it, with the caveat that the later seasons are thinner and the last one is caught in something it cannot joke its way past. Elizabeth Thinnes and Val Wilt build the precinct as a bullpen of grey desks and filing cabinets with a glass-walled office for Holt at the end of it, so that almost any scene can close on the captain watching through the window. Rick Page, Barry Peterson and Giovani Lampassi light it flat and bright, like a real office at eleven in the morning, and they move the camera only when somebody is running. Dan Marocco’s theme is a few seconds of bass and brass and then it gets out of the way. The editors, Cortney Carrillo and Ryan Case among them, cut the cold opens so that the last line lands and the titles arrive before anyone can top it. Those cold opens, a minute of the squad arguing about nothing before the case turns up, are the best-made things in the programme. Braugher plays Holt as a man who has spent a career being underestimated and has decided the correct answer is never to raise his voice. He says “good” as if closing a file. He announces his own delight in the tone of a shipping forecast. Samberg’s Jake needs a wall to bounce off, and Braugher is the wall. In the pilot Holt asks Peralta why he is not wearing a tie and then waits, and Braugher does nothing with his face at all, and we laughed until it hurt. Years later the show did the same trick and it still worked, which is the difference between a performance and a gag. Melissa Fumero’s Amy Santiago is the swot with a laminated plan. Stephanie Beatriz’s Rosa Diaz frightens everyone and says as little as possible. Terry Crews’s Sergeant Terry Jeffords talks about himself in the third person and is afraid of getting hurt. Joe Lo Truglio’s Charles Boyle worships Jake and describes food at length. Chelsea Peretti’s Gina Linetti does no work and is the only one who knows it, and Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon Miller, as Hitchcock and Scully, eat at their desks. Alexis Jacks dresses them so you know who they are from the doorway: Amy in pantsuits, Rosa in a leather jacket, Holt in a suit that looks pressed while he is wearing it, Jake in a hoodie under a blazer. The show is at its best when it pairs two who have nothing in common, Holt and Gina, Rosa and Boyle, and shuts them in a car for twenty minutes. The formula is the price. Every episode has the same shape: a case for Jake, a squabble in the precinct, a lesson, a hug. The cases are rarely interesting and the villains of the week are cardboard. Samberg plays Jake as a man-child who turns out to be right, and somewhere around the fourth season we grew tired of watching him be forgiven. The pilot is tentative, too. Most critics liked it from the start; one found it stranded between farce and something drier, and that was fair for the first half-dozen episodes, before Holt’s stillness became the thing everyone else was measured against. The final season, nine episodes made in 2021, tries to be a comedy about police officers in a year when that had become hard, and it is visibly uncomfortable. It raises the question and then goes back to the heist. We do not blame it for trying, and we felt the strain in every scene; it is the only stretch of the show where the actors look as if they are waiting for permission to be funny. We will not say how it ends. Set against Schur’s *Parks and Recreation*, which is the obvious model, this is the sharper, faster cousin, with less heart on its sleeve and a better straight man. Watch two a night rather than ten. It was built for that, and Braugher’s pauses are better with a little air around them. *Fi1m score 78, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like it, and the praise clusters in one place: Andre Braugher as Captain Holt. Nearly every review names his deadpan captain as the show’s most reliable source of laughs, and several argue that his pairing with Andy Samberg’s joking detective is the engine of the whole thing. Beyond that, the reviews agree on a strong, well-matched ensemble and an easy, low-stakes workplace tone that sits comfortably alongside heavier cop dramas. The reservations are about the writing rather than the cast. Paste finds the jokes run-of-the-mill and wants a clearer identity than a workplace comedy in a precinct; Collider sees the shape of The Office in it and hopes it grows the way Parks and Recreation did. The one mixed notice, from Variety, thinks the pilot falls between stools, neither wacky nor droll, and doubts a sketch sensibility can stretch to a series. The spread is otherwise narrow, and most treat the pilot as promise rather than proof. ### Reviews we read (7) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Tim Goodman (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it one of the funniest comedies in a long time and praises its polished ensemble and tone in breathing life into the cop-comedy genre. The central dynamic between Samberg’s joking detective and Braugher’s straight-laced captain is highlighted as a strength. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/dads-brooklyn-nine-nine-tv-630746/) - **The AV Club**, Erik Adams (B+): The pilot is a tight, funny introduction to the ensemble at a Brooklyn precinct, with strong chemistry and Andre Braugher's Captain Holt as the standout counterbalance to Andy Samberg's antics. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/brooklyn-nine-nine-1798177945) - **The Guardian** (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the US sitcom an easy-to-like, low-stakes workplace comedy set in a Brooklyn police precinct that stands out amid heavier cop dramas. They single out Andre Braugher’s deadpan performance as Captain Holt as the show’s most reliable source of laughs. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/mar/28/have-you-been-watching-brooklyn-nine-nine-e4-review) - **Vulture**, Matt Zoller Seitz (80/100, inferred): The series is a lighthearted riff on cop shows and workplace comedies that succeeds thanks to its cast, especially Andre Braugher as the no-nonsense Captain Holt, and shows strong potential as an ensemble piece. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2013/09/tv-review-brooklyn-nine-nine.html) - **Variety** (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the pilot so-so and occupying a comedic no-man’s land, neither as wacky as Police Squad nor as droll as Barney Miller. It has some amusing moments and an appealing cast but demonstrates the limits of extending an SNL digital-short style to a full series. [Read](https://variety.com/2013/tv/reviews/brooklyn-nine-nine-tv-review-1200605009/) - **Collider**, Allison Keene (70/100, inferred): The critic notes that while comedy pilots are often weak, this one has enough funny moments and potential to warrant watching a few episodes, hoping it develops like Parks and Rec. Praises the cast and writers but notes it's similar to The Office. [Read](https://collider.com/brooklyn-nine-nine-premiere-review/) - **Paste**, Aaron Channon (7.0): The pilot succeeds due to its strong cast and characters' interactions, though the jokes are run-of-the-mill and the show needs to develop a clearer identity beyond workplace comedy in a police setting. Praises the charm of the characters. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/brooklyn-nine-nine/brooklyn-nine-nine-review-pilot-episode-101) ## Details - **Created by:** Daniel J. Goor, Michael Schur - **Creator:** Daniel J. Goor, Michael Schur - **Director:** Michael McDonald, Claire Scanlon, Linda Mendoza, Dean Holland, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Victor Nelli, Jr., Rebecca Asher, Cortney Carrillo, Daniel J. Goor, Craig Zisk, Tristram Shapeero, Payman Benz, Maggie Carey, Eric Appel, Matthew Nodella, Giovani Lampassi, Luke Del Tredici, Alex Reid, Trent O'Donnell, Nisha Ganatra, Matt Nodella, Ryan Case, Fred Goss, Max Winkler, Ken Whittingham, Michael Schur, Julie Anne Robinson, Jamie Babbit, Jaffar Mahmood, Akiva Schaffer, Kat Coiro, Jake Szymanski, Bruce McCulloch, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Jay Karas, Gail Mancuso, Kyra Sedgwick, Tim Kirkby, Melissa Fumero, Julian Farino, Stephanie Beatriz, Jennifer Arnold, Phil Traill, Jorma Taccone, Peter Lauer, Kim O. Nguyen, Michael Engler, Thembi Banks, Joe Lo Truglio, Phil Augusta Jackson, Kevin Bray, Michael Spiller, Tucker Gates, Troy Miller, Daniella Eisman, Jason Ensler, Neil Campbell, Michael Blieden, Rebecca Addelman - **Writer:** Vanessa Ramos, Luke Del Tredici, David Phillips, Daniel J. Goor, Phil Augusta Jackson, Gabe Liedman, Carol Kolb, Justin Noble, Laura McCreary, Tricia McAlpin, Neil Campbell, Lakshmi Sundaram, Andrew Guest, Prentice Penny, Carly Hallam Tosh, Matt O'Brien, Jeff Topolski, Matt Lawton, Norm Hiscock, Marcy Jarreau, Jessica Polonsky, Gil Ozeri, Paul Welsh, Madeline Walter, Andy Gosche, Matt Murray, Lang Fisher, Evan Susser, Van Robichaux, Dewayne Perkins, Brigitte Liebowitz, Jess Dweck, Brian Reich, Michael Schur, Nick Perdue, Alison Agosti, Beau Rawlins, Lesley Arfin, Alexis Wilkinson, Stephanie Amante-Ritter, April Korto Quioh, Lamar Woods, Aeysha Carr, David Quandt, Kylie Condon, Audrey Goodman, Andy Bobrow - **Cinematography:** Giovani Lampassi, Rick Page, Barry Peterson - **Editor:** Jason Gill, Cortney Carrillo, Sandra Montiel, Jeremy Reuben, Ryan Neatha Johnson, Ryan Case, Emily E. O'Brien - **Music:** Dan Marocco - **Production design:** Val Wilt, Elizabeth Thinnes - **Costume design:** Alexis Jacks - **Producer:** Andy Samberg, Matthew Nodella, Norm Hiscock - **Cast:** Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta; Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago; Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords; Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle; Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz; Andre Braugher as Raymond Holt; Dirk Blocker as Michael Hitchcock; Joel McKinnon Miller as Norman Scully - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-14 - **Release (the US):** 17 September 2013 - **Genres:** Comedy, Crime ## Where to watch in the US - Peacock: streaming, hd - Netflix: streaming - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Apple TV: buy, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $24.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Golden Globes 2014: Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (won) ## If you liked this - *Parks and Recreation* (2009): Schur’s earlier office of decent people; softer, slower, and the template for this one - *Barney Miller* (1975): The original precinct sitcom: one squad room, tired men, jokes that arrive without hurry - *Police Squad!* (1982): Six episodes of cop-show parody with a gag in every corner of the frame - *Hot Fuzz* (2007), Fi1m 84: A by-the-book officer, a hopeless partner, and a village that deserves neither of them — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hot-fuzz.md) - *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), Fi1m 89: Braugher as a detective who is never funny, and you understand where Holt came from — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. 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