10 Best Episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Most episodes of police procedural sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine received a hugely positive reception, but there are several stories that stick out from the crowd. Brooklyn Nine-Nine ran for eight seasons between 2013 and 2021, focusing on the stories of the detectives at Brooklyn’s 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. Andy Samberg, Andy Braugher, Melissa Fumero, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Chelsea Peretti, and Joe Lo Truglio formed the main ensemble cast, in what has come to be known as one of the funniest, most relevant, and most representative shows on TV.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine never failed to make its audiences laugh, and sometimes even cry, but there are several episodes throughout the series’ eight seasons that stand out as some of the best. It’s hard to narrow down Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s 153 episodes to pinpoint the best, but many had a real impact on the show’s viewers. Whether they were the funniest instalments or included a poignant and relevant message, addressing themes including LGBTQ+ rights, sexual identity, and responding to 2020’s George Floyd protests, Brooklyn Nine-Nine will go down in history as one of the greatest sitcoms ever.

10) “The Bet” (Season 1, Episode 13)

For the first half of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s first season, Jake Peralta (Samberg) and Amy Santiago (Fumero) engaged in a bet to see who could get the most felony arrests over the course of a year. If Amy won, she would have received Jake’s car, but, if Jake won – which he did – he was able to take Amy on the “Worst Date Ever.” This ultimately marked the start of their real romance, however, with the episode including hilarious, humiliating, and tender moments between Jake and Amy that would define their relationship for the rest of the series.

Some other incredible episodes marked huge milestones for Jake and Amy’s relationship, including season 2’s “The Road Trip” and “Johnny and Dora,” season 4’s “Chasing Amy,” season 5’s “HalloVeen” and “Jake and Amy,” season 6’s “Casecation,” and season 7’s “Lights Out.” “The Bet,” released in January 2014, however, started it all, making it one of the most important chapters in Jake and Amy’s story. It’s funny, heartfelt, and dramatic, while entertaining interactions between Captain Holt (the late Andre Braugher) and Terry Jeffords (Crews), and Charles Boyle (Lo Truglio) and Rosa Diaz (Beatriz) were also fantastic to see.

9) “Ticking Clocks (Season 6, Episode 14)

Set in real time, season 6’s “Ticking Clocks” was a high-octane episode that saw the squad tracking down a hacker who threatened to delete information in the precinct’s server, exposing covers and deleting evidence in many cases. Sean Astin’s appearance as Knox was brilliant – he played the criminal-pretending-to-be-good perfectly, while Rosa’s balancing work with her romantic life, and Amy’s FOMOW were brilliant inclusions. Hitchcock and Scully (Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon Miller) also excelled here, as they also raced against the clock to buy and cook garlic bread to eat with their lasagna.

8) “Game Night” (Season 5, Episode 10)

The 100th episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of the show’s most important. During “Game Night,” Rosa asks for Jake’s help to come out as bisexual to her parents, which culminates in Rosa’s parents dismissing her and disapproving of her sexuality. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has received huge praise for its handling of issues facing the LGTBQ+ community, and coming out is a huge moment that was fantastic to see depicted so thoughtfully in the series. The squad’s insistence to hold Rosa’s family game night together on a weekly basis and Holt’s comments at the end of the episode are also beautiful.

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Stephanie Beatriz excelled in this episode as Rosa, who came out as bi only one episode prior – more on that later. “Game Night” aired back-to-back with the previous episode, so Rosa’s story continued perfectly here. Danny Trejo, who makes an appearance as Rosa’s father, Oscar, is a stand-out, too, especially during the scene where he approaches Rosa at work and voices his acceptance of her. It’s an emotional and heartfelt moment, one of those down-to-earth scenes that Brooklyn Nine-Nine shockingly pulled off so well.

7) “The Chopper” (Season 2, Episode 22)

When Jake and Boyle are assigned a case involving a high-profile bank robber who stole $21 million, Deputy Chief Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick) offers her full support, spurring Holt to involve himself. Holt is so caught up with Wuntch, his archenemy, that he fails to see the excitement in the case, but soon does. Here, we get some incredible Holt vs. Wuntch quips, see the birth of “Velvet Thunder,” and get some great development for Terry, Amy, and Rosa, too. Despite mostly being set-up for season 2’s dramatic finale, “Johnny and Dora,” “The Chopper” was a very memorable episode.

6) “99” (Season 5, Episode 9)

Airing right before “Game Night” in season 5, “99,” the series’ 99th episode – more important than the 100th for Brooklyn Nine-Nine – took the squad on a fantastic road trip. When the squad attends their former Captain’s funeral in Los Angeles, Holt is told he’s on the shortlist to become the NYPD’s new Commissioner, so they head back to New York for his interview, but a scared and compromised Holt creates increasingly funny and dangerous obstacles along the way. This was a brilliant episode that spotlighted the team’s family dynamic and dedication to each other, while there were other powerful moments.

Amy’s Type A personality was put on full display to hilarious effect, the exploration of Boyle’s tan-wearing family was witty and weird, and Rosa’s reveal of her bisexuality was poignant and relevant. “99” has been lauded as one of the strongest episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, with particular praise falling on the actors’ performances, strong writing, and clever callbacks to the show’s history. This was a true celebration of what made Brooklyn Nine-Nine so brilliant – all crammed into one episode.

5) “Halloween” (Season 1, Episode 6)

We all love the Halloween Heist, and it was season 1’s “Halloween” that marked the very first. Jake and Holt enter a competition to see if Jake can steal Holt’s Medal of Valor before midnight on Halloween without being caught, contributing to a clever mystery that unfolds before our very eyes. The Halloween Heist became an annual tradition for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, each becoming more and more outlandish, hilarious, and ridiculous than the last, and becoming fronts for Jake to propose to Amy, Terry to reveal his promotion to Lieutenant, and Gina (Peretti) to change the title of the winner forever.

4) “Moo Moo” (Season 4, Episode 16)

“Moo Moo” took Brooklyn Nine-Nine to a place few thought it would go, but its ability to address themes including racism is what sets it apart from other sitcoms. Terry is stopped and almost arrested by an NYPD officer while looking for his daughter’s blanket outside at night after Jake and Amy look after his girls. The fallout from this, including Jake and Amy’s continued babysitting of Terry’s kids, Terry and Holt’s interactions when Holt refuses to submit Terry’s complaint, and Terry’s own conversation with Officer Maldack (Desmond Harrington), are all poignant and a necessity for the show.

3) “Ding Dong” (Season 7, Episode 7)

Captain Holt and Madeline Wuntch’s long-standing rivalry was one of the most entertaining parts of Brooklyn Nine-Nine since Wuntch’s debut back in season 2. This all came to a head in season 7’s “Ding Dong,” however, when Wuntch was revealed to have died. Trying to get the last word, Wuntch left Holt to organize her NYPD memorial service, contributing to some of Holt’s funniest moments as he continually struggled to be kind about his adversary. The emotional ending, in which Holt actually delivers a heartfelt and tender eulogy for Wuntch, perfectly underlined their years-long feud.

2) “The Last Day” (Season 9, Episode 9 & 10)

The final episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine aired back-to-back on September 16, 2021, and created a very satisfying ending to the beloved series. Brooklyn Nine-Nine had previously been abruptly cancelled by Fox before being bought by NBC, so creators Dan Goor and Michael Schur made a conscious choice to end the show on their terms, rather than let it be cancelled again. Season 8 wrapped up everyone’s stories perfectly, while leaving enough open-ended that we could imagine these characters’ lives continuing, but the season finale was the icing on the cake – the “perfect goodbye.”

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“The Last Day” marked one final heist before Holt and Amy leave the 99 to become Deputy Commissioner and Chief of the Reform Program, respectively. Jake also uses this heist to bid farewell, as he chooses to retire from the NYPD to become a stay-at-home dad to his and Amy’s son, Mac. This double-finale included countless callback to the show’s eight year history, which were fantastic to see, while the final quiet moments of conversation between the members of the squad were emotional. Brooklyn Nine-Nine ended at the perfect time and in the perfect way.

1) “The Box” (Season 5, Episode 14)

While “The Last Day” could easily be seen to be Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s best episode(s), season 5’s “The Box” received critical acclaim. “The Box” saw Jake and Holt interrogate a smart and quick-thinking murder suspect, Phillip Davidson (Academy Award-nominee Sterling K. Brown.) That’s all. This episode’s simple concept, seamless writing, tense narrative, and remarkable performances from all the cast, specifically Brown, make it stand out as perhaps the strongest episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This episode is the one most think of when Brooklyn Nine-Nine comes to mind.

What are your favorite episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Let us know in the comments!