Honestly, looking back at the 2013 television landscape, Brooklyn Nine-Nine series 1 shouldn't have worked as well as it did. Most sitcoms take years to find their legs. They spend the first ten episodes fumbling through character traits like a toddler in a dark room. But the pilot of this show? It landed with the precision of a Captain Holt lecture.
You've got Mike Schur and Dan Goor—the minds behind Parks and Recreation—deciding to tackle a police procedural. That sounds like a recipe for a generic "cop of the week" bore. Instead, they gave us a precinct full of weirdos who actually liked each other. It was a massive gamble for Fox at the time.
The Genius Behind the Badge
Most people remember the "Nine-Nine!" chant, but the first season was really about the friction between Jake Peralta and Raymond Holt. It’s the classic "unstoppable force meets an immovable object" trope, but with better comedic timing. Jake is a brilliant detective who refuses to grow up. Holt is a stoic, legendary captain who has spent decades being sidelined because he’s a gay Black man in a department that didn't want him.
The magic isn't just in the jokes. It’s in the respect.
Usually, a character like Jake would spend the whole season trying to "take down" the stiff boss. Here? He spends it trying to earn Holt's approval, even if he's doing it while wearing a speedo under his slacks. Brooklyn Nine-Nine series 1 established a rare thing in comedy: a workplace where the characters were actually good at their jobs. They weren't bumbling idiots; they were just deeply eccentric professionals.
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Why the 2014 Golden Globes Changed Everything
If you want to talk about "shocks," we have to mention the 71st Golden Globes. The show was only a few months old. It was the scrappy new kid on Fox. Then, it went and won Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Andy Samberg walked away with Best Actor, beating out heavyweights like Jason Bateman and Jim Parsons.
It was a "holy crap" moment for the industry. That win effectively saved the show from the early-cancellation graveyard that claims so many Fox comedies. It proved that the deadpan humor and fast-paced editing had a massive, mainstream appeal.
Breaking Down the Squad
The ensemble cast felt like they’d been working together for a decade by episode three. You had Terry Crews playing a version of himself—a literal giant who loves yogurt and is terrified of getting hurt because he has "baby girls" at home. It subverted every "tough guy" cop stereotype in the book.
Then there’s Amy Santiago. Most shows would make the "teacher's pet" character annoying. Amy is annoying, but in a way that’s painfully relatable. Her obsession with binders and "mentorship" from Holt provided the perfect counterbalance to Jake’s chaos.
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- Rosa Diaz: The enigma. In the first season, we barely knew anything about her, which was the point. Stephanie Beatriz’s low-register voice and "terrifying" energy became an instant fan favorite.
- Charles Boyle: The heart (and the weird food critic). His unrequited crush on Rosa was a major B-plot in series 1, though, looking back, it's one of the few elements that feels a bit "early 2010s" in its execution.
- Gina Linetti: The human embodiment of a Twitter feed. Chelsea Peretti’s character shouldn't even be in a police station, yet the show made her indispensable.
The Episodes That Defined the Season
If you're going to rewatch Brooklyn Nine-Nine series 1, you have to start with "Halloween." This was the birth of the Halloween Heist. It started as a simple bet—Jake claimed he could steal Holt’s Medal of Valor. It ended up becoming the show’s most sacred tradition. It was the first time we saw Holt’s competitive, slightly unhinged side.
Then there’s "The Bet." The season-long competition between Jake and Amy over who could get more arrests. If Jake won, he got to take Amy on the "worst date ever." If Amy won, she got Jake’s car. It was the ultimate "Will they/Won't they" fuel.
"48 Hours" is another standout. It trapped the whole squad in the precinct for a weekend because Jake made a "gut-feeling" arrest without evidence. It forced the characters to interact in tight quarters, and that’s where the best dialogue usually happens.
A Different Kind of Diversity
We need to talk about how the show handled Holt’s backstory. It wasn't a "very special episode" type of deal. His history with the "Old Guard" and the discrimination he faced was baked into his character's motivation. It explained why he was so obsessed with rules. He had to be perfect because his mistakes would be used against him.
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The show managed to be progressive without being preachy. It just was. It presented a world where a diverse group of people could be a family, and that felt revolutionary in 2013.
The Production Reality
Believe it or not, the show was almost an NBC project. Mike Schur was under a deal there, but NBC passed. Fox picked it up and gave it a 13-episode order, which eventually got bumped to a full 22 after the ratings showed promise.
They also did something most sitcoms don't: they sent the cast to real police training. Andy Samberg and the crew learned how to properly hold a gun and clear a room. While they obviously leaned into the comedy, that technical foundation gave the action scenes a weird sense of legitimacy.
How to Appreciate the First Season Today
If you're jumping back into the 99, pay attention to the pilot. Notice how Holt’s office changes or how the "Nine-Nine!" chant hasn't quite reached its final form. It's a fascinating time capsule of a show that knew exactly what it wanted to be from day one.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine series 1 set a high bar. It balanced the "case of the week" with genuine character growth, culminating in the finale where Jake has to go undercover and finally admits his feelings to Amy. It was the perfect cliffhanger.
Actionable Next Steps
- Rewatch the "Halloween" episode and track how many "heist" tropes they established that lasted for all eight seasons.
- Compare the Pilot to the Finale. Look at the evolution of Andre Braugher’s performance as Holt; he starts stoic but you can see the tiny cracks of warmth even in episode one.
- Check out the 2014 Golden Globe acceptance speech. It’s a great piece of TV history that shows just how genuinely surprised the cast was to be there.
The first season isn't just a setup for the rest of the show. It's a masterclass in how to build a world that people actually want to live in. Noice. Smort.