Television series

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Name: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Genre: Comedy, Action, Crime
Released: 2013
Cast: Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, Joe Lo Truglio, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews

Comedy
Light-hearted

A precinct sitcom that runs on pure affection: dumb bits, big hearts, a captain who says everything in a monotone and somehow steals every scene. It's giddy, character-driven, endlessly quotable, and structured for easy binging in twenty-two-minute bursts. Great for anyone who wants comfort telly with jokes this sharp and a genuinely lovely ensemble underneath them.

TVMaze rating

4.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like workplace sitcoms where the jokes come from characters who genuinely care about each other, with a warm, quick-fire rhythm that rewards paying attention to the background gags.

Skip it if you want edgy, dark or boundary-pushing comedy, since this one stays bright and affectionate, and its broad, goofy tone can feel like a lot if sitcom silliness wears you down.

What it asks of you: Around thirty minutes an episode across eight seasons, so it's an easy commitment to keep going with, and it asks for a light, slightly playful mood more than sustained concentration.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Parks and Recreation2009

Same DNA: a warm, joke-dense workplace ensemble built on earnest characters who actually like each other. If you want the Brooklyn Nine-Nine feeling again immediately, start here.

But The first season is rougher and meaner than what it becomes; you have to push through to find the warmth.

The Office2005

The mockumentary grandparent of this style of comedy — awkward, sincere, character-first, and just as rewatchable once you know everyone.

But Slower to start, and the office setting has none of the action-comedy energy Nine-Nine brings.

Superstore2015

A big-box store standing in for the precinct — same formula of oddball coworkers becoming a found family, with sharper class politics than you'd expect.

But Lower budget, smaller stakes; it never gets the swagger of a squad-room action cold open.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Barney Miller1975

It's the direct ancestor: same premise (a captain, his squad, a room full of desks) decades before Nine-Nine gave it jokes about heists and Die Hard.

A late-70s single-set sitcom about a Greenwich Village precinct captain managing his oddball detectives — the actual template Brooklyn Nine-Nine is quietly rebuilding, right down to the deadpan boss.

But Talky, stagebound, studio-audience pacing from another TV era; almost nothing happens visually.

Community2009

Community-college study group instead of cops, but the same generous, silly, big-hearted ensemble energy, with wilder genre swings.

But Gets self-consciously meta and experimental — brilliant, but a different rhythm than Nine-Nine's tight plotting.

New Girl2011

Same era, same rapid-fire joke density, same loveable-idiots-as-family structure, just swapped for a Los Angeles loft.

But More romance-plot focused; less puzzle-box case-of-the-week structure to sink into.

Scrubs2001

An earlier blueprint for blending genuine emotional stakes with absurd comic detours — hospital instead of precinct, same big heart.

But Tonal whiplash is more extreme; some episodes go properly heavy without much warning.

Cheers1982

The ancestor of every hangout-ensemble sitcom since — a bar instead of a squad room, but the same joy of watching a chosen family bicker and banter.

But Multi-cam, studio audience, decades-old pacing — a real shift in style if you're used to modern single-camera comedy.

Abbott Elementary2021

The current best heir to this mockumentary-workplace-family format — a Philadelphia school standing in for the precinct, with just as much heart.

But Gentler and more grounded; it doesn't have Nine-Nine's action-comedy set pieces or heists.

Reno 911!2003

The trashier, improvised cousin — actual cops, actual mockumentary format, and a willingness to be far dumber and more chaotic than Nine-Nine ever gets.

But Deliberately crude and shaggy; if you liked Nine-Nine's polish, this will feel loose to the point of sloppy.

Hot Fuzz2007

Same engine — genuine affection for cop-movie clichés used as comic fuel — but compressed into two hours and dialed up into full action-movie spectacle.

A British cop-comedy that loves buddy-cop-movie tropes as sincerely as Nine-Nine loves Die Hard, then detonates them with unexpectedly real action filmmaking.

But Far gorier and more violent in its back half than anything Nine-Nine would ever show.

The Wire2002

It's the same setting — cops, bureaucracy, a broken city — played entirely straight; watching it makes you notice everything Nine-Nine gently chooses not to show you.

If you want to know what a precinct show looks like with every joke stripped out and every institutional failure left in, this is the serious, patient, devastating answer.

But Slow-burn and demanding, with no relief from how bleak the system it depicts actually is.