When it comes to making a movie or a television show, every set piece, line of dialogue, and costume is carefully chosen and executed with care. Everything a character says, does, and decorates both their house and their bodies with must be in line with their established personality and preferences. Costumes are a wonderful way for the creators of a show to link characters, allude to a character’s past, or connect them to their favourite media.
Today, we will be looking at the costumes from the beloved sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine as well as the ways that the characters, the shows plot, and the actors themselves influenced the wardrobe department’s choices. Some of these details were more obvious, once we caught them, than others while others completely took us by surprise. How many of these hidden details and behind the scenes trivia did you know?
8. Jake’s Badge
Jake is not a fan of any form of uniform and spends the entire first episode of the show fighting Holt on the subject. Though he eventually submits once he realizes the reason for Holt pushing for the uniforms, he does continue to wear his badge on a chain around his neck.
Fans of the classic Christmas film Die Hard will know the exact reason why Jake Peralta chooses to wear his badge like this. Yes, it is a cheesy yet endearing homage to his favourite fictional character of all time. One of the defining characteristics of Jake is the fact that he has essentially dedicated his life to this film and that he will not hesitate to bring it into his real life, whenever he gets the chance. So, it only makes sense that he would choose to wear his badge in the same way that his favourite fictional character wore their own badge in his favourite movie.
7. Hitchcock’s Tattoo
Continuity errors can easily arise when something is thrown into a show for a quick gag and then immediately forgotten about. But the crew that runs Brooklynn Nine-Nine are not the careless sort and many things are simply joked about become included in the canon of the show from that point on.
A perfect example of this is Hitchcock’s rather unfortunate tattoo. It was supposed to be an image of him blowing the smoke of the barrel of the gun but the final product makes it look like he is attempting to commit suicide instead. This tattoo is seen whenever Hitchcock removes his clothing (after it was initially shown on the show.)
6. Amy’s Oversized Bags
Though it is important to leave ones personal life at the door when they get to work in order to not let such things affect one’s performance, there are some things that simply cannot be left behind.
When the actress that plays Amy Santiago fell pregnant in her personal life, the show had to get a bit creative when attempting to figure out how to hide the pregnancy. Amy can be seen carrying folders, large bags, and other cumbersome objects over her stomach as her pregnancy progressed. Later in said season, Amy went undercover as a pregnant inmate and they no longer needed to hide her growing bump.
5. Holt’s WTC Breast Bar
The level of realism which can be seen within the sets and costumes for Brooklyn Nine-Nine are truly impressive. The crew did not take any shortcuts and put an amazing effort into making the show a realistic (as possible while being a goofy sitcom) police procedural.
Captain Holt has several pins above his police badge, each one with a different meaning and representing a different thing. One of the pins (the black one which reads “WTC”) is a special breast bar that was given out to officers that aided during 9/11.
4. Gina’s Fake Smile
When Gina won the heist after having tricked the gang into believing that she had knocked out her front teeth during an intentionally failed roller skating stunt, many fans found themselves wondering if the actress that played that character had actually been wearing fake teeth this entire time.
No, it turns out that the case of Gina’s missing teeth was actually the result of a very convincing prosthetic piece created by the prop department, some black paint on her actual teeth, and a digital tongue that was added in post-production.
3. Jake’s Old Hair
There is a flashback which shows the first moment where Jake and Amy met. In this flashback, the two are seen with outdated and unflattering hairstyles.
Some fans have noticed that Jake’s hairstyle looked very similar to a hairstyle that Andy sported during his early Lonely Island days. Though it was fun to see this blast from the past, we do prefer Andy/Jake’s more groomed and put together look.
2. Amy’s First Date Dress
As part of the bet/worst and somehow best date ever, Amy had to wear a rather bright blue dress that Jake had chosen for her. Many fans have pointed out that this dress bears a striking resemblance to the dress Jake’s long lost love, Jenny Gildenhorn, wore to Jake Peralta’s Bar Mitzvah. She was supposed to have spent the evening with Jake but quickly ditched him for the boy that would instantly become his arch-nemesis, Eddie Fung.
Some believe that this was Jake’s way to recreate that awful and scaring night in his adulthood. If this was intentional on Jake’s part, we wonder if Jake ever told Amy the reason why he chose that specific dress for her or if he forgot the reason entirely after seeing how stunning Amy actually looked in the dress.
1. Terry’s Gold Rash
Though coloured body paint can make for some stunning visual and practical effects, it can also have some nasty side effects. Whilst participating in the most recent heist (which took place during the spring rather than on Halloween as per tradition,) Terry was covered head to toe in gold body paint.
However, Terry (the actor) did not have the best reaction to the paint. In fact, he had an allergic reaction to the paint. He did tough it out and nailed the scene but was eager to wash it off afterward. We praise his dedication to his craft.
Next: Brooklyn Nine-Nine: 10 Funniest Foodie Moments From Boyle, Ranked
