Whose an ‘Amazing Detective Slash Genius’? I am, with this colourful Brooklyn 99 nail art!

Brooklyn 99 is a Golden Globe winning police detective sitcom that I absolutely adore. It follows the hijinks of the detectives at New York City’s fictional 99th Precinct, with Andy Samberg playing the lead character Jake Peralta- a gifted yet immature and carefree detective.

When Fox wrongly cancelled the show in May 2018, all hell broke loose on social media. Thankfully, NBC quickly picked the show up and all was right with the world again (I wish…).

After watching far too many detective shows as a teenager, I was actually starting to go off the genre a bit. Every show seemed to be the same as the last one but with different faces. That was, of course, until I saw the viral clip of the Backstreet Boys police lineup from Brooklyn 99 and immediately had to investigate. A few couple of episodes later and I was hooked.

Brooklyn 99 Nail Art Design Thoughts

LGBT Representation

One of the things that truly sets Brooklyn 99 apart from other sitcoms is its LGBT characters, hence the glorious rainbow nail art design. Captain Holt is the stoic and exacting, yet devoted and caring leader of the 99th Precinct, who also happens to be a gay black man. The show does a stellar job of highlighting the discrimination Holt faced on his way to the top.

Brooklyn 99’s writers also excelled in how they told the story of the badass detective Rosa Diaz coming out as bisexual to her co-workers and family. Stephanie Beatriz, the actress who plays Rosa, is bisexual herself and was keen to see more queer Latinas on TV. Luckily for us, the writers were totally onboard. The wide-ranging reactions of the characters perfectly captured how bisexuality is not always accepted or fully understood, and the somewhat bittersweet ending felt true to life.

I particularly loved the interactions between Rosa and Holt, in which we got to see two typically more emotionally guarded individuals recognise the struggles the other has faced and for Holt to express his happiness at how the situation has begun to improve since the 1970s. As a gay woman myself, these two characters are exactly what I’ve been looking for in so many other sitcoms.

Cheddar The Dog

As an avowed dog lover, there was no way that I was doing Brooklyn 99 nail art without featuring Cheddar. A gorgeous Welsh Corgi, Cheddar is owned by Captain Holt and his husband Kevin, a Columbia University professor. Incredibly smart and well-trained, Cheddar is often dragged into Jake’s schemes.

Catchphrases

‘Amazing Detective Slash Genius’ makes an appearance every year in the annual Halloween episode, when the 99th Precinct takes part in an intense Halloween Heist. I’m normally not a fan of themed sitcom episodes, but these are certainly the exception. I love trying to work out what the twist is going to be, and who’s going to win. I won’t spoil it for you, but Season 5’s was particularly sweet.

‘Cool, cool, cool’, meanwhile, is one of Jake Peralta’s favourite sayings. It tends to come out when he’s feeling anything but cool.

If you’re a fan of Brooklyn 99, I highly recommend that you check out some of the other shows Mike Schur has had a hand in creating or writing, like The Good Place and Parks and Recreation. Incidentally, I have done some TV nail art for both so let me know if you’d like to see blogs on those designs!

Brooklyn 99 Nail Art Design Polishes Used:

• Revlon 050 White On White
• Maybelline 749 Electric Yellow
• Sally Hansen Sacred Scarlet
• Barry M 301 Block Orange
• Barry M 290 Spring Green
• Sally Hansen 280 Gummy Grape
• Barry M 291 Cobalt Blue
• Rimmel 900 Rita’s Black
• Barry M 330 Caramel
• Rimmel 129 Sensual Spice

If you would like to see a full tutorial of this design, please comment below.