References

The following are references to popular and historical pop-culture mentioned or seen in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This doesn't include any references to New York emergency services or locations in the city, as they are frequently shown throughout the show.

Literature

One Hundred Houses for One Hundred European Architects of the Twentieth Century (2004)

• In 9 Days, this book appears in Kevin Cozner and Raymond Holt's library.

Architecture Now! Vol 7 (2010)

• In 9 Days, this book appears in Kevin and Holt's library.

Batman comics

• In The Bet, Jake Peralta states he doesn't understand how Batman remains calm on top of tall buildings, while standing on the edge of a tall building scouting out perps with Amy Santiago.
• In Payback, Charles Boyle refers to him and Jake as Batman and Alfred, when Charles wheels Jake on his roller chair over to the bin.
• In The Oolong Slayer, Jake says to Gina Linetti and Holt that the alley they are in looks like the one where Batman's parents were killed.

Beauty and the Beast

• In The Party, Boyle tells Jake he thinks Holt's house will be as fancy as the Beast's house in Beauty and the Beast.
• In Unsolvable, it is revealed Boyle had a crush on the teapot in the story.

Beowulf

• In The Party, Kevin tells Jake he doesn't bring home information about his job, such as Beowulf, and his husband Holt doesn't bring home police talk.

Bob Woodward

• A book by Bob Woodward can be seen in Holt's office.

Bridge to Terabithia (1977)

• In Into the Woods, Amy tells Gina she read this book as a child.

The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia (2006)

• In Halloween, this book can be seen on a table in Holt's office.

Calvin and Hobbes comics

• In The Oolong Slayer, Jake guesses Keith Pembroke wants to get his opponent a tattoo of "Calvin peeing on the Tasmanian devil".

Cry, the Beloved Country (1948)

• In The Mattress, this novel by Alan Paton sits on Gina's desk.

David Remnick

• In The Party, when Jake references an article about human trafficking from The New Yorker, Kevin responds by asking whether it is the one by David Remnick.

Dick Tracy

• In Jake & Amy, Jake said Amy's nephew Mason's face is too small for his head and that he's a "Dick Tracy" villain.

Don Juan

• in M.E. Time, Mrs. Patterson refers to her husband as a "real Don Juan", referencing Don Juan, a famous Spanish legend and renowned womaniser.

Flowers for Algernon (1958)

• Jake Peralta's mouse Algernon, is a reference to this science-fiction short story about a laboratory mouse, written by Daniel Keyes.

Garfield comics

• In Full Boyle, Jake describes Canada as "Odie to America's Garfield".
• In Stakeout, Charles describes anything Garfield says as "glib", which Jake sarcastically responds to, asking whether Boyle wants him to be Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle.
• In Return of the King, Holt sarcastically quips to Charles that Einstein could have done his take on a "lasagna-eating cat" instead of the theory of relativity or if Einstein "hated Mondays". Both of these are traits of Garfield.

Go, Dog, Go! (1961)

• In The Ebony Falcon, Terry Jeffords tells Jake he reads Go, Dog, Go! to his children.

Harry Potter (series)

• In Halloween, Jake incorrectly tries to guess Charles' costume, guessing a "dumpy Ronald Weasley?".
• In the The Fugitive Pt. 1, Jake calls the last uncaptured, escaped convict "The Golden Snitch."
  • After Amy catches him making the Harry Potter reference, Jake comfessed that he called in sick the other day to stay home reading "Order of the Phoenix" and admits how sad he was when Cedric [Diggory] dies.

Helen Keller

• In The Oolong Slayer, Keith Pembroke refers to Amy as Helen Keller.

He-Man comics

• In Halloween II, Charles dresses up as He-Man, though none of the squad guess his costume correctly.

The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings (series)

• In Into the Woods, it is referenced Amy read either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings as a child and she felt like she was transformed to The Shire, one of the main settings for the books.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831)

• In M.E. Time, Amy Santiago pretends to walk hunchbacked when she accidentally bowed to Holt, so Rosa calls her Quasimodo, the name of the hunchbacked protagonist of the novel.

IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms (1972)

• In 9 Days, this book appears in Kevin and Holt's library.

In the Bleak Midwinter (1872)

• In Yippie Kayak, Holt reads this poem to Amy and Rosa before swimming in the cold water.

John Law (comic character)

• In Thanksgiving, Jake arrested a perp, signing himself as Johnny Law, a reference to this detective superhero.

Kent's Mechanical Engineers' Handbook 11th Edition (1946)

• In 9 Days, this book appears in Kevin and Holt's library.

Maya Angelou

• In Halloween, Terry guesses that Rosa Diaz read a Maya Angelou poem at her graduation.

Nancy Drew (series)

• In The Vulture, Keith Pembroke thanks Jake sarcastically for doing the real easy work, comparing him to Nancy Drew, a teenage sleuth from the novels of Edward Stratemeyer. Charles then lists two books in the Nancy Drew Files series, Murder on Ice and Recipe for Murder, saying he wanted to be Nancy Drew when he was growing up.

Narnia (series)

• In The Wednesday Incident, Gina relates seeing a door on the street to either the books or the films of the series Narnia.

The New Yorker

• In The Party, Kevin Cozner explains to the squad that he and Holt met over the phone while Kevin was asking him questions for an article he was writing for The New Yorker. Jake then spends a while trying to discuss articles from the magazine in order to impress Kevin and form a connection between the two.

Odyssey

• In The Party, Jake describes the Odyssey as one of the "classics".

Oliver Twist (1839)

• In Yippie Kayak, Gina calls Charles Oliver Twist as an insult, after he didn't know about how retail stores worked.

Othello (1603)

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Jake refers to Amy as Iago, which Amy incorrectly assumes is the character from Othello, though he means the parrot from the film Aladdin.

Pinocchio

• In Windbreaker City, Amy calls Rosa Pinocchio, as this relates to the fact she thinks Rosa is lying about her plans that Saturday, lying being one of Pinocchio's main traits, and that Rosa tells Amy she is going to an Italian restaurant, the ethnicity of Pinocchio.

Popeye

• In Halloween III, Terry dresses up as this sailor, with a pipe in his mouth and a can of spinach in his hand.

Raggedy Ann

• In Halloween, a woman dressed as Raggedy Ann is seen by Amy and Charles drinking vodka straight out of the bottle on the sidewalk. Amy asks them to move away and she gets annoyed at the fact they are cops.

Robin Hood

• In Halloween II, Gina guesses Charles is dressed up as a "gay Robin Hood".

Ship: The Epic Story of Maritime Adventure (2004)

• In Halloween, this book can be seen on a table in Holt's office.

Sinbad (comedian)

• In Sabotage, Jake wears unusual clothes that were borrowed from a neighbour, which are commented on by Rosa, who jokingly asks whether Sinbad lived in his building, Jake responds saying "If Sinbad lived in my building, I would get a tattoo on my forehead saying 'Sinbad lives in my building'".

Sleeping Beauty

• In The Road Trip, Gina references this story, after she tells Terry that Rosa has been sleeping for the last 10 hours, and she might sleep forever.

Spider-Man comics

• In The Vulture, the doorman has written a novel idea that is extremely similar to Spider-Man's origin story. His idea is as follows:

"Idea for a novel: A mild-mannered doorman gets bitten on the penis by a radioactive spider and becomes the world's greatest lover."

Superfudge (1980)

• In The Swedes, Jake tells Rosa he forgot to return this book to his library in the fourth grade, so he has been afraid to return to the library since.

Superman comics

• In Full Boyle, the character Super Dan styles himself after the DC comics Superman.

Sweet Valley High (series)

• In Into the Woods, Amy tells Gina she read this series as a child.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (series)

• In The Vulture, Jake has a Leonardo action figure on top of his computer, Leonardo being one of the TMNT, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
• In The Fugitive Pt. 2 while Jake and Terry are trying to catch the last perp in the sewage system, Jake says "he gons'ta talk about the Turtles". Amy repeats the phrase later.

Thor comics

• In The Bet, Boyle says Jake should not give up his car, as it would be like if Thor gave up his hammer.

William Shakespeare

• In Halloween, Jake performed a speech to the squad that he believed would put even Shakespeare to shame.
• In Halloween II, Charles dresses up as Shakespeare and says one of his famous lines "To be or not to be".

Art

Banksy

• In Halloween III, Leo Mirren-Carter said Banksy gave him the nickname "Nadia."

Jackson Pollock

• In Det. Dave Majors, Dr. Oliver Cox relates rental vans to Jackson Pollock during DNA testing, as DNA is everywhere, similar to Jackson Pollock's style of art.

Pablo Picasso

• In M.E. Time, Amy asked Terry about his 'doodles', which insults Terry and he asks sarcastically, "are you a fan of Picasso's doodles'.
• In The Ebony Falcon, Holt describes Leo Sporm as the "Picasso of Hucksters".

Vincent van Gogh

• In M.E. Time, Amy tries to rush Terry to finish his composite sketch of a criminal. Terry references the artist by name and one of the most well-known facts about him.

Amy: "How much longer are you gonna work on this?"
Terry: "It's questions like that that made Van Gogh cut off his ear. You can't put a clock on art!"

Film, TV and Theatre

101 Dalmatians (series)

• In The Mole, Jake refers to Madeline Wuntch as Cruella de Vil, the antagonist of 101 Dalmatians.

12 Years a Slave (2013)

• In The Defense Rests, Jake tells Terry one of Geoffrey Hoytsman's favourite movies is 12 Years a Slave.

The 6th Day (2000)

• In Jake and Sophia, Jake said if someone has a clone, you have to brand the number two into your clone's cheek --which is what is revealed to have happened in The 6th Day.

A-Team (1983-1987)

• In The Night Shift, a lonely lab tech tells Jake and Charles about how he loves the show.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

• In 9 Days, Holt repeatedly writes "case" on one of his windows, which Jake described as "Beautiful Mind-ing it".

Adam Sandler

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Adam Sandler appears as himself in the auction Jake's hosting.

Aladdin (1992)

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Jake refers to Amy as Iago, which Amy incorrectly assumes is the character from Othello, though he means the parrot with the same name from the film Aladdin.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)

• In Pontiac Bandit, while looking through Doug Judy's laserdiscs, Jake finds this film.

Angela Bassett

• In Boyle's Hunch, Jake refers to his tarantula as "Tarantula Bassett", referencing this actress.

Angelina Jolie

• In Boyle's Hunch, Charles refers to Jake's new tarantula as "Tarantulina Jolie", referencing this actress.

Annie (1977 musical)

• In Johnny and Dora, Charles said he played Daddy Warbucks in his high school's production of Annie, and made out with the the girl who played the title character.

The Bachelor (2002-present)

• In Maximum Security, Holt says he can make small talk and mentions the show.

Bad Boys (1995)

• In The Slump, Gina Linetti describes Bad Boys as the best cop film ever made.

Blade Runner (1982)

• In Pontiac Bandit, while looking through Doug Judy's laser discs, Jake finds Blade Runner.

Blair Underwood

• In Beach House, after checking on his phone, Holt confirms to the squad, he saw Blair Underwood in his supermarket.

Blockbuster

• In Unsolvable, when listing things that have changed over the previous 10 years, Jake realises Blockbuster has shut down.

The Bodyguard (1992)

• In Return of the King, as Jake and Terry are evacuating Gina in their 'police-protecting' for her event, Jake comments that he feels like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. Terry disagrees and says he's the one more like Kevin Costner in this instance since he's the one carrying Gina --alluding to the memorable scene between Kevin Costner's and Whitney Houston's characters.

Bones (2005-2017)

• In The Party, Amy discovers this show on Kevin and Holt's DVR.
• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Marcus tells Charles he is "DVRing" Bones and asks him not to spoil it, though Charles tells him he doesn't watch the show as it is "too scary".

Braveheart (1995)

• In Fancy Brudgom, Jake calls Charles Braveheart when he dresses up in a Scottish outfit for his wedding.
• In Johnny and Dora, teasing Amy about how long it takes her to write her signature, Jake says he’s going to watch the film while he waits.

Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

• In The Bet, Sharon Jeffords asks Terry whether he is cooking methamphetamines and then refers to the show Breaking Bad.

Breathless (1960)

• In The Slump, Terry describes Breathless as the best cop film ever made.
• In The Party, Terry tells several party members about Truffaut writing Breathless, where one states the film is written by Jean-Luc Godard.

Bumblebee (2018)

• In Casecation, Jake mentions to Amy that she promised they would get to see the movie. Amy said she didn't promise that but that she had instead said, "Isn't that a kids' movie?" Jake counters that he had said, "It's for teens."

Cagney & Lacey (1982-1988)

• Terry's two daughters, Cagney Jeffords and Lacey Jeffords, are based off the names of the two police detectives in this TV show.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (book & film)

• In Safe House, Jake and Kevin spends 2 months in a safe house watching almost every Nicholas Cage movie that Jake has ever owned. At the end of the ordeal, Jake reveals to Kevin that they never got to watch this movie. Kevin gets upset upon discovering this, since he's a Classic Professor and the movie is based on a period piece set in Greece.

Cats (musical)

• In The Chopper, Boyle wants his codename to be "Rum Tum Tugger", and Jake responds annoyed saying "no characters from Cats".

Channing Tatum

• In The Vulture, Jake states that if he wins the case, Channing Tatum will play his less attractive brother in the film about his life.
• In Ava, Gina repeats, "You're in a Channing Tatum movie." as a positive thought for herself.

Christopher Walken

• In Stakeout, either Jake or Charles writes "no "De Niro" or "Walken" impressions" on their list of rules.

Chuck Norris

• In Halloween, Boyle puts on a costume and Jake incorrectly jokes that he is "dumpy Chuck Norris".

Citizen Kane (1941)

• In the Pilot, when Charles is suggesting to Rosa the two go see an old movie, his first suggestion is Citizen Kane, but she says she doesn’t enjoy it.

The Cosby Show (1984-1992)

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Gina tells Charles he looks like he's starring in an Albanian remake of The Cosby Show.

Damn Yankees (1955 musical)

• In The Vulture, Charles claims to have played centre field in this Broadway musical during high school.

Dances with Wolves (1990)

• In The Party, Jake jokingly asks Amy whether Kevin Cozner is the star of "Dancez with Wolvez".

Daniel Craig

• In Sal's Pizza, a list of all of the squad member's searches on the internet is leaked and it is revealed Amy searched for images of Daniel Craig's hands.

Dateline NBC (1992-Present)

• In Johnny and Dora, Amy, panicking, tells Lexi that she and Jake are going to Waco, Texas for their honeymoon, though this isn't true as it is part of their cover, which Jake brings up later, asking why Waco, Texas, which Amy responds by saying it was the first thing she thought of as it was on Dateline the previous night.

Denzel Washington

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Gina drops a file in front of Terry and says "Donezo Washington", referencing the actor.
• In Lockdown, Jake says "done, done, Done-zel Washington".

Dermot Mulroney

• In Boyle's Hunch, Jake refers to his new tarantula as "Spi-dermot Mulroney".

Diane Keaton

• In Fancy Brudgom, Jake refers to Charles as Diane Keaton while Boyle shows off his suit.
• In Lockdown, Jake asks the bullpen whether they want to watch the Diane Keaton movie, Something's Gotta Give.
• In Karen Peralta, Jake tells Amy that his mother only drinks red wine on ice because Diane Keaton does as well.

Die Hard (film series, 1988-1995 & 2007-2013)

• Read full list on Die Hard

Dina Lohan

• In Halloween, Gina tells Jake that she is wearing Dina Lohan's face lotion after Jake kisses her forehead and asks what he is tasting.

Don Cheadle

• In The Defense Rests, Jake describes one of the defense attorneys at the party as an "Asian Don Cheadle".

Don Johnson

• In Johnny and Dora, Jake goes undercover wearing Scully's sports coat with the sleeves rolled up, which both Jake and Charles had earlier called it "Don-Johnson it" --who is the actor in the main lead who started the fashion trend around the time Miami Vice aired.

Donnie Brasco (1997)

• In the Pilot, Jake Peralta reads a quote from the movie to a camera as a joke in front of Amy. He says the following quote:

“This job is eating me alive. I can’t breathe anymore. I spent all these years trying to be the good guy, the man in the white hat. I'm not becoming like them, I am them.”

• In Adrian Pimento, Jake tells Terry and Holt that Pimento is "a real life Donnie Brasco".

Ellen DeGeneres

• In The Ebony Falcon, Boyle describes Terry like Ellen DeGeneres.

Elliott Gould

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Boyle states his dad, Lynn Boyle, has a "sexy Elliott Gould vibe" when he wears a turtleneck.

Fargo (1996)

• In The Slump, Amy describes Fargo as the third best cop film ever made.

The Fast and the Furious (series)

• In Halloween II, Jake says to Charles while riding in a shopping cart, "we're Tokyo Drifiting".

François Truffaut

• In The Party, Terry tells several party members about Truffaut writing Breathless, a 1960 film.

Fred Astaire

• In Fancy Brudgom, Charles refers to himself as this actor when showing off his suit.

Friends (1994-2004)

• In Chocolate Milk, Jake describes himself as several characters from this show, as he thinks he is "every type of friend". He also calls Terry a 'Ross-head'.

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

• In The Mole, Gina mentions that she dated a guy who looked like Tywin Lannister.
• In Fancy Brudgom, Jake ranks Boyle's planned wedding as the second worst wedding of all time, after the Red Wedding from Game of Thrones.
• In Stakeout, either Jake or Charles writes "no Red Wedding" on their list of untalkable topics.
• In The Overmining, Gina makes a reference that she has "little birds collecting whispers" like Varys does on the show.
• In A Tale of Two Bandits, Terry asked Jake how he dealt with Hodor dying.
• In Into the Woods, Lohank describes the sinkhole season around his hut as a "Game of Thrones winner".
• In The Fugitive Pt. 2, Charles complains about a Hitchcok-Gina-Scully text-chain, to which Gina responds that they "mostly exchange 'Game of Thrones' theories."

Gene Kelly

• In Fancy Brudgom, Charles refers to himself as this actor when showing off his suit.

George Clooney

• In Tactical Village, Amy describes the difference between Clooney and Peralta as Clooney having a "sexy voice".

Grimm (2011-2017)

• In 9 Days, Rosa finds Charles hiding under his desk. Rosa then asks him if he watched the TV show Grimm again the previous night, as this show had given Charles nightmares in the past.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

• In The Ebony Falcon, Rosa tells Holt that Gina finds this film the greatest comedy film of all time, despite it being a psychological crime thriller.

Ghostbusters (1984)

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Jake gets a framed photo of him and Amy, though her eyes are red from tear gas, so Jake says she looks like a ghost dog from the end of Ghostbusters.

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

• In Johnny and Dora, Charles mentions to Rosa about how mad she is at how its finale went down. Rosa reponds that she just wants to see Loreli happy.

The Godfather (series)

• In Payback, Jake twists a quote from the first Godfather film, in relation to him becoming the godfather of Terry's child.
• In The Favor, Jake compares the Murphy crime family members to that of the Corleone family members.

Gravity (2013)

• In The Defense Rests, Jake awkwardly states that "gravity sucks", and quickly corrects himself by saying he was referring to the natural phenomena not the film.
• In Pontiac Bandit, Doug Judy tells Rosa that "space is scary. You saw what it did to Sandy Bullock."

Grease (1971 musical)

• In Det. Dave Majors, Terry reckons if Boyle wore a pink shirt, he would look like a "pink lady" in the play Grease.

Hello Dolly! (1964 musical)

• In The Box, Holt utter the musical's title in a long enunciation when he believes the suspect Philip Davidson has been caught incriminating himself.

Her (2013)

• In The Funeral, Gina says she is a higher being than Charles, "like Her from the movie Her".

Highlander (1986)

• In The Tagger, Trevor Podolski tells Jake he is 610 years old and a Highlander. This is a reference to the race of immortal beings that can only be killed by beheading in the Highlander series.

Home Alone (1990)

• In Hostage Situation, Jake tells Charles that, as a teenager, he had to learn to shave from watching Home Alone.

House Party 2 (1991)

• In The Apartment, it is revealed as children, Jake and Gina watched House Party 2 many times.

How It's Made (2001-present)

• In The Party, Amy discovers How It's Made: Contact Lenses on Kevin and Holt's DVR.

The Hurt Locker (2008)

• In Old School, Jake explains to the squad he knows how to use a robot at the precinct because he's "seen the first 15 minutes of the Hurt Locker".

Idris Elba

• In Stakeout, either Jake or Charles writes "no comparing yourself to Idris Elba - favourable or not" on their list of rules.

Into the Woods (2014)

• In Into the Woods, Jake tells Terry that Charles will be fine in the woods as he has seen this film 10 times in cinemas.

Jackie Chan

• In The Swedes, Jake names the new vending machine "Snackie Chan", referencing this actor.

James Bond (series)

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Jake describes himself as James Bond as he has a suit on and his gun out, and describes Amy as his "Bond girl".

Jane Seymour

• In Karen Peralta, Jake tells Amy that his mother is particularly interested in what Jane Seymour is active in.

Jason Priestley

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Jake tells Amy he wore cologne by Jason Priestley in high school, which he will wear to impress Jenny Gildenhorn.

Jean-Luc Godard

• In The Party, Terry tells several party members about Truffaut writing Breathless, where one states the film is written by Jean-Luc Godard.

Jennifer Aniston

• In The Party, Gina asks whether she can where shorts like what she thinks Jennifer Aniston would wear.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

• In Johnny and Dora, Gina leaving the Nine-Nine with Capt. Holt could be a reference to a similar scene in the film.

Jeopardy! (1964-present)

• In The Party, Jake lists several topics, and Holt response saying they were the topics on Jeopardy! the previous night.
• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, when Holt describes a more emotional wedding for him and Kevin, he says it doesn't need to be extravagant, as they are not the Kardashian-Wests, and when he quickly explains who they are, Kevin says he knows, as they were answers on Jeopardy!.

The Jetsons (1962-1963)

• In The Pontiac Bandit Returns, Jake relates speech-to-text software to The Jetsons, as in the show, the Jetson family has advanced technology.

Joey Fatone

• In New Captain, Gina tells Madeline Wuntch that Holt is like "a Timberlake and you need to stop treating him like a Fatone".

John Adams (2008 miniseries)

• In Jake and Sophia, Sophia references the president John Adams, but Jake thinks she's talking about the TV miniseries.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

• In The Ebony Falcon, it is revealed Gina had a set of Joseph Gordon-Levitt nesting dolls that were stolen from her apartment.

Joy Behar

• In Halloween, Holt guesses that Boyle is dressed up as this comedian, when in reality he is dressed up as Mario Batali.
• In The Apartment, Gina describes Jake's turntable mixing skills like Joy Behar falling down stairs.

Justin Timberlake

• In New Captain, Gina tells Madeline Wuntch that Holt is like "a Timberlake and you need to stop treating him like a Fatone".

Kate Upton

• In The Slump, Jake assumes that the detective Smith married the actress Kate Upton after his slump was over.

Kevin Costner

• In The Ebony Falcon, Gina requests the police send her a detective who looks like a young Kevin Costner.
• In The Party, Jake (& the audience) first learns the name of Holt's husband, Kevin Cozner; who shares an extremely similar name to this actor.
• In Return of the King, as Jake and Terry are evacuating Gina in their 'police-protecting' for her event, Jake comments that he feels like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard. Terry disagrees and says he's the one more like Kevin Costner in this instance since he's the one carrying Gina.

Kevin James

• In Operation: Broken Feather, while talking to Adam Sandler, Jake asks which character Kevin James plays in his next film.

Killing Eve (2018-present)

• In Ticking Clocks, Rosa tells Jake about how she will try to get back with Jocelyn and later be the one who does the dumping. Jake considers the plan as psychotic and compares Rosa's reaction to what a character from Killing Eve will do.

King Kong (1933)

• In Captain Holt's office, there is a statue on his desk of the Empire State Building with King Kong climbing it.
• In Jake & Amy, Jake tells Amy that he would marry her on top of the Empire State Building, during a King Kong attack.
• Throughout Season One, Jake has a King Kong action figure on top of his desk computer.

Law & Order: SVU (1999-present)

• In The Therapist, Rosa hired Sheena, an actress, to be her fake girlfriend. Sheena said she "was in an episode of SVU" and name-dropped Mariska, as in Mariska Hargitay, who is the longtime leading actress on the show.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

• In The Slump, Amy describes Lethal Weapon as the second best cop film ever made.

The Little Mermaid (series)

• In Chocolate Milk, when Rosa tells Charles she is going to make him a Jamaican god of rhythm, Charles replies "Sebastian from Little Mermaid".

Lord of the Rings (film series, 2001-2003)

^{[Based on Jake having read 15 books total in his life and a lot of his other cultural references are watchable media, it's more likely he saw the movies than read the LOTR novels.]}

• In Lockdown, Terry says his brother-in-law Zeke likes to call Terry's house "Tiny Terry's Hobbit-hole".
• In USPIS, Jake refers to his five suspects as the "Fellowship of the Key".
• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Jake calls Gina Gollum when she asks for the wedding ring and Gina later calls Lynn Boyle a hobbit, due to his height.
• In Ava, Terry compares Holt to a judgmental tree called an Ent; and also, Jake says a doula is sort of like a vaginal Gandalf.

Mario Lopez

• In The Ebony Falcon, the file on the Breaking-and-Entering of Gina's apartment comes back revealing she had one of Mario Lopez's hairs in her apartment, which she purchased at an auction.
• In Four Movements, he guest-starred in this episode.
  • Jake gives Gina a big news starting with referencing Mario Lopez's character from the show.

"... they're doing security for Bayside High's number one wrestler: A. C. Slater. That's right, Mario Lopez."

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Gina says "On your Mark... get set... Paul Gosselaar!"

Mark Ruffalo

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Gina says "On your Mark... get set... Ruffalo!"

Mark Wahlberg

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Gina says "On your Mark... get set... Wahlberg!".

MasterChef Junior (2013-present)

• In Yippie Kayak, Jake says Charles loves this show, so as a Christmas gift, Jake considers inviting one of the child contestants to fly out to Brooklyn, but quickly changes his views on the matter.

Masterpiece Mystery! (2008-present)

• In The Party, Amy discovers this is on Kevin and Holt's DVR.

Mask (1985)

• In Halloween, Jake guesses Boyle is dressed up as Eric Stoltz from the movie Mask.

The Matrix (series)

• In Charges and Specs, Charles dresses up as Neo from The Matrix to express his sadness, which is quickly pointed out by Gina.

Meet the Press (1947-present)

• In Sal's Pizza, Jake describes two firemen talking like watching Meet the Press.

Miami Vice (TV series, 1984-1990)

• In Johnny and Dora, the theme song plays as Jake and Amy enter the restaurant.
  • Also, Jake wears Scully's sports coat with the sleeves rolled up, which both Jake and Charles had earlier called it "Don-Johnson it" --who is the actor in the main lead who started the fashion trend around the time the show aired.

Mission Impossible (film series, 1996-2022)

• In The Slump, Amy says to the junior police squad "your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get your life back on track". This is a reference to the famous "your mission, should you choose to accept it" from the Mission Impossible series, as well as the music playing, which is similar to the series theme song.
• In Show Me Going, when Charles says it's impossible to solve a multi-state case within 2 days, Jake says he hates the word "impossible" unless it's immediately followed by the words "Ghost" and "Protocol" --which references the fourth movie (released in 2011).

Moneyball (2011)

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Holt states to Terry that Moneyball is his favourite film and he cried during it.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

• In Payback, Boyle describes his dogs as "super horny" due to watching this film.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

• In Boyle's Hunch, Jake refers to his new tarantula as "Mrs. Doubtspider".

The Muppet Show (1976-1981)

• In Into the Woods, Jake tries to sound like the rapper T-Pain, but, as described by him, ends up sound like Kermit the Frog.

Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)

• In Thanksgiving, Rosa explains that Amy's apartment looks like the set of Murder, She Wrote.

Neil Patrick Harris

• In The Bet, Boyle describes Jake giving away his car like Neil Patrick Harris giving away his showmanship.

North by Northwest (1959)

• In the Pilot, Charles comes to a quick decision that he and Rosa go and see North by Northwest, but she angrily declines.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

• In The Apartment, Gina finds out Jake has rented this movie 12 times.

Oprah Winfrey

• In The Apartment, Gina tells Jake she is feeling better after watching Oprah have lunch with her female friends.
• In Fancy Brudgom, Jake refers to Charles as Oprah after Boyle tells him that he is going to have spicy cakes at his wedding.

Peter Pan (1953)

• In Lockdown, Charles says he wants to be Jake's right-hand man, his "Tinker Bell." When Rosa questions his phrasing, Charles says, "Tinker Bell is a loyal lieutenant and a real thorn in the side of Captain Hook."

Planet of the Apes (series)

• In Unsolvable, Charles describes getting approached by Michael Hitchcock and Norm Scully scary, like the moment in Planet of the Apes, when "the ape talks".

Property Brothers (2011-present)

• In The Mattress, Jake asks Amy why she is so tired, as Property Brothers ended at 10:00pm the previous evening, so she should have slept well.

Rain Man (1988)

• In Windbreaker City, Gina sarcastically asks whether Holt is doing a "Rain Man impression", though he was just listing categories for a phycology test.

Rambo (series)

• In Halloween, during the squad gathering Scully is dressed as Rambo.

Ratatouille (2007)

• In The Swedes, Charles says he likes how Paris was represented in the movie.

Regis Philbin

• In 48 Hours, Jake reveals photos of him with Regis Philbin to Dustin Whitman, showing that the two has met.
• In Bureau, Amy tells Maura Figgis that it's Michael Strahan now, instead of Regis Philibin, who's a host of the morning show.

Richard Dreyfuss

• In The Party, Gina explains to a group of psychologists she is thinking about Richard Dreyfuss hunched over eating dog food.

Robert De Niro

• In Stakeout, either Jake or Charles writes "no "De Niro" or "Walken" impressions" on their list of rules.

RoboCop (1987)

• In The Slump, Rosa describes RoboCop as the best cop film ever made.

The Rock (1996)

• In The Bimbo, Jake tries to get Kevin to admit that he can still quote lines from Nicolas Cage movie. Kevin repeatedly denies it but moments later quotes a reference to this movie.

Roseanne (1988-2018)

• In The Defense Rests, Charles and Gina both agree they like this show and Gina wants to copy a dress from the show for the bridesmaids at Darlene Linetti and Lynn Boyle's wedding.

Safe House (1998)

• In Christmas, Jake suggests Holt and him watch this film, but Holt had already seen it.

Samuel L. Jackson

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Boyle tells Rosa after seeing one Samuel L. Jackson movie, he started wearing a Kangol hat for three years.

Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)

• In Four Movements, Jake gives Gina a big news starting with referencing Mario Lopez's character from the show.

"... they're doing security for Bayside High's number one wrestler: A. C. Slater. That's right, Mario Lopez."

Scandal (2012-2018)

• In The Mole, Gina had said she is "about to Olivia pope this sitch" in regards to controlling the news breaking out about her dating ventures.

Scarface (1983)

• In AC/DC, Amy drunkenly pays a store owner $200 for a pair of sunglasses and his XXL Scarface hoodie.

Scarlett Johansson

• In The Wednesday Incident, Jake does an impression of Holt, though Gina believes he is doing on of "ScarJo".

Scrooge McDuck

• In Det. Dave Majors, Terry said if he worked for other company, he would be at home swimming through gold coins, like Scrooge McDuck.

Serpico (1973)

• In Old School, Jake drunk texted Amy "Whaz his name in Serpico?".

Sesame Street (1969-present)

• In Lockdown, Jake tells a drug inspection crew member his biohazard suit makes him look very scary and if he talked like Grover from Sesame Street he would sound much less scary. Jake then impersonates Grover twice.

Seth Rogen

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Gina says "On your mark... get Seth... Rogen!".

Sex and the City (1998-2004)

• In Halloween, Terry jokingly guesses that Boyle is dressed up as Miranda from Sex and the City.
• In Bureau, Holt pretends to be a "Sex-and-the-Citiot" so to distract a guard who is a fan of the show.
• In Full Boyle, Jake and Charles pretend to be tourist coming to New York to look at locations in Sex and the City.

Shark Tank (2009-Present)

• In Stakeout, Jake comes up with the potential name "Drophouse", for a portable toilet company, which he jokingly suggests to Charles he should pitch on Shark Tank.

The Shawshank Redemption

• In The Therapist, Jake impersonated Morgan Freeman's character Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding.

Sherlock (2010-2017)

• In The Party, Amy discovers this show on Kevin and Holt's DVR.

She's All That (1999)

• In Into the Woods, Gina asks Amy if she is asking her to "She's All That" her, which Amy thinks is referencing a book, as she has never heard of the film.

Showtime at the Apollo (1987-Present)

• In Det. Dave Majors, Amy makes a joke to impress Dave Majors, which neither him nor Jake laugh at, so to try to impress Majors, Jake says "we're working a case here Amy, it's not Showtime at the Apollo", which embarrass her.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

• In The Therapist, Jake had called Dr. Tate, 'Hannibal,' as in Hannibal Lecter.

Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

• In Jake and Sophia, Terry tells Jake "you literally slept with the enemy", referencing this movie.

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

• In Lockdown, Jake asks everyone in the bullpen whether they want to watch a bootleg copy of this film, which Rosa describes as "hilarious", which concerns Jake because of Rosa's cold nature.

Star Wars (series)

• In Tactical Village, when Jake refers to Amy being like a sister, Charles responds "that's what Luke said about Leia", which annoys Jake.
• In Fancy Brudgom, while discussing lab rats getting zapped and lightning, Rosa mentions Emperor Palpatine.
• In The Swedes, Amy mentions to Gina an inaccuracy of the Star Wars franchise, that a parsec is a measure of distance, even though this is an untrue fact, as parsecs are measures of distance in the Star Wars universe too, though Gina doesn't know what Star Wars is.

Step Up (series)

• In Halloween II, Gina tells Terry she can't help if her life is "literally a Step Up movie".

Steve Harvey

• In Pontiac Bandit, Rosa describes Jake's appearance as though he is dressed like Steve Harvey.

Super Troopers (2001)

• In Old School, Jake describes his stories as if they "make Training Day look like Super Troopers".
• In NutriBoom, Jake recognizes Jay Chandrasekhar as the "guy from Super Troopers."

Suzanne Somers

• In Old School, Jimmy Brogan offensively refers to Jake as the actress Suzanne Somers, then asks him to talk like a man.

Taken (series)

• In Yippie Kayak, Keith Pembroke gets Terry to tell Jake that Keith is Liam Neeson and Jake is his "hot, dumb daughter", referencing these films.

Thor (series)

• In The Tattler, Gina lies to her old classmates about having written the movies and being in the middle of working on the fourth one.

Titanic (1997)

• In The Bet, Jake and Amy do the "Steerage Jig" from the film Titanic.
• In Windbreaker City, Gina states to Holt that she hates oceans, as that's where "that bitch Rose let Leo die" and "there was plenty of room on that door", referencing a famous scene from the movie.
• In New Captain, Charles tells Jake he wants Jake and Amy's relationship to end like the couple in Titanic, but when they are both really old.

The Today Show (1952-present)

• In Full Boyle, Jake and Charles dress up as tourists who came to New York to hold signs in front of the Today Show window.

Tom Selleck

• In The Apartment, Boyle sticks hair to his face and mocks Tom Selleck's moustache by impersonating him.

Top Gun (1986)

• In The Vulture, Terry explains the plot of Top Gun to Holt and Gina, as a stall tactic, and Holt hurries him by saying he has seen the movie, but Gina hadn't and asked for the sergeant to continue.

• In The Apartment, Jake calls Gina "Goose", possibly referencing the character in Top Gun.

Total Recall (1990)

• In Pontiac Bandit, Jake and Doug Judy talk about the three-breasted alien from Total Recall.
• In Chocolate Milk, while making fun of Terry getting a vasectomy, Jake says "Scrotal Recall".

Trading Places (1983)

• In The Defense Rests, Jake admits to his girlfriend Sophia Perez that he is able to press pause on their relationship, similarly to how he pressed pause during Jamie Lee Curtis' nude scene in Trading Places.

Training Day (2001)

• In The Slump, Amy describes Training Day as the best cop film ever made.
• In Old School, Jake describes his stories as if they "make Training Day look like Super Troopers".

Tron (1982)

• In Pontiac Bandit, while looking through Doug Judy's laserdiscs, Jake finds Tron.

True Blood (2008-2014)

• In The Swedes, Rosa asks Agneta Carlsson whether she is talking about "the hot guy from True Blood", when she mentions a perp named Alvar Gustavsson.

Turner & Hooch (1989)

• In The Slump, Charles describes Turner & Hooch as the best cop film ever made.

Wicked (musical)

• In The Defense Rests, Madeline Wuntch is given two tickets to Wicked, which plays in Boston, from Holt.

Wife Swap (2004-present)

• One of Gina's life goals is to be on Wife Swap.

Wings (1990-1997)

• In Jake and Sophia, Terry asks whether by wings Jake meant the band or the TV show, but he actually meant the food.

The Wire (2002-2008)

• In Stakeout, either Jake or Charles writes "no complaining about not seeing The Wire" on their list of rules.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

• In Johnny and Dora, Holt asks for a bucket of water in order to melt a witch in preparation to take down Deputy Chief Wuntch --which references when the Wicked Witch of the West is defeated using this method.
• In New Captain, Holt says to Wuntch that he "thought you'd still be crushed under that house in Munchkin land", referencing how the Wicked Witch of the East is killed in the story.

Video Games

Ms. Pac-Man (1982)

• In Halloween II, Jake guesses Boyle's costume is Ms. Pac Man's nipple, though Jake tells him is it brown nor orange, the color of his costume.
• In Johnny and Dora, Charles asks Rosa to help him move a Ms. Pac-Man machine he has recently purchased; and calls it the sexiest video game ever because "she's insatiable."

Pac-Man (1980)

• In Undercover, Gina says that every time Charles talks to her, she hears the sound that plays when Pac-Man dies.

Wii Sports

• In Christmas, while handcuffed together, Holt and Jake play the tennis mode in Wii Sports.

Xbox

• In The Apartment, an Xbox 360 controller can be seen on a table in Jake's apartment.

Music and Radio

AC/DC

• In Sal's Pizza, Jake says Boone's "bungles" should be written into a song called "Welcome to the Bungle", referencing this song by AC/DC.
• The episode name AC/DC is a direct reference.

Adele

• In The Party, Jake downloads the 2010 Adele song "Rolling in the Deep" onto his phone.

Air Supply

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, the Air Supply song "All Out of Love" plays twice, once when a young Jake watches Jenny Gildenhorn slow dance with Eddie Fung and normal Jake when he watches her slow dance with a different man.

Amazing Grace (1779)

• In Johnny and Dora's cold open, the song is played on bagpipes while the detectives salute goodbye to the vending machine.
• In The Funeral, this song is played on the bagpipes at the funeral.

Annie Lennox

• In The Mattress, it is revealed that both Boyle and Holt enjoy her music.

Antonio Salieri

• In The Road Trip, Charles is impressed by Holt's sudden ability in cooking and says he now "knows how Antonio Salieri felt", as this composer was not nearly as famous as his pupils, including Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Ave Maria

• In 9 Days, Scully sings this German song as a memorial to Charles' dog Jason.

Backstreet Boys

• In DFW's cold opening, Jake has a lineup of suspects who he tells to sing Backstreet Boys' I Want It That Way.
• In Boyle's Hunch, Gina describes three out of the five Backstreet Boys as inconsequential.

Barry White

• In Ava, Jake speaks to Sharon Jeffords in his Barry White voice, as he believes this will calm her down.

Beyoncé

• In Jake and Sophia, Charles puts on a voice to impersonate Tina Knowles, the mother and manager of Beyoncé, in order to trick Gina into staying in Brooklyn for the next day.
• In Captain Peralta, Holt offers Beyoncé tickets to anyone that could solve his riddle and eventually, after discovering the riddle was a hoax, Gina receives the tickets for giving Holt suggestions on what to say to the man that posed the riddle to Holt.

Billy Joel

• In Undercover, Jake and several other men drunkenly sing the 1973 Billy Joel song, "Piano Man", which Jake refers to when speaking to Holt, saying "in the Mafia, once you Joel with each other, you're bonded for life".

Boyz II Men

• In Pontiac Bandit, Rosa describes what Jake is wearing as like a "Boyz II Men easter album".

Britney Spears

• In Karen Peralta, Gina tells Holt she would spend $5,000 on getting back stage tickets to one of this performers concerts, and ask her "do you think you're a better dancer than me?".

Brooks & Dunn

• In Lockdown, Jake jokingly says "Brooks & Dunn", instead of simply "done" to Rosa.

Carly Rae Jepsen

• In Return To Skyfire, Jake uses Carly Rae Jepsen as an example of how people get excited over the release of something.
• In Return of the King, Jake says Gina's G-Hive Live 2019 event is crazier than a Carly Rae Jepsen concert.

Car Wash (1975)

• In The Mole, a flashback revealed Terry grew up with songs such as this.

Christina Aguilera

• In The Slump, Gina dances to "Beautiful", a song by Christina Aguilera, while encouraging the at-risk kids.

Consider Yourself

• In M.E. Time, Boyle sings this song from the play and film Oliver! while him and Jake are driving.

Danny Boy

• In The Funeral, Charles describes his encounters with Lieutenant Singh as very intimate, partly due to the fact they stared into each others eyes while the Irish folk song, Danny Boy played.

Diana Ross

• In The Cruise, Terry talks to Holt about the time he called Terry "Diana Ross", after he used an exclamation point in an email.

Don't You (Forget About Me) (1985)

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Scully sings this song to the crowd at the wedding, and Boyle describes it as "the best rock and roll song ever written".

The Eagles

• The Disco Strangler is a reference to the Eagles song, The Disco Strangler (1979).

Elvis Presley

• In Halloween III, Charles dressed up as him. The rest of the squad pretend to not know and make close-but-wrong guesses.

Escape (The Piña Colada Song)

• In Full Boyle, Charles sings this song in front of a dead body as he is in good spirits.

Frans Brüggen

• In Halloween II, after being asked what day it is, Holt states the day previous was this conductor's birthday.

Gangnam Style (2012)

• In The Swedes, Jake jokingly tells Soren Knausgaard and Agneta Carlsson that he has memorised the lyrics to this song.

Get Low (2003)

• In The Mattress, this song by Lil Jon plays when Amy and Jake test out mattresses at the store.

Gloria Estefan

• In The Mattress, Charles tells Gina he doesn't like people who drive sports cars, as they "are not Gloria Estefan and this isn't Miami".

How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (1982)

• In 9 Days, this song by Michael Bolton plays during Jason's memorial video.

Hustlin' (2005)

• In 9 Days, this song plays when Jake and Holt leave the house to go investigate a lead on their case.

I Am a Rock (1965)

• In Unsolvable, Amy starts singing this song while talking to Holt.

I Got You Babe (1965)

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Jake leaves a perp in the interrogation room with this song by Sonny Bono playing.

Ira Glass

• In Boyle's Hunch, after Amy tells Holt she saw a poster of herself on the subway, Holt says she must feel like a celebrity and then mentions this radio celebrity.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

• In Karen Peralta, Amy tells Jake of how, as a kid, she would flawlessly sing this song to impress adults.

Jay-Z

• In Sal's Pizza, Gina asks Simon Walker what his favourite Jay-Z song is many times, to prepare him for a job at the precinct, and he finally responds with "Big Pimpin'", one of Jay-Z's most popular songs.
• In Unsolvable, Jake lies and tells Terry that Jay-Z is his favourite artist, when in reality it is Taylor Swift.

Jessie's Girl

• In 48 Hours, Jake tells Amy her dream man is out there, with a soul patch, that wants to sing Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield to her at her wedding.

Jimi Hendrix

• In The Party, Jake describes Jimi Hendrix as one of "the classics".

Joseph Haydn

• In The Wednesday Incident, Gerald tells Kevin Cozner and Jake that Holt was in a great mood the previous Saturday and picked Haydn as the music in his painting classes, an artist that brought him joy.

Justin Bieber

• In The Chopper, Gina refers to a child visiting the precinct as "Filipino Bieber".

Kanye West

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, when Holt describes a more emotional wedding for him and Kevin, he says it doesn't need to be extravagant, as they are not the Kardashian-Wests, and when he quickly explains who they are, Kevin says he knows, as they were answers on Jeopardy!.

Kid Rock

• In Windbreaker City, Agent Kendrick tells the squad that Kid Rock was at the Pentagon Christmas Party in an attempt to upset them, due to the fact NYPD aren't invited to that event.
• In Yippie Kayak, Keith Pembroke sees through Terry's lies and tells him Tila Tequila just took a selfie at Kid Rock's concert in Daytona.

Kokomo (1988)

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Charles and Lynn Boyle describe this song as the best rock and roll song ever made, tied with "Don't You (Forget About Me)".

Kool Moe Dee

• In The Defense Rests, the song "I go to Work" by Kool Moe Dee plays when Jake and Terry enter the party.

La Donna è Mobile

• In Thanksgiving, Scully sings this Italian song when he thinks the squad is going to have sing along.

Led Zeppelin

• In The Party, Jake describes Led Zeppelin as one of "the classics".

Liberace

• In Fancy Brudgom, Jake refers to Charles as this performer while Boyle shows off his suit.

Lionel Ritchie

• In The Night Shift, Jake and Charles play the song All Night Long while driving around from location to location for their investigation.

Luther Vandross

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, as the officiant of Darlene Linetti and Lynn Boyle's wedding, Terry adds a quote of Luther Vandross' into his speech.

Mama Said Knock You Out (1991)

• In Pontiac Bandit, this song by LL Cool J plays when Jake walks down the path in an oversized white suit.

Meat Loaf

• In Jake and Sophia, Terry tells Jake he and his wife became closer because they spent their first night talking about their mutual appreciation for the singer Meat Loaf.

Michael Bublé

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Boyle refers to Michael Bublé as "the Bubes", though Jake doesn't understand at first what he means by the nickname.

Miley Cyrus

• In Charges and Specs, Jake tries to take selfies with a face he calls his "Miley Cyrus told-you-so face".

M.O.P.

• In The Chopper, "Ante Up" by M.O.P. plays when Charles, Jake and Ray climb out of the helicopter.

O Fortuna

• In Halloween II, Scully sings this opera song to distract Holt while Hitchcock holds a music player that plays the song.

’O sole mio (1898)

• In The Party, Scully sings this Neapolitan song to Holt and Kevin to serenade them.

Push It (1987)

• In Halloween II, Gina dances to this song in the evidence lockup room and again later with Terry on a dance floor in Shaw's Bar.

Queen

• In Captain Peralta, Jake asks Hank to play "We are the Champions" when his father, Roger Peralta, walks in, though he doesn't have the song and Roger doesn't turn up anyway.

Ray J

• In The Apartment, Gina tells Jake Ray J is a national treasure.

Reunited (1978)

• In The Pontiac Bandit Returns, Doug Judy sings this song to Jake as they have a mutual agreement to work a case together. The song later plays when the two wear bath robes and jump on the hotel bed.

Rihanna

• In the Pilot, Charles Boyle mentions to Gina whether she knows any ”scalpers” for Rihanna tickets so he can take Rosa Diaz to her concert.
• In The Oolong Slayer, Gina makes her toast proposal to Rihanna because she loves Rihanna.
• In Johnny and Dora, Gina asks the file clerk if a bird they are discussing sounds like Rihanna.
  • The “eh, eh,” sound is prominent in Rihanna’s popular song Umbrella.

Robin Thicke

• In The Funeral, in an attempt to bond with Keith Pembroke, Jake says they both love Robin Thicke.

Rod Stewart

• In Halloween II, Jake guesses Charles is dressed up as Rod Stewart.

Scat jazz

• In Thanksgiving, Jake says he likes to deliver toasts like scat jazz, a type of jazz music.

Scorpions

• In The Bet, a male prostitute starts dancing in front of Amy to the beat of "Rock You Like a Hurricane", a 1984 song by the German rock band, Scorpions.

She Works Hard for the Money (1983)

• In The Ebony Falcon, Gina had a music box stolen from her apartment that played She Works Hard for the Money by Donna Summers.

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (2008)

• In Lockdown, Charles and two female perps perform the dance to this song.

Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves (1985)

• In The Funeral, Terry drunkenly dances to this song.

Slam (1993)

• In Yippie Kayak, this song by Onyx plays when Charles and Jake go to take down several robbers.

The Sounds of Ibiza

• In Jake and Sophia, Charles returns this CD to Gina after they break up their relationship.

Spirit in the Sky (1969)

• In Captain Peralta, this song plays when Jake and Charles walk through the airport in pilot's uniforms.

Steve Miller Band

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Darlene Linetti tells Gina that the second best day of her life was sleeping with a groupie of the Steve Miller band.

Susan Boyle

• In Return of the King, Charles mentions her as his cousin who didn't know she could sing until her late 40s --which alludes to the actual real-life Susan Boyle's rise-to-fame story where she appeared as a contestant on Britain's Got Talent in April 2009, at the age of 48.

Taylor Swift

• In Unsolvable, Jake lies and tells Terry that Jay-Z is his favourite artist, when in reality it is Taylor Swift.
• In Terry Kitties, Jake quotes to Terry that "haters gonna hate. Shake it off." and said Taylor Swift is always right.
• In Coral Palms Pt. 2, Jake discloses that he was "detained" once by Taylor Swift's security team, but that was a misunderstanding.
• In Mr. Santiago, Victor Santiago has a binder on Jake that includes that Jake is not allowed within 500 feet of Taylor Swift. Jake tells Amy's dad that it was a misunderstanding.

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

• In Charges and Specs, this song plays when Jake, Holt and Amy dress up in thrift shop clothes.

This Is How We Do It (1995)

• In Sabotage, Jake sings this song 143 times while waiting for Geoffrey Hoytsman to return to where he is being tied up.

Tila Tequila

• In Yippie Kayak, Jake tries to trick Keith Pembroke by getting Terry to tell him Tila Tequila is doing a free show in Central Park, but it doesn't work.

Toni Braxton

• In The 9-8, Charles takes offense to Stevie Schillens making fun of Toni Braxton. Later Jake proudly admits to Stevie that he does listen to Toni Braxton when on stakeouts with Charles. At the end of the episode, all 3 of them are singing out loud Toni Braxton's song "Un-Break My Heart" together in a police car.

Tower Records

• In Pontiac Bandit, Doug Judy explains how he robbed a Tower Records store.

T-Pain

• In Into the Woods, after listing several items needed for survival in the woods, Jake says he sounds like the rapper T-Pain.

Tyrese Gibson

• In Captain Peralta, Gina thinks of all the unexplained people in Holt's brain teaser of having the face of Tyrese.

Una furtiva lagrima

• In The Party, Scully sings this Italian song to several dinner guests.

We Are the Champions (1977)

• In The Funeral, Jake tries to play this song on the bagpipes but it comes out nothing like it.

Whatta Man (1993)

• In Unsolvable, Boyle dances to this song after Jake hits a milestone with arrests. Later at Shaw's Bar, him, Charles and Terry drunkenly dance to this song.

Wild Side (1987)

• In The Swedes, this song by Mötley Crüe plays when Charles and Holt start there last game of squash.

Wings

• In Jake and Sophia, Terry asks whether by wings Jake meant the band or the TV show, but he actually meant the food.

Yo-Yo Ma

• In Beach House, Jake tries to get Holt to stand up by telling him Yo-Yo Ma is in the building giving out autographs, but Holt tells him that the famous cellist is in Australia on tour, evading Jake's attempts to make him stand.

Politics

Adolf Hitler

• In The Chopper, Boyle asks whether his codename can be Adolf Hitler, but Jake strongly responds with no.
• In Boyle's Hunch, a poster of Amy on the subway is defaced and she is made to look like Hitler.

Bamir Topi

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Amy asked whether the president of Albania is Bujar Nishani or Bamir Topi.

Benjamin Franklin

• In USPIS, Jack Danger explains how Benjamin Franklin found the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) in 1772.

Bill Clinton

• In Halloween, Jake threatens a perp in a Hillary Clinton costume that was kissing another perp in a Kim Jong Un costume by saying "what would Bill think".

Bujar Nishani

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Amy asked whether the president of Albania is Bujar Nishani or Bamir Topi.

Donald Trump

• In Coral Palms Pt. 3, a (fake) news channels does a report hook saying they will reveal who is running against him for President.

George W. Bush

• In The Chopper, while trying to get Gina to look up from her phone, Amy lies by saying George W. Bush had died, though Gina didn't know who he was, but it is clear that George W. Bush dying was a lie, as his real death occurred more than four years after the episode was released.

Hillary Clinton

• In Halloween, Jake has to seperate a perp in a costume of Hillary Clinton with one in a Kim Jong Un costume.

Joan of Arc

• In Halloween II, Jake guesses Charles is dressed up as Joan of Arc.

Joe Biden

• In Boyle's Hunch, Jake refers to his spider as "Joe Spiden", most likely referencing this Vice President.

John Adams

• In Jake and Sophia, Sophia Perez asks Jake whether he thinks John Adams was "just some guy?", as she was telling him about how the legal system works.

John Lindsay

• In Unsolvable, while talking to prison inmates, one said he had French toast with Major John Lindsay's dog, though he has mental difficulties.

Kim Jong Un

• In Halloween, Jake has to seperate a perp in a costume of Kim Jong Un with one in a Hillary Clinton costume.

Louis XI of France

• In Full Boyle, Vivian Ludley explains that in the court of Louis XI women only ate consommé, as they though chewing would cause wrinkles.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Jake tells the group the Jimmy Jab games started when this president of Iran was in New York and the squad was on call for 9 hours.

Manuel Noriega

• In The Vulture, Rosa thought this corrupt Panama politician was attractive, even though she hated him.

Nancy Reagan

• In The Mole, Gina's dance troupe "Dancy Reagan, the First Ladies of movement" is introduced.

Victor Emmanuel III of France

• In The Jimmy Jab Games, Holt uses this name as an insult towards Wuntch, with the insult being later used by Terry against Holt.

Vladimir Putin

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Keith Pembroke shows Amy his underwear, named the "Vladimir Putin Collection".

Sports

Adidas

• The sports shoe company Adidas' logo can be seen during the Brooklyn Nine-Nine intro.

Andre Agassi

• In Maximum Security, Holt says he can make small talk and mentions the tennis player.

Billy King (basketball)

• In Full Boyle, Bernice blames the Brooklyn Nets doing bad on the coach, Billy King.

Blake Griffin

• In The Mole, it is revealed Gina has told the squad she would sell them out for 5 minutes with this basketball player.

Brooklyn Nets

• Jake and Bernice both are big fans of the Brooklyn Nets.

Derek Jeter

• In Chocolate Milk, Wuntch admits to Holt she has held a grudge because he embarrassed her in front of Derek Jeter, but Holt tells her she embarrassed herself.

Elvis Stojko

• In Halloween III, Holt jokingly tells the squad Boyle is dressed up for halloween as this Canadian figure skater.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

• In Johnny and Dora, Madeline Wuntch says her feels like this athlete, "congratulating one of the other slower runners".

Jason Kidd

• In Full Boyle, Bernice tells Jake that most people blame Jason Kidd for the Brooklyn Nets doing badly.

Joe Theismann

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Joe Theismann appears as himself and bids $1,000 for Adam Sandler to put his socks in Jake's mouth.

Kobe Bryant

• In Charges and Specs, Jake deflects a basketball shot yelling out "Kobe".
• In The Funeral, Keith Pembroke says to Amy, "Swish, Kobe".

Lance Armstrong

• In Pontiac Bandit, Boyle describes his physiotherapy cycling exercises like become Lance Armstrong

Michael Jordan

• In Christmas, Jake uses handcuffs to attach his hand to Holt's and then throws the key, saying "Jordan", referencing this basketball player.

Michael Strahan

• In Bureau, Amy tells Maura Figgis that it's Michael Strahan now, instead of Regis Philibin, who's a host of the morning show.

New York Mets

• In The Mattress, it is revealed Jake spent a lot of money on paying Mr. Met, the mascot of the team, to come to one of his birthday parties.
• In Yippie Kayak, Rosa talks to Amy about the time she brought a blanket to a Mets game in mid-July.

Nike

• The sports shoe company Nike's logo can be seen during the Brooklyn Nine-Nine intro.
• In Halloween II, Jake gives Dan "Fingers" McCreary his pair of Nike shoes.
• In Casecation, Jake said he bought a pair of Jordan 1s for $500.

Puma

• The sports shoe company Puma's logo can be seen during the Brooklyn Nine-Nine intro.

Serena Williams

• In Greg and Larry, Gina pretends to be a mental patient and personifies this tennis player.

Tonya Harding

• In The Vulture, Jake and Rosa thought this controversial figure skater was attractive, although they hated her.

Usain Bolt

• In 9 Days, Jake calls Amy Usain Bolt when she walks faster than him and blocks his way.

Venus Williams

• In Greg and Larry, Gina pretends to be a mental patient and personifies Serena Williams, who's the sister of this tennis player. Furthering her acting, Gina yells, "No, call Venus! Call Venus!"

Other

7 Up

• In Sal's Pizza, Sal mentions he had a 7 Up fridge in his pizzeria.

The Ahmed Mohamed clock incident

• In Captain Latvia, Capt. Holt had earlier made up an excuse that there is a police emergency involving a bomb and apologizes for making that announcement. He stated there wasn't a bomb and (making up another excuse,) that it was a clock made by an over-achieving minority student.

Al-Qaeda

• In USPIS, Jack Danger tells Jake, Charles and Rosa that every letter USPIS intercept could be a potential weapon for the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

Albert Einstein

• In Return of the King, Holt sarcastically quips at Charles using Einstein's name and his theory of relativity.
• In The Funeral, Keith Pembroke sarcastically refers to Jake as Einstein after his schemes are exposed.

Annie Leibovitz

• In AC/DC, Charles tries to photograph perps in new ways, after reading one of this photographer's books, which he describes as a "visual journey".

Apple Inc.

• Throughout the show, several characters use iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
• In Lockdown, Jake uses the application FaceTime to contact Holt.
• In The Pontiac Bandit Returns, Doug Judy uses speech-to-text software on his iPhone.
• In Captain Latvia, Charles and Jake tries to break into a suspected mafia member's tablet. In Charles' 3rd attempt, he guesses the correct passcode
• There is even "Promotion Consideration Sponsored by Apple Inc." in several episode's credits.

Backgammon

• In Halloween, Jake told Holt about when he was a child and his Uncle Bob taught him to play a version of backgammon, where you shoot the pieces.
• In New Captain, Seth Dozerman tries to delete a digital version of backgammon from each of his "Dozer-pads", though he couldn't, so he asks the squad not to play it.

Barbara Corcoran

• In Yippie Kayak, Zeke calls Terry Barbara Corcoran when his phone calls several times, as he believes Terry has a lot of business to attend to.

Bingo

• In Thanksgiving, the squad play "Boyle Bingo", a spoof of the original game.

Blockbuster

• In Unsolvable, Jake mentions that there's no more Blockbuster anymore in the 8-year gap since looking again into an old case.
• In Cheddar, Jake revealed that he inherited, from his late uncle, 1 million stock shares of Blockbuster Video.
• In Casecation, there is a flashback of Jake working in a Blockbuster store.

Cap'n Crunch

• In 48 Hours, when Jake calls Holt Cap'n he instantly makes the connection to the cereal brand.

Chanel

• In Lockdown, Jake hands out fake designer jackets labelled "Chanelb".

Charades

• In Karen Peralta, Jake and Amy and their families all play charades over dinner.

Chess

• In Halloween, Jake tells Holt that in chess you have to sacrifice your king, a fact he picked up from his youth when his Uncle Bob taught him to play "chess", which in his version was using a gun to shoot chess pieces. He also thought the game ended in a "checkme", when it really ends in a "checkmate", as explained by Holt.
• In several episodes, a chess box or set up board can be seen in the break room.
• In The Mole, a chess board can be seen in Holt's house.

Cops and Robbers

• In Thanksgiving, while Amy is giving a toast, she explains she played this game with her brothers when they were children, which is what inspired her to join the NYPD.

Garbage Pail Kids

• In The Funeral, Jake guessed this was Keith Pembroke's favourite thing.

Gucci

• In Lockdown, Jake hands out fake designer jackets labelled "Grucci".

Hangman

• In The Tagger, Amy tells Carlene that her psychic projections are just everyone's first guesses in Hangman.

Heidi Klum

• In Boyle's Hunch, Jake calls the tarantula he got, "Spidey Klum", referring to this actor.

Icarus

• In Operation: Broken Feather, Terry mentions the story of Icarus from Greek mythology to Captain Holt.

Kangol

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, Boyle tells Rosa after seeing one Samuel L. Jackson movie, he started wearing a Kangol hat for three years.

Kardashian family

• In Boyle-Linetti Wedding, when Holt describes a more emotional wedding for him and Kevin, he says it doesn't need to be extravagant, as they are not the Kardashian-Wests, and when he quickly explains who they are, Kevin says he knows, as they were answers on Jeopardy!.

Lego

• In Undercover, Amy and Terry play with Lego bricks and make a tall house.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

• In Into the Woods, Jake describes himself like these two explorers as he climbed a tree to find where they needed to go.

Lori Greiner

• In Yippie Kayak, Terry believes he is most like this "shark" from the show Shark Tank.

Mahjong

• In Thanksgiving, Holt and Jake go to a Mahjong parlour on one of their cases.

Make-A-Wish Foundation

• In Payback, Gina jokingly assumes that Amy is working partners with Holt as part of the Make-A-Wish foundation, as she thinks Amy is dying of loneliness.

Mario Batali

• In Halloween, Boyle dressed up as this celebrity chef.
• In House Mouses, Boyle mentioned he once saw Mario Batali with his hair down.

Martha Stewart

• In Halloween II, Jake guesses Charles is dressed up as Martha Stewart.

McGruff the Crime Dog

• In USPIS, Jack Danger says to Jake, "You're barking up the wrong tree, McGruff".

Mervyn's

• In Skyfire Cycle, Charles ask his cousin Sam Boyle about where he got his shirt. But then both automatically respond, "Mervyn's!"
• In Chasing Amy, Charles asks his cousin Christina Boyle about when he got such a great jacket. Tina replies, "You know I got it at Mervyn's."
• In 99, the squad has to borrow clothes from some Boyle cousins which Charles comments that they look like they are in a Mervyn's commerical. Then Charles and his 3 cousins shout, "Yeah, Mervyn's!".

Monopoly

• In Beach House, a copy of Monopoly can be seen in the beach house basement.

My Little Pony

• In Det. Dave Majors, when discussing what would happen if Charles wore a pink shirt, Jake states he would look like "a My Little Pony with a gun".

Neil deGrasse Tyson

• In The Swedes, this astrophysicist makes a guest appearance as himself, where he tries to help Gina with astrology, as a favour to Terry, though Gina doesn't know who he is.

Nerf

• In The Apartment, a Nite Finder EX-3 Nerf Blaster can be seen on a table in Jake's apartment and one on his couch.

Nostradamus

• In Boyle's Hunch, Gina refers to herself as this astrologer, as she too was able to make correct future predictions.

Orangina

• In The Mattress, Amy buys Jake bottles of Orangina, which he considers worse than orange soda.

Papa John's

• In Unsolvable, Gina tells Rosa she knows John Schnatter, otherwise known as Papa John.

PetSmart

• In The Ebony Falcon, Terry's alias, Trent Carter, supposedly works as an assistant manager at PetSmart.

Pop-Tarts

• In Halloween III, Jake pretends to not know Charles' halloween costume by guessing he is the "rejected Pop-Tarts mascot".

Santa Claus

• In Christmas, two men dressed as Santa fight over their patrol area.

Sonia Sotomayor

• In The Funeral, Keith Pembroke sarcastically refers to Jake as this judge after Jake tells him his plan is against the rules.

Splash Mountain

• In 48 Hours, Jake shows Dustin Whitman a picture of him on this ride.

Stella McCartney

• In Lockdown, Jake hands out fake designer jackets labelled "Stella McCarkeys".

TED (conference)

• In Windbreaker City, Amy tells Rosa she can't work the available shift on that Saturday, as she is going to a TED lecture about "power posing and getting what you want using your body", but she hopes it doesn't get too sexual.

Tina Knowles

• In Jake and Sophia, Charles puts on a voice to impersonate Knowles, the mother and manager of Beyoncé, in order to trick Gina into staying in Brooklyn for the next day.

Troll doll

• In Halloween, Jake reckons Boyles costume makes him look like a homeless troll doll.

Tupperware

• In The Swedes, Soren Knausgaard tells Jake the story of Agneta Carlsson and her partner trying to conceive, and Soren helping out by having his sperm ready for her in a Tupperware.

Twitter

• In Halloween III, Gina asks Charles to turn her Tweets into a book when she dies.

Will Shortz

• In The Mattress, Amy tells Holt about the only time her and Jake nearly fought, when Jake revealed he didn't know who this puzzle creator was.

Yahoo!

• In Payback, Jake looks to Yahoo! Answers when looking for parenting information about his upcoming role as Ava Jeffords godfather.