Cast and characters
Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta: Jake is a skilled detective, but often acts immaturely. He dates and later marries Amy in season 5, and they have a son in season 7. He often talks about his hard upbringing caused by his father leaving him as a child. In the final episode he leaves his job to look after his son, Mac, giving him the upbringing his father denied him.
Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz: Rosa is an intimidating detective; most of the 99th precinct is afraid of her. She takes pride in being very private and her colleagues know almost nothing about her, including what she likes or where she lives. At the police academy, she was classmates with Jake and the two became close friends. In season 2, she dates Holt's nephew Marcus (portrayed by Nick Cannon). During the very end of season 2, all of season 3 and the beginning to season 4, she dates fellow detective Adrian Pimento (portrayed by Jason Mantzoukas). She comes out as bisexual later in season 5 and dates Jocelyn Pryce (portrayed by Cameron Esposito) in season 6. In the final season she has left her job, in the wake of Black Lives Matter, becoming a private detective and helping those targeted by crooked cops.
Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords: Terry is a family man with a wife, Sharon, twin daughters, Cagney and Lacey, and a third daughter, named Ava, born on Thanksgiving in season 3. He works out frequently and is very strong, though he used to be extremely overweight. For the first five seasons, he is a sergeant. In season 6, he passes an exam to become a lieutenant. In the series finale, he becomes the captain of the Nine-Nine.
Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago: Amy is a neurotic, competitive, nerdy detective who desperately seeks Captain Holt's approval. She becomes a sergeant in season 5. Although very different people, she and Jake begin to date in season 3, get married in season 5, and have a son named Mac, after the fictional John McClane, at the end of season 7. In the final episode she becomes a chief and heads a new police reform program with Holt.
Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle: Charles is Jake's best friend, and the two often work together on cases. He has an encyclopedic knowledge and love of food, especially of more exotic varieties. Early in season 1, he has an intense crush on Rosa and tries to ask her out on numerous occasions but fails. After a brief engagement to food author Vivian Ludley, he later begins a relationship with an artist named Genevieve and the two adopt a son named Nikolaj from Latvia at the start of season 4.
Chelsea Peretti as Gina Linetti (main seasons 1–6; special guest season 8): Gina is Captain Holt's assistant and Jake's childhood friend. She is largely uninterested in the people around her, instead focusing almost entirely on her phone and social media. She has a short-lived sexual relationship with Charles, which she is incredibly ashamed of, though she later goes public with the relationship, without consulting Charles. In season 5, she has a child named Enigma/"Iggy" with Charles's cousin Milton Boyle. Gina departs temporarily at the start of season 5 for maternity leave to care for Iggy (this was written to coincide with Peretti's real-life pregnancy), and for good in season 6 to build an online brand, but she returns in the series finale.
Andre Braugher as Raymond Holt: Captain Holt is the captain of the 99th precinct and takes pride in being the NYPD's first gay black police captain. He is known for his stoic and deadpan demeanor and he frequently criticizes Jake's immature behavior, though he eventually develops a strong, familial relationship with all his detectives, who in turn hold him in high esteem. Both Amy and Jake view him as a father figure. He is married to Kevin Cozner (portrayed by Marc Evan Jackson), a professor of classics at Columbia University, and has a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Cheddar. He is rivals with Deputy Chief (Commissioner) Madeline Wuntch. In the final episode he is promoted to Deputy Commissioner to run a police reform program with Amy in the wake of Black Lives Matter and the behavior of the police over lockdown.
Dirk Blocker as Michael Hitchcock and Joel McKinnon Miller as Norm Scully (recurring season 1, starring seasons 2–5, main season 6–8): Hitchcock and Scully are two aging, accident-prone, lazy, and incompetent detectives whose careers peaked in the 1980s. They are best friends and state that their ideas are each other's. Hitchcock is vulgar and crass, especially towards women, has numerous ex-wives, and lives in a van; Scully is much more kind-hearted and can sing opera well, despite suffering from numerous medical maladies.
