Brooklyn Nine-Nine Main Character Index
Main Characters (Jake Peralta, Raymond Holt) | Other Government Employees | Family Members | Other Characters

Family members of the main cast on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

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Jake's Family

Roger

Capt. Roger Peralta

Portrayed By: Bradley Whitford

Jake's father who abandoned him and his mother when he was a kid.

Affably Evil: Downplayed, since "evil" is a strong term to describe him. Nevertheless, he does possess a charming and likeable (albeit somewhat smarmy) persona underneath which is concealed a rather selfish jerk.
Competition Freak: So competitive, that when he and Victor Santiago have a turkey carving competition, he slices his thumb clean off without noticing until it's too late. He seems to have passed this trait down to Jake.
Disappeared Dad: Left Jake and his mom when he was a kid, and barely had any relationship with one of his daughters, Kate.
Easily Forgiven: Not by Jake, but by Karen. Although they've been estranged for many years, it's implied that she took him back the minute he asked her.
Fingore: By Season 7, he's sliced off both his thumbs and had them surgically reattached.
Freudian Excuse: His dad was an even bigger scumbag than he is, and it apparently goes back for several generations in the Peralta family.
Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: However, he admits he was still "a selfish dick," and that there is no "Peralta curse" — rather, the abuse and crappy parenting is learned and repeated by the men in the family. He's genuinely pleased to see that Jake will break the cycle.
Heel–Face Turn: Since receiving a dressing down from Jake over his selfishness, he's been making an effort to improve himself by going back to his ex-wife and trying to rebuild bridges with his son.
Heel Realization: In "Karen Peralta", he claims that "The Reason You Suck" Speech that Jake delivered to him in his previous appearance has been a catalyst for him to try and change his ways.
Hidden Depths: Roger understands Spanish. Victor correctly guesses that he picked it up from one of his many mistresses.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: Despite his seemingly high opinion of himself, his competitive and childish interactions with Amy's dad make it clear that he's very insecure deep down.
Meaningful Name: A serial adulterer and ladies' man called Roger.
Parental Abandonment: Walked out on Karen and Jake when Jake was a child, and only met one of his daughters, Kate, 9 times. It's probably safe to assume his relationships with his other kids isn't any better.
Parental Sexuality Squick: Justified. He cheated on Karen a lot and left Jake with a lot of issues as a result.
Primal Scene: Jake describes seeing him cheat on Karen a couple of times in a tone of horror.
Really Gets Around: He was a serial philanderer while married, and hasn't slowed down since getting divorced. Also, Roger apparently has multiple children around the world (three daughters and an unknown number of sons), a fact that he only discloses to Jake while in the hospital.
- It's implied this is true for everyone in his profession. At one point, he confesses that the total number of his sexual partners is probably in the low 400s, which he claims is "the low end of average" for pilots. He also specifies all of Jake's half-siblings grew-up/live near major airline hubs.
Silver Fox: Downplayed, but he has a lot of affairs and very noticeable white hair.
Took a Level in Kindness: After getting back together with Karen, Roger makes some efforts at improving himself; he no longer cheats on her, and he and Jake form a decent enough relationship that they can comfortably share a beer and the good news of Jake's impending fatherhood.

Karen

Karen Peralta

Portrayed By: Katey Sagal

Jake's mother, who raised him mostly single-handed after his father left them.

Extreme Doormat: A rare positive version. Karen is very kind to everyone, but also lets Roger mistreat her as a result.
Good Parents: She wasn't able to be around as often as she would've liked, but she raised Jake completely on her own, and loves him with all her heart. Jake loves her just as much, and doesn't resent that she worked so much, understanding that she really did do the best she could, and, given the circumstances, she did quite well.
Granola Girl: She makes a living teaching elementary school art and seems to have a more hippy-ish outlook on life than her son or ex-husband. Her fashion sense and the decor around her home point to these tendencies, too.
Nice Girl: She's shown to be a kind, loving, basically well-balanced person whose only possible failing is deciding to take back her cheating ex; not to mention a rare example of the single mother archetype in a workplace sitcom, in that she raised her son alone without falling into My Beloved Smother territory, and Jake neither turned out badly nor resented her for it.
Parental Neglect: A downplayed and justified example, since the main reason she wasn't able to spend more time with Jake was because she had to work a lot more in order to support them as a single mother. While this did arguably contribute in part to Jake's issues as a grown-up, unlike with Roger it's made clear that Jake understands the situation and holds no ill-will to his mother for it.
Retcon: A possible example. Jake initially described his mother as a waitress who struggled to support them (leading to his hatred of Thanksgiving, due to her always working during the holiday). When she actually appears on screen, she's become a bohemian elementary school art teacher who lives in a decent-sized house and enjoys small luxuries. However, in the earlier episode Jake also notes that his mother had to work "more" to support them, so it's possible that waitressing was a second job on top of teaching.
Struggling Single Mother: It's implied she was this in the backstory, having to work extra hours in order to put food on the table. Consequentially, she often wasn't at home. Despite this, she and Jake are close.
What Does She See in Him?: Jake is understandably appalled when she gets back together with Roger, despite him having walked out on them, done nothing to help raise his son, cheated on her countless times, and being an all-around unlikable slimeball. Even she acknowledges that she really has no room to judge anyone, since she's dating Roger despite knowing full well what kind of person he is.

Kate

Kate Peralta

Portrayed By: Nasim Pedrad

Jake's half-sister from his dad's side.

Annoying Younger Sibling: To Jake, initially. Her loudness and carelessness easily grates on his nerves.
Cloudcuckoolander: She's certainly very eccentric and is a lot like Jake was in Season 1. She also vapes on airplanes, punched a stewardess, and yelled at Port Authority cops in "DFW."
Con Man: She carries a bag of glass with her so she can use the glass pieces to get things for free by pretending she found the glass in her food at a restaurant, or cutting herself and claiming that the airport she's at is responsible.
Cosmic Plaything: She barely met her father, had no siblings growing up, and her mother died just a month before. Shortly after that, she lost her job, and her boyfriend, Kurt, broke up with her for being "too sad" about her mother's passing. So when she found out she had a half-brother, Jake, she jumped at the chance to meet him, the only family she had left besides her father.
Cute, but Cacophonic: Lively and adorable, with a singing voice that could shatter windows.
Domestic Abuse: Kate's ex-boyfriend Kurt is shown to be emotionally abusive, having apparently dumped her for being "sad all the time" (because her mother had died a few months prior) and basically treating her like a doormat.
Evil Counterpart: Downplayed, since Kate isn't so much "evil" as "incredibly reckless and irresponsible". Nevertheless, they're similar and it's made pretty clear that she is what Jake could have ended up like if he didn't have even the few stabilizing influences in his life (such as his mother, his job, his friends etc.) that he possessed and she lacked.
Disappeared Dad: Roger has abandoned her like he did with Jake.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish sibling to Jake's responsible sibling, which is pretty surprising; Jake has a steady job, a healthy relationship, and an all-around stable life, whereas Kate's life could be charitably described as a dumpster fire, with her mother having died recently, dealing with an emotionally abusive ex (who is also an ex con), and seemingly having no career prospects beyond an ill-considered plan to audition for The Voice and her tendency to use broken glass to avoid paying for things.
Hollywood Tone-Deaf: She wants to audition for The Voice but she is an atrocious singer.
Kate: Don't worry. I'm going back to Dallas.You won't ever have to see me again. Until, that is, I'm on The Voice, and you'll see me (singing) eeeeeverywhere!
Jake: Oh.
Kate: Oh, you don't like my singing? Well, good, because that is the last time you get it, (singing) for freeeeeeee! (leaves)
Jake: She's gonna do bad on The Voice.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kate is... a lot. She freely scams restaurants and airports, among other places, for free stuff, has punched a stewardess for not letting her vape on an airplane, and can be pretty self-centered, but she does acknowledge that she's a mess, does care about Jake, and is very touched by his Big Brother Instinct towards her.
Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: The men we see Kate hook up with are all bad, and her longterm boyfriend is an awful jerk.
Missing Mom: Her mom died only a month before and she's a very young woman.
Really Gets Around: Slept with a total stranger during her first visit to New York.
Stepford Smiler: She hides all her sadness with smiles and being wild.

Walter

Adm. Walter Peralta

Portrayed By: Martin Mull

Roger's father, whom he hasn't spoken to since Jake was ten.

Abusive Parents: When you make Roger look like a loving and attentive father by comparison, you know it's bad. In one instance when Roger was a teenager, he didn't visit him in the hospital when he was there for three weeks, because Roger got hurt crashing his boat. Granted, Walter told him not to use the boat, but still, that's cold. It's especially evident that Walter cares more about losing the boat than he does about the fact that his son was badly injured.
Walter: That boat was the child I never had.
Roger: I was the child you did have!
Everyone Has Standards: Despite his many other flaws, Walter isn't homophobic; when updating Roger on his various aunts and uncles, Walter nods in agreement when Roger says "good for him" upon hearing that his Uncle Dean is gay. It's also implied that Walter didn't attend a family reunion where Dean wasn't welcome because of his sexuality.
Freudian Excuse: His father abandoned him at a fair when he was a small child. This seems to be a trend for bad Peralta fathers as his grandfather fled to America after murdering his great-grandfather.
Jerkass: He's overall just a very unpleasant old guy.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Unlike Roger, Walter doesn't truly change as a father.
Never My Fault: He's quick to blame Roger first for wrecking the gender reveal cake (despite Walter throwing the can of beer that knocked the cake over) and then for accidentally making the replacement cake green (despite Walter also helping bake the replacement cake).
Pet the Dog: For all his faults, he seems to treat Jake well with the brunt of his abuse being directed toward Roger.
Scatterbrained Senior: Subverted; according to Roger, Walter will fake moments of senility whenever he doesn't want to engage in any situation.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: He's prone to bringing up random horrifying battles. Surprise parties, for example, bring the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor to mind.

Holt's Family

Kevin

Kevin Cozner

"Our home has a "no shoptalk" policy. I don't bring home Beowulf, and he doesn't bring home cop stories."

Portrayed By: Marc Evan Jackson

Captain Holt's husband, a university lecturer who shares Holt's unique sense of humor.

Alliterative Name: His given name and last name begin with the same sound.
Almost Famous Name: Aside from a 'z' instead of an 's', he has the same name as a certain Hollywood actor. Lampshaded In-Universe by Jake: "Kevin Cozzner? Is he the star of Danzzes with Wolvezz?"
Badass Bookworm: In "Safe House", he defeats Seamus Murphy by the power of Big Damn Heroes.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's normally polite, if a bit snarky, but you mess with Holt, you pay. This is revealed to be why he initially gave the entire squad the cold shoulder — he associated all cops with the mistreatment Holt received for years as a black gay man in the force. He grows more tolerant over the seasons when he saw how much they respected and cared about his husband, though is never particularly interested in their cop-business.
- Seamus Murphy has been threatening Holt and forced Kevin into a safe house, but when Holt is taken hostage and almost murdered, Kevin punches him right in the throat and drives his car through a wall, taking out several of Murphy's men!
- He also snaps at his boss, Dean Allister, after he's been demeaning Holt for years.
Big Damn Kiss: Finally does one with Holt in Season 8 when they reconcile. It's a really, really big deal, not just because they got back together after over a year of torment, but because they previously had never kissed or shown much affection beyond a firm handshake.
Birds of a Feather: With Holt. Though apparently they consider themselves quite different, with Kevin insisting that Ray is "the funny one" in the relationship, much to everyone else's bewilderment.
Dating What Daddy Hates: Holt claims Kevin's parents are huge homophobes, and blame him for turning their son gay with his "magical genitalia."
A Day in the Limelight: "Safe House" in Season 5 features Kevin in a starring role alongside Jake.
Defrosting Ice King: Mild example. He didn't like the Nine Nine in Season 1 or any member of the NYPD (expect Holt, obviously) because of Holt's previous mistreatment and what he sees as their ingrained homophobia. He grew to care for them more, and treats Gina well in "The Wednesday Incident", and Jake and he bond in "Safe House" and eventually regarded him with the same begrudged affection Holt does.
Everyone Has Standards: Despite being just as stoic as his husband, Kevin calls both Holt and Rosa "sociopaths" for thinking that Rosa using a brief text message to break up with Marcus would be a good idea.
Grand Romantic Gesture: He spends most of Season 8 very subtly wishing to repair his relationship with Holt. He leaves in “The Lake House” instead of telling Holt he still has feelings for him, and though he’s clearly disappointed Holt is in his house looking for a book in “Balancing,” he doesn’t tell Holt as much. However, in “Game of Boyles,” when he learns Holt has made a dating profile, Kevin runs through the city in the rain to the precinct to ask Holt if it’s too late for Kevin to tell him he wants to stay together. Holt welcomes him back with open arms.
Happily Married: While its sometimes a bit hard to see due to how little they express any kind of emotion, even with each other, they are a legitimately happy couple who have been together for years and clearly deeply love each other.
- Season 8 starts with them having separated due to Holt ignoring his personal life while having to face the COVID-19 pandemic, black lives matter protests while being a gay, black police officer. That said, by the end of the second episode, they realize they still have feelings for each other and decide to go into couple's therapy.
- In the second-to-last episode of the series, Holt and Kevin renew their vows.
Hidden Depths: With that said, Holt does make repeated references to how he feels he has sacrificed his relationship with Kevin for his ambitions in the police force.
Ivy League for Everyone: He's a professor and department head at Columbia University.
Minored in Ass-Kicking: While he's not a cop, he also knows how to defend himself — ask Seamus Murphy about his trachea after Kevin expertly busted it with a single jab.
Kevin: Better get some corticosteroids to treat that laryngeal fracture.
Not So Above It All: Prolonged exposure to Jake gives him a knowledge of Nicolas Cage movies, pop culture, and memes, much to Kevin's dismay.
- He gets deeply involved with the the annual heist by the time Season 6 rolls around and even engages in some rather disturbing trash talking with Jake and Terry.
Kevin: I'm going to slice off your Achilles tendons, peel off your fingernails, and stick knitting needles in your eyes.
Only Sane Man: When Holt tells him Rosa's plan to break up with Marcus, he calls them both sociopaths. He may be The Stoic, but he has more of an understanding of human emotion than his husband and Rosa.
Promotion to Parent: One-sided. Jake asks him and Holt to be his fathers in "Safe House". However, despite his initial reluctance and disdain, Kevin does start warming up to Jake as the series progresses and even offers fatherly advice from time to time.
Put on a Bus: He spends most of Season 3 taking a research sabbatical in Paris...
The Bus Came Back: ... but he's back in New York by Season 4.
The Stoic: Even more than Holt, which is surprising to even Jake — he delivers everything he says in a monotonous tone, maintains a quiet job as part of a university faculty, and doesn't express much more emotion than his husband.
Straight Gay: Just like Holt, there's no overt indications that Kevin is gay and is incredibly against any sort of PDA when in the presence of company (until Season 8, the furthest we ever see of his and Holt's affection is a handshake).

Debbie

Debbie Holt

Portrayed By: Niecy Nash

Captain Holt's annoying younger sister, and Marcus's mother.

Annoying Younger Sibling: Holt dreads her visits, since she's such a drama queen. However, it's ultimately downplayed. He clearly loves her, used to play with her when they were children, and as an adult, he immediately puts his annoyance aside when he finds out she's been having a really rough time. Debbie, for her part, obviously loves Raymond a lot, and fondly remembers when he set up a fort in their kitchen for her when they were kids.
Debbie: What happened to my fun older brother?
Holt: Fun? I was never fun! You take that back!
Drama Queen: She's known as the drama queen of the Holt family. Terry and Gina initially think this is an exaggeration, only to find out it's really, really not. Holt even gave her the nickname "Hurricane Debbie." However, it turns out that she does have real problems, and that venting to her older brother is how she copes.
Like Father, Unlike Son: She's absolutely nothing like her mother or brother.
Sibling Yin-Yang: She's loud, outgoing and vivacious, making her pretty much the exact opposite of her stern, stoic older brother.

Laverne

Judge Laverne Holt

Portrayed By: L. Scott Caldwell

Holt and Debbie's mother, Marcus's grandmother, and a federal judge for the New York Court of Appeals. Introduced in "Your Honor," when her apartment is robbed and Holt enlists Peralta's help in solving the case.

The Comically Serious: It's easy to see where Holt's stoicism comes from.
Cool Old Lady: Unlike her son Holt, Laverne delights (well, as far as she can emote) in Jake's goofy antics and becomes good friends with him over the course of their time together. Enough to confide in him about her love life and not her own son.
Informed Attribute: Apparently enjoys laughing and humor, despite not partaking in either. Most definitely Played for Laughs.
Like Parent, Like Child: Like her son, she is an African-American person in a position of authority within US law enforcement, maintains a constant deadpan and stone-faced expression and enjoys intellectual pursuits like wine tasting.
The Stoic: Again, the somber apple did not fall very far from the tree.

Marcus

Portrayed By: Nick Cannon

Debbie's son, Captain Holt's nephew, and Laverne's grandson, who's staying with Holt and Kevin while in New York. He ends up getting romantically involved with Rosa.

Flat Character: We know he's Captain Holt's nephew, he's into Rosa... "Boyle-Linetti Wedding" reveals that he watches Bones... and "Captain Peralta" suggests that he likes Beyoncé. That's pretty much it.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The sensitive, love-loving, charming Feminine Boy to Rosa's stoic, rough, Masculine Girl.
Nice Guy: So far he's the only love interest in the show not to have any major quirks; he's just a nice, well-balanced guy who's interested in Rosa.
Only Sane Man: He's this in the Holt family. He's not stoic to the point of being robotic like Laverne, Raymond, or Kevin, nor is he ridiculously dramatic like Debbie.
Prone to Tears: A downplayed example, and it's made more apparent by being contrasted so often with Holt and Rosa, but he is a very sensitive and emotionally-driven guy, who cries even at commercials.
Satellite Love Interest: Despite having another relation to the main cast (he's Holt's nephew as well as Rosa's boyfriend), he gets even less characterisation than Teddy did.
Tender Tears: He is very empathetic. He cries at a fridge commercial.

Cheddar

Captain Holt's beloved pet dog, a corgi.

Amplified Animal Aptitude: A downplayed example; he acts like a normal dog in his appearances, but it is often suggested that Holt has managed to train him far beyond what a normal dog should be capable of, and tends to talk to him as if he had human-level sapience.
- Holt uses him in two Halloween heists to retrieve the object of important from where others hid it. He specifically notes in "Halloween IV" that he "trained Cheddar to retrieve plaques."
- Parodied in the episode that bears his name. Cheddar escapes Jake's dogsitting due to a series of events. Jake assumes Cheddar is up to nefarious schemes...when in fact he's just being a happy little corgi running around the area, like any dog out for a run.
The Comically Serious: Not Cheddar himself, but a lot of the humor surrounding him is in the way the other characters treat him with the utmost seriousness, despite him being, you know, an adorable dog.
Jake: (looking Cheddar in the eye, dead serious) Do NOT blow this for us!
Cheddar: (vacant, cheerful stare)
Gender Equals Breed: Averted for his accidental puppies. Both are male like him, but look exactly like their Rottweiler mother.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Played for laughs. Cheddar is apparently agreeable enough as a dog that he's easy for anyone to train, even if they're not his owners. This results in Cheddar being used by various members of the 99 for the heists, which means on some occasions, he betrays his "dad" Holt when these heists are happening.
Holt: You duplicitous bitch.
Precious Puppies: Rare are his appearances that don't involve him doing something adorable.
Replacement Goldfish: Played with, during one Halloween episode, wherein the squad tries to fool Holt by using a fake Cheddar. On a bigger level, a bit of this and The Other Darrin — the dog actor they use is different from the first to second and later seasons (in the first season, Cheddar is white and tan, and in the second he's black and tan, then back to white and tan in the third season) ^note.
Uncatty Resemblance: Psychologically, not physically; Cheddar is apparently just as stoic as Holt and Kevin are.
- Holt identifies him after he's been missing by how firm his "shake" is.

Gina's Family

Darlene

Darlene Linetti

Portrayed By: Sandra Bernhard

Gina's mother who becomes romantically involved with Charles's father, Lynn.

Doting Parent: She adores Gina and they get along great.
Generation Xerox: Downplayed; she shares Gina's quirks and high-maintenance nature, but she's much nicer and more easygoing than her daughter.
Opposites Attract: She falls in love with Charles's dad, Lynn.

Terry's Family

Sharon

Sharon Jeffords

Portrayed By: Merrin Dungey

Terry's wife and the mother of his children.

Actually Pretty Funny: While Terry is annoyed by Jake calling himself Sharon's Godhusband after being named godfather, Sharon can't help but crack up a little over it. She also agrees with Jake comparing a doula to a "vaginal Gandalf".
A Day in the Limelight: "Ava" features her in a prominent role, and shows her interacting with the cast outside of Terry (mostly Jake).
Happily Married: She and Terry are very happy together and they have three kids. We see some arguments or issues they face (like Sharon being angry at Terry to have lied about going back to field), but they are consistently a very happy, committed couple.

Cagney and Lacey

Cagney and Lacey Jeffords

Portrayed By: Kelsey and Skyler Yates

Terry's twin daughters.

Children Are Innocent: They're sweet kids who are still learning about things like racism and sexism.
Daddy's Girl: Terry adores them both, and the feeling seems to be mutual.
A Day in the Limelight: "Moo-Moo" has them heavily featured in the B-plot.
Evil Twin: Discussed. Jake, being, well, Jake, declares that in every set of twins, one of them is always evil. He's decided it's Cagney, for some reason. In reality, both girls seem to be sweet, normal kids.
From the Mouths of Babes: "Moo-Moo" features two back-to-back examples, one Played for Drama and one Played for Laughs. Jake and Amy are thrown for a loop when the girls ask them, point-blank, if Terry got stopped by a cop because he's black, and if being black means they'll get in trouble, too. Later in the episode, they ask similarly serious questions about racism and police, which they immediately follow up with asking what an orgasm is.
Security Blanket: Cagney has a blankie she's named "Moo-Moo," and she can't sleep without it.
Theme Twin Naming: Named after the show, Cagney & Lacey.
Unusual Pop Culture Name: Paired with Shout-Out Theme Naming and Theme Twin Naming — they're named for the show Cagney & Lacey. Both names are uncommon, but the show stars NYPD officers like their father.

Ava

Ava Jeffords

Terry's third daughter born during season 3.

What Happened to the Mouse?: After her birth she is mentioned occasionally (Terry mentions her by name in Two Turkeys as her birthday was approaching and in another episode, he mentions having three kids), but never physically appears at all while Cagney and Lacey do.

Zeke

Portrayed By: Jamal Duff

Terry's brother-in-law who often bullies Terry for his height.

Always Someone Better: He's even bigger than Terry is. Keep in mind that Terry is portrayed by Terry Crews.
Big Brother Bully: Or rather, brother-in-law to Terry.
Hypocrite: He heaps shame on Terry for prioritizing police emergencies over family gatherings, but Zeke has been unemployed for years while abusing Terry's hospitality.
Jerkass: Even ignoring him mocking Terry's height and muscle mass, he also does other mean things like steal Terry's food.
Obnoxious In-Laws: Downplayed, Zeke doesn't hate Terry and even shows occasional moments of awe and respect. But he does happily push him around and undermine him in his own home.
Pet the Dog: When he thinks Holt is a Mean Boss, he temporarily eases up on Terry and even expresses some genuine sympathy.

Boyle's Family

Lynn

Lynn Boyle

Portrayed By: Stephen Root

Charles's five-times divorced father, who works as a florist. He becomes romantically involved with Gina's mother, Darlene.

Alliterative Name: After marrying Darlene, he changes his name to Lynn Linetti.
Generation Xerox: He's every bit as awkward and weird as his son.
Inelegant Blubbering: While we don't see it, he apparently cried for five hours straight upon learning his wife had an affair and he is not Charles' real father.
Opposites Attract: He falls in love with Gina's mom, Darlene.
Parental Neglect: A downplayed example. He clearly loves his son Charles and the two get on very well, but there are some hints that Lynn ranks Charles lower in his affections and priorities than is perhaps appropriate for a father to do with his son.
Unfortunate Names: Takes Darlene's name when they get married, becoming Lynn Linetti. Gina is appalled.

Genevieve

Genevieve Mirren-Carter

Portrayed By: Mary Lynn Rajskub

A woman Boyle meets and hits it off with... right as she's getting arrested. However, Jake and Boyle prove her innocent, so she and Charles begin a relationship. They later adopt a son together.

Frame-Up: She was framed for insurance fraud by her ex-boyfriend's assistant.
Good Parents: She obviously loves Nikolaj a lot, and treats him no different than she would if he was her biological child.
Happily Married: Subverted — the marriage part, not the happiness part. Despite loving Charles dearly, being committed to him, and even adopting a child with him, she has no desire to get married again, thanks to her nasty divorce. Pimento later refers to Genevieve as Charles' "wife", but that may simply be because he doesn't know otherwise. Fortunately, Charles also went through similar struggles and feels the same way.
Love at First Sight: With Charles, they were instantly besotted with each other and never have any romantic issues that we know of.
Nice Girl: She's very kind and friendly, just like Boyle. She's less weird about it, though.
Out of Focus: She only appears on the show in four episodes, despite being frequently referenced by Boyle. By Season 5, she's practically The Ghost.
Strange Minds Think Alike: With Charles. She picks up on all his food references and follows them easily.
Too Much Information: She's only too happy to share explicit details of hers and Charles' romantic life.

Nikolaj

Nikolaj Boyle

Portrayed By: Antonio Raul Corbo

Boyle's adopted son from Latvia.

Accidental Misnaming: Everyone mispronounces his name, although that's only according to his parents (adopted and biological). To the audience it sounds pretty correct.
Affectionate Nickname: His parents sometimes call him Nik-Nik.
Cheerful Child: He's a very happy boy.
Happily Adopted: His adoptive parents adore him, and he seems to reciprocate.
Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Downplayed, as Nikolaj himself is still a child and seems to be very well-adjusted, but Charles occasionally references the child-trafficking ring he was part of with a dose of Black Comedy.
Nice Guy: Much like Boyle, Nikolaj is sweet-natured and generous — perhaps overly generous. In the New Girl crossover, it's Nikolaj who ends up giving a big amount of money to Nick and Winston's failed busking act.
Not Even Bothering with the Accent: His actor is clearly American, not Latvian.
Orphanage of Fear: Raised in one, not so much for how he was treated as the series of improbably disastrous events that befall it.
Perpetual Smiler: Whenever we see Nikolaj, he's smiling.
Picky Eater: Much to his foodie father's dismay. To such a extent that he only eats buttered noodles and only drinks milk.
Tangled Family Tree: His birth father and his half-brother are half-brothers.

Extended Boyle Family

The entire clan

Portrayed By: Christopher Gehrman (Sam), Galen Howard (Tommy), Frederick Koehler (Becca), John Franklin (Tina), Darlene Kardon (Grammy Nona), Joe Roche (Steve), Ryan Phillippe (Milton)

Boyle has a very large extended family, almost all incredibly similar. He has cousins everywhere, and they are all uncomfortably close.

Black Sheep: Milton Boyle is apparently this in the eyes of the other Boyles, for being ugly and dropping out of college. Actually, he is quite handsome and dropped out to become a professional snowboarder, and now has his own sports-wear company, and is involved in charitable organizations. Try telling any of this to Charles, though.
Creepy Good: They're all just as weird and socially awkward as Charles, but they're genuinely decent and supportive of each other.
Gender-Blender Name: Tina Boyle, a male Boyle cousin. It's short for Christina. There's also a cousin named "Becca", and both "boy Cory" and "girl Cory".
Shared Family Quirks: Almost too many to mention. They pretty much only wears shades of beige (bought at 'Mervyns'), and ends pretty much all conversations with each other with "I Love You", even if they only just met.

Amy's Family

Victor

Victor Santiago

Portrayed By: Jimmy Smits

Amy's father and a decorated former police officer.

Badass Bookworm: He's an extremely eloquent and well read former cop.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: When he was young, he and his massive family used to get into arguments during their own Thanksgiving, which apparently landed him in the emergency room on more than one occasion. This allows him to ultimately get along with Jake's parents, as he doesn't take the disagreements personally.
Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: He does a ton of research of Jake to make sure he's good enough for Amy. He also briefly loses his cool upon finding out that Jake and Amy have had sex. However, Amy eventually chews him out and lets him know how sexist and outdated this mindset is.
Competition Freak: He's ridiculously competitive, a trait he's passed on to his daughter. He was even kicked off a bird watching tour due to his aggressive behavior.
Cool Old Guy: Despite being just as uptight as his daughter, he's not nearly as awkward. Being played by Jimmy Smits helps.
Happily Married: In sharp contrast to Jake's parents, Victor and his wife have had a long and loving marriage. They also apparently have a very active sex life (which probably explains why they have eight children).
In-Series Nickname: The Lion.
Jerkass Has a Point: While he was being overprotective and sexist in saying Jake wasn't good enough for Amy, the fact that Jake has an impossibly low credit rating and an order of protection against him from Taylor Swift are objectively valid reasons for a father to not want his daughter to date a guy.
Like Parent, Like Child: He and Amy are very much alike, right down to the personality quirks and choice of profession. He even had a ponytail in the 90's.
Like Parent, Like Spouse: Averted. He and Jake are both great detectives, but the similarities end there.
Obsessively Organized: Amy says that he arranges the money in his wallet by serial number.
The Perfectionist: Much like his daughter.
Took a Level in Kindness: In his second appearance, he's considerably nicer to Jake and even states that he considers Jake part of his family now.

Camila

Camila Santiago

Portrayed By: Bertila Damas

Amy's mother and Victor's wife. She encourages competitiveness in her family.

Competition Freak: Like her husband and daughter.
Control Freak: Despite being invited to Thanksgiving dinner by Jake's mom, she makes her own turkey "just in case." In a later episode, Jake calls her out for bringing her own coffee to his and Amy's apartment whenever she comes over.
Happily Married: To Victor. She brags to Jake's mom that she and Victor have never had a rough patch in their marriage, and she describes him as "the best" at sex (in front of Amy).
Innocently Insensitive: She acts pretty condescending towards Jake's parents, seemingly without realizing what she's doing. Similarly, she doesn't seem to realize how much damage she does to Amy's confidence by constantly singing David praises.
Obnoxious In-Laws: She's constantly passive-aggressive and subtly condescending towards Jake, which he angrily chastises her for along with constantly underappreciating Amy.
Parental Favoritism: Very openly plays favorites with her eight children, without a hint of shame at that. She even arranges their portraits in the order of who makes her proudest. (To be fair, Amy says both her parents do this, but so far, Camila's the only one whose favoritism we've seen in action.) David's always been the favorite, much to Amy's chagrin.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: On the receiving end. Jake tears into her when she ruins Amy and David's moment by displaying yet again her Parental Favoritism for the latter.

David

Lt. David Santiago

Portrayed By: Lin-Manuel Miranda

One of Amy's seven brothers and a lieutenant in the NYPD.

The Ace: Is a Lieutenant, has a Platinum shooting certification, is trained to give the Heimlich maneuver, is fluent in Portuguese… he does everything, he does it well, and most importantly, he does it better than Amy.
Achievements in Ignorance: Apparently a lot of the amazing things he did, he did them without knowing, planning, or understanding their significance/difficulty. He got a perfect score (for no reason, according to him) on the lieutenant's exam without planning to even take it (his partner got sick and David wanted to send money home to his family), learned Portuguese while building a school in Rio, and talked a future Academy-award-winning actress down from committing suicide (without knowing or caring who she was).
Always Someone Better: No matter what Amy does, David always happens to have done the same thing, only better. Except dancing. He is as bad as, if not worse than she is at that. Which begs the question: Is he worse at dancing, or better at bad dancing than Amy?
Ambiguously Bi: Agreed to Jakes assertion that all Brazilian mobsters are gorgeous, regardless of gender, without hesitation.
Celebrity Paradox:
- In Season 4, Gina ditched the Nine-Nine to go see Hamilton, which, at the time, starred David's actor.
- In the episode right before David appears, Jake mentions being a fan of DuckTales (1987) growing up. His actor voices Gizmoduck in the show's reboot.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: His desire not only to constantly act as heroically as possible, but to be recognised as such whenever he can, causes serious friction between he and Amy.
Competition Freak: He displays the Santiago family trait of always having to one-up everyone else, including his numerous allergies, and dancing.
Improbable Aiming Skills: He has a platinum shooting certification from the NYPD after firing ten shots into the same hole.
Insufferable Genius: He very firmly believes in his own hype, humble-bragging to the extent that you just want to smack him in the face. (And, unsurprisingly, Amy comes close). Even when Amy calls him out for bragging he insists it's not bragging to only claim to know "a little" Portuguese when he's actually fluent, and ignoring the fact that he said he learned it while building a school for charity.
Parody Sue: Seriously, what can't he do? (Besides dance). His only other deficiency is a lack of knowledge of pop culture, which only means he doesn't get Jake's references.
Pass the Popcorn: He watches Jake chew out his mother for many of her shortcomings while eating bread with a satisfied look on his face.
Pet the Dog: Subverted. He sincerely tries to do this by letting Amy take the shot at the fleeing mobsters who have Jake, but Amy calls him out on it since he genuinely has better aim and as her husband is in danger she's not concerned with being bolstered right then. Played straight when he also praises Amy to their mom for finding the ledger that clears his name.
Sibling Rivalry: Amy is constantly comparing herself to David and finding herself coming up short.
Shared Family Quirks: Not only is he bad at dancing like Amy, he's bad in the exact same way. Lin Manuel Miranda says he learned Amy's dance long before he was cast for the part.
- Like Amy, he seeks constructive criticism. Unlike Amy, he's so perfect he never gets it.
Sucks at Dancing: Seems to be a family trait — his dance-off with Amy involves him bragging about how much he's using his elbows.

Rosa's family

Oscar

Oscar Diaz

"You know what, mijita, maybe we better put game night on hold for a little while."

Portrayed By: Danny Trejo

Rosa's conservative father.

Brutal Honesty: He very bluntly admits that he doesn't like Jake, despite the fact that Jake is sitting right across from him.
Characterization Marches On: Of a variety. Before he's ever seen, Rosa describes him and his wife as obnoxiously cheerful and affectionate people. When he shows up he's far from it. Rosa might just have been exaggerating about their cheerfulness, since that is what she does with almost everybody who expresses a modicum of emotion.
Competition Freak: He takes family game night very seriously.
Death Glare: He gives one to Jake that nearly turns the poor guy into mush.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Oscar is rude and bigoted, but ultimately his love for his daughter does overcome his prejudice.
Like Parent, Like Child: Rosa definitely takes after his tough, no-nonsense, yet sensitive demeanor.
Like Parent, Unlike Child: Rosa's sister, the one time she's seen in a flashback, truly is the "Smiley Moron" she initially described him as.
Mistaken for Cheating: Believes that Jake is dating his daughter and becomes angry when he sees a picture of Jake with his actual fiancé Amy. When Rosa reveals the truth, he then thinks that Jake is cheating on Amy with Rosa, which gives Rosa the courage to reveal the true reason for meeting them.
No Bisexuals: He doesn't believe bisexuality is a real thing. He thankfully starts to come around on this point, though he says his wife will need more time.
Real Men Wear Pink: Despite his Face of a Thug, he's mentioned to be a teacher. Then there's also his open-mindedness towards Rosa's sexuality, and his love for game night.
- Monster in the Closet also reveals he used to do Rosa's pigtails when she was a little girl.
The Stoic: Much like his daughter, he doesn't emote much.
Tough Love: Largely seems to have been his and Julia's parenting strategy; when Rosa was sent to juvie as a teenager, they gave her no support and left her to face the consequences of her actions alone. While Rosa at first claims to be grateful for this, as it encouraged her to shape up and take responsibility for herself, she later admits how hurtful it felt and that she wishes they had been there for her during that time.

Julia

Julia Diaz

Portrayed By: Olga Merediz

Rosa's mother.

I Have No Daughter!: Though her husband comes to accept Rosa's sexuality, Julia — at least for now — does not. However, Captain Holt assures Rosa that she will come around eventually.
- He was proven right as of Season 6.
I Want Grandkids: She wants Rosa to eventually settle down with a man and have kids. This causes tension when Rosa reveals that she's dating a woman.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She takes longer to come around than her husband, but Julia eventually does reconcile with Rosa.
Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: She and her daughter Rosa couldn't be any less alike.
My Beloved Smother: She's very controlling and judgmental towards Rosa.
Tough Love: See her husband's entry.

Characters / Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Family Members

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