8 Years Later, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Still Has The Greatest Opening Scene In Sitcom History

Some of the greatest sitcoms of all time have featured compelling opening sequences. Since a story’s opening and ending are its most important moments, most sitcoms attempt to feature creative and immersive sequences in the beginning itself to ensure viewers stick around for more. In terms of creativity, however, one sitcom’s opening sequence seems to dominate all others.

When one talks about iconic sitcom opening scenes, it is hard to ignore Arrested Development since it perfectly begins its run by perfectly establishing its mockumentary style and setting the stage for the Bluth family’s dysfunctional drama. The Good Place is another incredible sitcom with a great opening scene where Kristen Bell’s character awakens in the afterlife and learns she has died.

Arguably, though, Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s hilarious cold open almost every other sitcom. The opening sequence of the highly acclaimed sitcom serves as the perfect pitch for its unique brand of humor, quickly establishing Jake Peralta as a talented but immature detective.

We Still Wake Up Hearing “Now Number Five…” Thanks To Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s opening initially disguises itself as a standard witness identification. However, what seems like a serious police procedure turns into a hilarious callback to an iconic Backstreet Boys track. Andy Samberg’s Jake asks all potential suspects to sing “I Want it That Way” one-by-one so that the witness can identify the culprit based on his voice.

The scene is so absurdly immersive that, like Jake, even viewers completely forget that they are watching a criminal procedure. Jack completely loses track of what he is supposed to do and even starts orchestrating the music cover, while the suspects hilariously stare at one another in confusion.

Only when he snaps back to reality does a viewer realize that the scene has somehow turned a routine witness identification into one of the funniest musical moments in sitcom history.

With this opening scene, Brooklyn Nine-Nine perfectly sets the tone for its irreverent humor, eccentric characters, and ability to turn even the most mundane police procedures into hilarious comedic moments. It immediately sets it apart from the regular fare of crime dramas that take themselves too seriously to ensure that viewers know what they are walking into.

Television has arguably grown more and more fragmented over the years. Owing to this, a rare few scenes from popular TV shows transcend the screen and become deeply ingrained in pop culture for decades. When it comes to classic sitcoms like The Office and Seinfeld, delivering such moments was almost second nature.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a rare sitcom that manages to tap into the zeitgeist with its hilariously brilliant opening. Time and again, its opening keeps gaining new traction on social media and encourages new viewers to check out the full series.

While there are many other memorably funny moments throughout Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s runtime, the “I Want It That Way” opening has almost surpassed the show’s legacy. Owing to the number of times it has shared across social platforms, it has become even more recognizable than the overall show.

It is hard not to see how Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s opening can serve as a great lesson for future sitcoms. The show highlights how a series can perfectly market itself if it follows the classic formula of giving viewers some incredibly iconic moments that stick with them long after the final credits start rolling.