20 Best TV Episodes Of 2018

5. The Box - Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine The Box
Fox

Part of what makes Brooklyn Nine-Nine so great is the way its ensemble bounces off each other, each contributing their own unique part to the precinct's whole. Somehow, despite being a (near) bottle episode that only briefly focuses on the regulars outside of Peralta and Holt, The Box still showcases all of the show's strengths.

Without the rest of the cast, the onus is on the Holt/Peralta dynamic, which by this stage is as much father/son as it is boss/employee. Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher have such a wonderful chemistry together that it's easy to get lost in their back-and-forth exchanges, which riff on a number of the show's legendary running gags, fire off jokes in rapid succession, and retain the heart that is so integral to the series.

The icing on this cake is Sterling K. Brown's ice-cool guest performance as the suspect in a murder case, with the interrogation making for some genius interplay between the trio and allowing Braugher to flex his Homicide: Life on the Street muscles.

Oh damn. OH damn. OH DAMN!

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.