Who is Raymond Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine?

Show

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Played by

Andre Braugher

First episode

“Pilot”Season 1, Episode 1, aired September 17, 2013

Role

Main cast

Network

FOX

Occupation

NYPD captain, 99th Precinct

Show run

2013 to 2021Moved from FOX to NBC for its last three seasons.

Also known as

Captain Holt, Ray Holt, Holt, Raymond Jacob Holt

Captain Raymond Holt speaks in a near monotone, shows almost no emotion, and runs the 99th Precinct with total precision. Played by Andre Braugher, he is the unshakable straight man of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and, against every expectation, one of its funniest characters.

On Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Raymond Holt's story runs through Kevin Cozner (Husband), Jake Peralta (Surrogate Son), Amy Santiago (Protegee), Terry Jeffords (Sergeant), and Gina Linetti (Assistant).

Who is Raymond Holt?

Holt arrives in the pilot as the new commanding officer of the 99th Precinct. It is his first command after decades of outstanding service, and he believes it was delayed by prejudice against him as a Black man and as a gay man who came out in 1987. He takes the job very seriously and expects his detectives, especially the goofy Jake Peralta, to do the same.

Outside work, he leads a cultured, quiet life with his husband, Kevin Cozner, a classics professor, and their beloved corgi, Cheddar. He enjoys opera, classical music, and dinner parties with Kevin's academic friends, and he has a long, bitter rivalry with his former friend Madeline Wuntch.

Personality and comedy

Holt's comedy comes from delivery. He states outrageous things in the same flat, formal tone he uses for paperwork, and he is completely convinced he is being expressive. A rare moment of shouting, giggling, or wild enthusiasm lands like an earthquake because it is so out of character.

He is also extremely competitive, with an ego that comes out in petty arguments about grammar, puzzles, or the Halloween heist. Over the seasons, his detectives learn to read the tiny shifts in his face, and he learns to loosen up. He and Jake grow into a real father-son relationship, which gives the show its emotional core.

Key storylines

At the end of season two, Wuntch forces Holt into a promotion to the NYPD's public affairs division, separating him from his squad. Jake wins him back by handing credit for a serial killer arrest to the chief of detectives. Later, Holt and Jake hide in witness protection in Florida from the mob boss Jimmy Figgis, and Holt makes a dangerous deal with a gangster to free Jake and Rosa from prison.

He runs for police commissioner in season five and loses. Later, Wuntch, now acting commissioner, demotes him to uniformed patrol after discovering he was promoted to detective too soon early in his career, and he is reinstated as captain midway through season seven. In the final season, he and Kevin separate and then reconcile, and Holt is promoted to deputy commissioner to lead a police reform program with Amy.

Behind the scenes and legacy

Andre Braugher, best known for dramatic roles such as Homicide: Life on the Street, was an unexpected choice for a sitcom, and critics quickly hailed his pairing with Andy Samberg as the show's secret weapon. Braugher was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and twice won the Critics' Choice Television Award in that category.

Holt is one of only two characters, along with Jake, to appear in every episode. He was widely praised as a groundbreaking portrayal: an openly gay Black man in a same-sex interracial marriage, written as a fully rounded, dignified, and very funny lead. When Braugher died in December 2023, many obituaries led with his role as Captain Holt.

Raymond Holt: frequently asked questions

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