A guide to all the Hungarian references in Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine contains a surprising amount of Hungarian references for an American TV show. Let’s talk about them! Either you love the show or have not heard of it before, you will love these Hungarian references.

About the show

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an American television police sitcom created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur. The series premiered on Fox in 2013, where it aired for its first five seasons before moving to NBC. The series revolves around Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), an immature but talented NYPD detective in Brooklyn’s 99th Precinct, who often comes into conflict with his new commanding officer, the serious and stern Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher). The rest of the cast features Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz, Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords, Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago, Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle, Chelsea Peretti as Gina Linetti, Dirk Blocker as Michael Hitchcock, and Joel McKinnon Miller as Norm Scully.

What many Hungarians noticed as the seasons passed are the unusual number of Hungarian references. Of course, people on Reddit almost immediately started to speculate about the show’s connection to Hungary. No theory has been confirmed so far, and there is also no information about a Hungarian connection on their Wikipedia or IMDB page.

Hungarian sausage restaurant – S02E18

In episode 18 of season two, Jake asks Boyle for some advice on where to take his father. Boyle, the ultimate foodie that he is, recommends a place where he and his father hang out all the time: a Hungarian restaurant which apparently serves nothing but sausages. Unfortunately, the Hungarian delicacies did not make a good impression on Jake.

Here is the thing: Hungarians love and know their way around sausage making. We even broke the world record with a 2,400-metre-long sausage and have a sausage-themed adventure park. Trust me, not all types of Hungarian sausages are “oily messes that cause non-stop dumps”. Also, “sausage” is an umbrella term. There are many types made differently, having various shapes, ingredients, and names. A few of these include kolbász, hurka, szalámi, stifolder, etc. These are all different types of Hungarian sausages.

Pick, for example, which is the world-famous Hungarian salami, is also a type of sausage. Pick salami is made entirely from natural ingredients. The meat and fats are processed and cut up with special knives instead of using machines. The unique flavour of the salami is the result of the combination of the secret spices and the special layer in which the salami goes through an ageing process after smoking. The white outer layer of the salami also protects it from rancidity.

Hungarian pezsgő (champagne) – S03E09

In episode nine of season three, Jake wants to christen the precinct’s new vending machine and asks Boyle for the champagne to do it with. Boyle hands him a Hungarian pezsgő from Tárnok Valley. Sadly, the fancy Hungarian pezsgő spills all over the place during the process.

People are usually aware of Hungary’s rich wine culture, and even know the most famous wine regions like Tokaj or Eger. Fewer people know, however, that Hungarian champagne is equally good as the wines. So good, in fact, that some of them have just been awarded three platinum medals and seven gold medals at Decanter World Wine Awards 2019. The Hungarian brand Kreinbacher is probably one of the most famous ones, which keeps winning more and more international awards each year. Törley is another famous brand representing a tasteful quality sparkling wine with fine aromas and neutral character.

Hungarian fencing term – S03E05

In episode five of season three, Captain Holt is explaining a Hungarian fencing term to Sergeant Terry Jeffords, which he is obviously not familiar with. The term is apparently called „husszú görcs” (based on Netflix’s official subtitles) and it refers to the strategy of letting your opponent win points early to give them a sense of overconfidence, thus exposing a much easier target for you later.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with this term nor have I found anything about it online. Thus, I have no idea if this is a real term used in fencing or just something the writers made up because it is funny.

The show’s seventh season will premiere in January 2020.