Bureau (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

In its original American broadcast, "Bureau" was seen by an estimated 2.07 million household viewers and gained a 0.9/3 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a 24% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.71 million viewers with a 0.9/3 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This means that 0.9 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. With these ratings, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was the second most watched show on FOX for the night, beating The Grinder and a rerun of Grandfathered, behind New Girl, third on its timeslot and ninth for the night, behind Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., New Girl, two reruns of NCIS: New Orleans, a rerun of NCIS, Game of Silence, and The Voice.

"Bureau" received critical acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "After a somewhat underwhelming dive (in large part to the set-up nature of the episode) into this season-ending arc, 'The Bureau' picks things back up and absolutely nails everything it sets out to do. And that's even before Captain Holt discusses Sex And The City. At length."[3] Allie Pape from Vulture gave the show a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Though it was originally conceived as an action-comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has definitely become more of a workplace sitcom since its early episodes, in part because it struggled to integrate its jokes with awkward, low-budget action sequences. That's why it's particularly impressive that 'Bureau,' part two of a three-part season finale arc, manages to nail a credibly tense heist sequence without neglecting its sense of humor."[4]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "That Haysbert's Bob is so much like Holt is what allows 'The Bureau' to get away with its twist at the end. The episode very much telegraphs that Bob is up to more than he seems, first with his willingness to stage the heist, then in the business with the envelope."[5] Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode a 9.0 rating and wrote, "That reads like a lot of 'stuff' for one episode to handle, but everything that happens in 'Bureau' happens under the umbrella of Operation 2256414 oh whatever, you get the idea. There's incredible harmony present in the intersection between each story thread, maybe more than we've seen elsewhere in Season Three."[6]