The Night Shift (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

In its original American broadcast, "The Night Shift" was seen by an estimated 2.13 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 12% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 2.40 million viewers with a 1.0/4 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 highest rated show on Fox for the night, beating New Girl, sixth on its timeslot and thirteenth for the night, behind Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Flash, The Real O'Neals, NCIS: New Orleans, Fresh Off the Boat, Bull, The Middle, Chicago Fire, NCIS, American Housewife, The Voice, and This Is Us.

"The Night Shift" received positive reviews from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A-" grade and wrote, "But then something funny happens: The show doesn't allow the crossover gimmick to stop it from being a 'real' episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Even with the crossover beat — and really, it's just a beat — 'The Night Shift' is actually the most typical episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's fourth season so far, which is quite the pleasant return to form for the season."[3] Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the episode a "B+" and wrote, "Logistical issues aside, there's no reason this unnecessary crossover couldn't have been better — for New Girl. While the safe play of restricting crossover characters in the first half-hour helped Brooklyn Nine-Nine maintain its integrity, and New Girl was overweighted with incorporating too many synergy-satisfying stories, the scenes blending both series could have at least acknowledged their best combinations. Though no one was begging to see New Girl mix with Brooklyn, that doesn't mean it lacked potential."[4]

Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The first three episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine's fourth season stashed Jake and Holt in Florida, where they entertainingly served as fish out of water (with Holt playing the straight man, literally). Tuesday's episode, the fourth, finally released the two men back into their natural environment — the Nine-Nine precinct — yet they found themselves swimming in unfamiliar territory once again."[5] Allie Pape from Vulture gave the show a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "This episode is definitely a strong start. The punishment of being moved to the night shift is a twist that affects all of the characters in the same place, which gives it a little more punch than last season, when just Holt and Gina were exiled."[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "I still think there are some character combinations across the two series that would make a full-throated crossover really entertaining. This, unfortunately, had the feeling of something handed down by the network that the respective creative teams tried to do their best with."[7] Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode a 8.0 and wrote, "Not that this is the kind of show to do a deep tissue examination of its substance, but the fact that 'The Night Shift' takes the Figgis situation seriously instead of breezing by it says a lot about Brooklyn Nine-Nine's integrity as a narrative. More important, though, is how well 'The Night Shift' plays as a standalone entry in the series' canon despite its function as connective tissue for a New Girl collaboration. If the temporary merger proves totally unnecessary, it at least doesn't mar 'The Night Shift's overall quality."[8]