Viewers
In its original American broadcast, "USPIS" was seen by an estimated 3.04 million household viewers and gained a 1.5/4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.[1] This was a 33% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 4.53 million viewers with a 2.2/5 in the 18-49 demographics.[2] This means that 1.5 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 4 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 Mulaney, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy but behind The Simpsons, fifth on its timeslot and sixth for the night, behind The Simpsons, Madam Secretary, American Music Awards of 2014, Football Night in America, and NBC Sunday Night Football.
Critical reviews
"USPIS" received critical acclaim from critics. LaToya Ferguson of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "As it turns out, all Brooklyn Nine-Nine needed to get back into the swing of things is to up the penis and butt jokes. That's mostly true of life too. 'USPIS' is an episode that's full of such simple — on paper — juvenile humor, and it's the strongest episode of the season for it."[3]
Jackson McHenry of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "As much as I enjoyed the time spent with Danger, 'USPIS' gets most of its energy from the clash between Diaz and Jake. He's mad that he has to work with Danger. She's mad that he's making her task force look bad. The plot's an interesting look at how workplace friendships get twisted by shifts of power — they used to be equals, and now they have to recognize that they aren't — but it moves too quickly to fully register."[4] Allie Pape from Vulture gave the show a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "USPIS's reinterpretation of 'going postal' as a positive ('Maury went postal and brought in muffins for everyone!'), and Peralta's hilarious apology to Danger ('I'm sorry I said The Postman was a flop. I'm sorry I said that Forever stamps are a lie, because the Earth will eventually be swallowed by the sun') were among the many highlights. When it comes to delivering consistent laughs, this episode is proof positive that B99 is better than any RoboCop."[5]
Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "'USPIS' is a classical type of sitcom episode, one that's built around a beloved guest star coming in to do his schtick while all the regular characters react to him doing it. But what happens when the guest and/or his schtick aren't so beloved anymore?"[6] Andy Crump of Paste gave the episode a 9.0 and wrote, "If 'USPIS' stumbles, it's in the rushed climax, where we actually get to see about thirty seconds of cop action, as Diaz leads the charge to crack down on some Giggle Pig peddlers. But we don't watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the same reasons we watch, say, The Shield. We watch it for punchlines and for love of the Nine-Nine's officers. 'USPIS' emphasizes both wonderfully, while advancing Brooklyn Nine-Nine's diegesis. This isn't just a bounce back from 'Lockdown,' it's a high point for the season."[7]