diff --git a/src/awkward/_nplikes/placeholder.py b/src/awkward/_nplikes/placeholder.py
index 20a2af6ee7..cff0698e82 100644
--- a/src/awkward/_nplikes/placeholder.py
+++ b/src/awkward/_nplikes/placeholder.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 from awkward._nplikes.array_like import ArrayLike
 from awkward._nplikes.numpy_like import NumpyLike, NumpyMetadata
 from awkward._nplikes.shape import ShapeItem, unknown_length
+from awkward._regularize import is_array_like
 from awkward._typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, DType, Self
 
 np = NumpyMetadata.instance()
@@ -93,6 +94,10 @@ def __getitem__(self, index):
                 new_length = (stop - start) // step
 
             return type(self)(self._nplike, (new_length,), self._dtype)
+        elif isinstance(index, int):
+            return type(self)(self._nplike, (1,), self._dtype)
+        elif is_array_like(index) and np.issubdtype(index.dtype, np.integer):
+            return type(self)(self._nplike, index.shape, self._dtype)
         else:
             raise TypeError(
                 f"{type(self).__name__} supports only trivial slices, not {type(index).__name__}"