# The Rookie (TV series)

The Rookie is an American drama series created by Alexi Hawley for ABC. The series stars Nathan Fillion, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O'Neil, Mekia Cox, Lisseth Chavez, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, and Eric Winter. It follows John Nolan, a man in his forties, who becomes the oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). It is based on real-life LAPD officer William Norcross, who moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and joined the department in his mid-40s.
Produced by 20th Television and Lionsgate Television, The Rookie premiered on October 16, 2018. In April 2024, the series was renewed for a seventh season which premiered on January 7, 2025.

## Premise

The series follows John Nolan, a 45-year-old newly divorced man from Pennsylvania, who, nine months after helping police officers during a bank robbery in his hometown, Foxburg, moves to Los Angeles to pursue a new career as a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). After graduating from the Police Academy as the oldest rookie on the force, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, unpredictable nature of his job. He is determined to make it in his new career despite the challenges.
During an interview, series lead Nathan Fillion said that the drama was inspired by a true story as the LAPD is one of just two agencies that accepts new officers over the age of 37. The man whose story inspired the premise of the show was later revealed to be William Norcross, a college friend of executive producer Jon Steinberg, who based the show on his story. Norcross continues to serve in the LAPD and also as executive producer on The Rookie.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 20 | 20 | October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16) | April 16, 2019 (2019-4-16) |
| 2 | 20 | 20 | September 29, 2019 (2019-9-29) | May 10, 2020 (2020-5-10) |
| 3 | 14 | 14 | January 3, 2021 (2021-1-3) | May 16, 2021 (2021-5-16) |
| 4 | 22 | 22 | September 26, 2021 (2021-9-26) | May 15, 2022 (2022-5-15) |
| 5 | 22 | 22 | September 25, 2022 (2022-9-25) | May 2, 2023 (2023-5-2) |
| 6 | 10 | 10 | February 20, 2024 (2024-2-20) | May 21, 2024 (2024-5-21) |
| 7 | 18 | 18 | January 7, 2025 (2025-1-7) | May 13, 2025 (2025-5-13) |

## Cast and characters
### Overview

| Actor | Character | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Actor | Character | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Nathan Fillion | John Nolan | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Alyssa Diaz | Angela Lopez | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Richard T. Jones | Wade Grey | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Titus Makin Jr. [de] | Jackson West | Main | Main | Main | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Mercedes Mason | Zoe Andersen | Main | Does not appear | Guest | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Melissa O'Neil | Lucy Chen | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Eric Winter | Tim Bradford | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Afton Williamson | Talia Bishop | Main | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Mekia Cox | Nyla Harper | Does not appear | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Shawn Ashmore | Wesley Evers | Recurring | Recurring | Main | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Jenna Dewan | Bailey Nune | Does not appear | Does not appear | Guest | Main | Main | Main | Main |
| Tru Valentino | Aaron Thorsen | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Recurring | Main | Main | Does not appear |
| Lisseth Chavez | Celina Juarez | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Recurring | Main | Main |

### Main

* Nathan Fillion as John Nolan: The oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), he is assigned to the Mid-Wilshire Division. He was studying at Pennsylvania State University but dropped out and went into the construction business upon learning that Sarah, his girlfriend (and later, wife) was pregnant. At the age of 45, Nolan closed his construction company in Pennsylvania and after taking down a robbery suspect at a bank in his hometown of Foxburg, Pennsylvania, moved out west to become a police officer. He is divorced with a son, Henry. Nolan becomes a training officer in the later seasons to teach the next generation of cops and help make positive change in the LAPD. He marries Bailey Nune in the sixth season.
* Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez: An LAPD detective. She is assigned as the training officer to Jackson West. She marries Wesley Evers and becomes an inspiring detective and mother in the later seasons.
* Richard T. Jones as Sgt./Lt. Wade Grey: A sergeant and watch commander at the Mid-Wilshire Station. Grey initially believes that Nolan may be changing career because of a possible midlife crisis and doubts that he is suitable for police work, but later comes to recognize him as a capable and competent police officer and friend. Grey served in the United States Army prior to joining the LAPD. He has a daughter who is attending college in New York City.
* Titus Makin Jr. as Jackson West (seasons 1–3): An eager, if somewhat naive, rookie and the son of Commander Percy West, head of the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division. Top of his class at the Police Academy, he is firmly committed to the LAPD and strives to be the best officer he can as he wants to maintain his family's traditions.
* Mercedes Mason as Zoe Andersen (season 1; guest season 3): Nolan's confident and irreverent commanding officer, Captain Andersen used to be a Marine, serving with the military police. After leaving the Corps, she spent a year with the United States Pentagon Police Criminal Investigations Directorate before joining the LAPD. Because of her prior experience, Andersen has risen up the ranks very quickly, to the point where some of her officers see her more as a boss than a fellow officer.
* Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen: An ambitious rookie who struggles to prove herself to Tim Bradford, her training officer. She is 29 years old, and her parents are psychologists who remain opposed to her choice of career. O'Neil also stars as Lucy's doppelganger Sava "Juicy" Wu in later seasons. She later qualifies to become an undercover officer and starts dating Tim.
* Afton Williamson as Talia Bishop (season 1): A newly promoted training officer whose first assignment is Nolan. Ambitious, she tries hard to make detective and hopes to eventually work her way up to chief of police.
* Eric Winter as Tim Bradford: A strict, no-nonsense training officer. He is assigned Lucy as a rookie and gives her a hard time but treats her fairly. He used to be a Marine squad leader who served in Iraq and Afghanistan before joining the LAPD. Winter also stars as Tim's doppelganger Jake "Dim" Butler in later seasons. He gives up patrol duties to have a relationship with Lucy and becomes a Metro officer. He then breaks up with Lucy due to him thinking that lucy deserves better, and that he isn't in the right place emotionally to be in a relationship. He was also removed from metro, due to a lie on a offical military document
* Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper (season 2 – present): Nolan's second training officer, a tough, experienced detective who is leaving behind four years of undercover work so that she can return to patrol work. After training Nolan and Aaron and giving birth to a daughter named Leah, she returns to being a detective and is partnered with Lopez.
* Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers (season 3 – present; recurring seasons 1–2): A defense lawyer with whom Lopez initially clashes but later starts dating. The two eventually marry and have a son named Jack and a daughter named Emmy. He later takes a job as an Assistant District Attorney.
* Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune (season 4 – present; guest season 3): A firefighter lieutenant who first appears as Nolan's date to Lopez's wedding and later becomes his wife by the sixth season. Prior to joining the LAFD, she served in the US Army and remains a reservist.
* Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen (seasons 5–6; recurring season 4): A newbie rookie who was involved in a French murder case in which he was found not guilty. He comes from a wealthy background and was an internet celebrity before his arrest and trial.
* Lisseth Chavez as Celina Juarez (season 6 – present; recurring season 5): Nolan's enthusiastic new rookie. She causes trouble for Nolan as he believes she is too superstitious. She joined the Academy in order to solve her sister's murder and disappearance. She is close friends with Bailey Nune and Aaron Thorsen.

### Recurring

* Mircea Monroe as Isabel Bradford (season 1; guest season 5): Tim Bradford's ex-wife, a former undercover narcotics officer who became a drug addict. Tim breaks up with her in order to give her time to recover, and she later reappears in season 5 where she and Lucy go undercover.
* Sara Rue as Nell Forester (seasons 1–2; guest season 4, 6): A dispatcher for the LAPD whom Tim bribes in order to get the best calls during "The Roundup" (season 1, episode 5). She is later revealed to be dating Ellroy Basso.
* Currie Graham as Ben McRee (season 1; guest season 3): Nolan's friend since their school days, who lets Nolan stay in his mansion as a house guest until the latter moves out.
* Sarah Shahi as Jessica Russo (seasons 1–2): A former FBI hostage negotiator who now runs her own security firm and is a published author. She later takes a job with the Department of Homeland Security while she briefly dates Nolan. They separate when she realizes he is not ready to have more kids.
* Demetrius Grosse as Kevin Wolfe (season 1): A detective who is assigned to Isabel's case
* David DeSantos as Elijah Vestri (season 1): A detective who is assigned to Isabel's case
* Zayne Emory as Henry Nolan: John Nolan's son who is a freshman in college. He becomes engaged to Abigail in the second season. He is shown to have a congenital heart condition in the third season.
* Michael Beach as Percy West (seasons 1–3; guest season 6): Jackson's father, the commander of Internal Affairs
* Brent Huff as Quigley Smitty: A lazy police officer who lives in a trailer parked across the street from the Mid-Wilshire station. He was the union representative for Mid-Wilshire for years but has since then been voted out and replaced by John Nolan in season 4.
* Jasmine Mathews as Rachel Hall (season 2; guest season 7): Lucy Chen's friend from college who is involved with Tim Bradford before taking a job in New York.
* Michael Trucco as Sean Del Monte (seasons 4-present, guest seasons 1, 2): An assistant district attorney who assigns Nolan and Tim to a protective detail in "The Shake Up". He later returns in the second-season episode "The Dark Side" when he makes a deal with Rosalind Dyer in order to find the bodies of her previous victims, as well as in season 4 onwards.
* Kanoa Goo as Chris Sanford: An assistant district attorney, and Lucy Chen's ex-boyfriend.
* Angel Parker as Luna Grey: Wade Grey's wife and mother of their daughter Dominique
* Matthew Glave as Oscar Hutchinson: A prisoner who escapes from a prison bus crash but is later apprehended by Lopez and Jackson. Oscar eventually helps the precinct officers as an informant on several cases including former prisoners.
* Harold Perrineau as Nick Armstrong (season 2; guest season 3): A new night detective who assists the LAPD Mid-Wilshire Division, who is later revealed to be a dirty cop working for a crime family.
* Daniel Lissing as Sterling Freeman (season 2; guest season 3): A celebrity actor starring in a police procedural show, who briefly becomes Jackson's boyfriend before he is revealed to have been a former criminal named Skipper Young.
* Ali Larter as Grace Sawyer (season 2): A doctor at Shaw Memorial Hospital and Nolan's ex-girlfriend with whom he rekindles briefly.
* Enver Gjokaj as Donovan Town (seasons 2, 4): Harper's ex-husband. Harper is fighting with him over joint custody of their daughter Lila.
* Carsyn Rose as Lila Town (seasons 2, 4): Harper's daughter from her marriage to Donovan
* Madeleine Coghlan as Abigail (seasons 2–3): Henry Nolan's fiancée
* Annie Wersching as Rosalind Dyer (seasons 2, 5; guest season 3): A serial killer and nemesis of Armstrong, the officer whose arrest led to her conviction for murder. She later escapes prison in season 5.
* Jeff Pierre as Emmett Lang (season 2): A firefighter who is a friend of Tim Bradford and briefly dates Lucy.
* Hrach Titizian as Ruben Derian (season 2; guest season 3): A member of the Derian crime family who has recruited Nick Armstrong and Erin Cole to help him destroy evidence that implicates his brother Serj for the murder of Chris Rios
* Brandon Routh as Doug Stanton (season 3): Jackson West's new training officer, who has questionable ethics and does racial profiling. He leaves Mid-Wilshire after Jackson risked his life to expose his wrongdoings, but later returns and is humiliated when Jackson and Sergeant Grey expose him abandoning the former.
* Arjay Smith as James Murray (season 3–present): A local resident in the neighborhood where Nolan and Harper are assigned to community outreach. He and Harper begin dating during the third season, and during the fourth season, she ends up pregnant. He proposes to her in Season 4 (after declining her initial proposal) and they get married at the courthouse. In season 5, they have a baby girl together.
* Toks Olagundoye as Fiona Ryan (season 3): A professor in Ethics and Criminal Justice. Nolan attends her night classes in order to finish school and qualify as a training officer. She is also a well-known activist, specifically in civil rights and police reform, and has authored a book about racial inequality in the justice system.
* Dylan Conrique as Tamara Colins (season 3–present): A homeless high school student Lucy takes under her wing and tries to help cope with her situation. They later become roommates after she takes Jackson's room.
* Camille Guaty as Sandra "La Fiera" De La Cruz (season 3; guest season 4): A Guatemalan businesswoman and drug lord, who has a vendetta with Lopez after multiple encounters. After her son Diego is murdered by a rival gang, she later kidnaps Lopez, but is shot dead after Harper and Tim help Lopez escape.
* Brandon Jay McLaren as Elijah Stone (seasons 4–5): A crime boss who forces Wesley to be his crooked lawyer in order to retrieve Angela Lopez from Guatemala
* Steve Kazee as Jason Wyler (season 4, guest seasons 6 & 7): Bailey's psychologically abusive ex-husband
* Bridget Regan as Monica Stevens (seasons 5–present): She has represented half of the criminals in Los Angeles, including Oscar Hutchinson and Elijah Stone. She is Elijah's lawyer and Wesley's ex-fiancée. She later begins working with Elijah's partner Abril but is targeted by hitmen and goes on the run.
* Danielle Campbell as Blair London (seasons 6–7): a psychiatrist for the LAPD assigned to help Aaron Thorsen
* Deric Augustine as Miles Penn (season 7): One of the newest rookies in the LAPD, who spent two years with the Sugar Land Police Department in Texas and is living in his car
* Patrick Keleher as Seth Ridley (season 7): One of the newest rookies in the LAPD, who chose the job after apparently losing his girlfriend in high school. He is then caught lying about his cancer diagnosis and is fired.

### Notable guests

* Danny Nucci as Sanford Motta: An arrogant major assault crimes detective who looks down on rookies
* Shawn Christian as Jeremy Hawke: Nolan's former training officer at the academy who goes rogue
* Joelle Carter as Megan Mitchell: Jeremy's ex-wife who is fighting with him over custody of their son Logan
* Niko Nicotera as Carson Miller: Isabel's former boyfriend and a drug dealer
* Jose Pablo Cantillo as Franco DeSantis: A drug dealer who steals money from a drug bust after being tipped off
* Beau Garrett as Denise: A woman who Nolan rescues on Valentine's Day who has an unhealthy obsession with him
* Sean Maher as Caleb Jost: A prisoner who escapes from the prison bus crash in "Manhunt" but is later apprehended by Nolan, Talia, and Jessica
* Mario Lopez as himself: A celebrity pulled over by Tim and Lucy for running a stop sign who tries to talk his way out of a ticket as part of an integrity test by LAPD Internal Affairs
* Joel McHale as Brad Hayes: A former border patrol officer turned people smuggler for a cartel, who is under protective detail of Tim and Nolan
* Jim Lau as Patrick Chen: Lucy Chen's father, who is injured by one of his patients and forced to go the hospital. He later has an argument with Lucy regarding the LAPD's handling of mental health cases.
* will.i.am as himself: Appears when a silent alarm is tripped at his residence, caused by a man who accidentally parachuted into the wrong yard and became stuck in a tree
* Stephen Lang as Trent Williams: The LAPD chief of police. He administers the oral exam to Nolan, Lucy, and Jackson during their midterm exam.
* Felicia Day as Dr. Morgan: A CDC task-force specialist in infectious diseases
* Mark Cuban as himself: Appears when Nolan and Grey respond to a disturbance at his restaurant
* Mitch Pileggi as Rex: A bounty hunter and retired LAPD cop. He is good friends with Tim.
* Seamus Dever as Chaz Bachman: A lawyer who is arrested by Nolan and Lopez for buying drugs
* Jon Huertas as Alejandro Mejia / Cesar Ojeda: An undercover DHS agent who is compromised and nearly killed by two assailants seeking information from him
* Lauren Tom as Mrs. Chen: Lucy Chen's mother, who comes to stay at her apartment briefly after having an argument with Lucy's father
* Eric Weddle as himself: appeared during a Los Angeles Rams junior football camp. Was a high school football adversary of Tim's.
* Robert Woods as himself: appeared during a Los Angeles Rams junior football camp
* Alan Tudyk as Ellroy Basso: A cleaner employed by the LAPD to help clean up crime scenes. He and Nolan later apprehend the criminals who committed the original crime when they return to the scene. He is later seen to be in a relationship with Nell Forester.
* Michael Cassidy as Caleb Wright: A man whom Lucy meets at a bar who later turns out to be a serial killer and Rosalind Dyer's associate
* Pete Davidson as Pete Nolan: John Nolan's half-brother whom he meets following their father's death
* Seth Green as Jordan Neil: A man who steals Nolan's identity, causing his credit score to go down
* Greg Grunberg as Larry Macer (seasons 3 and 4): Formerly a police officer at the LAPD before being released following a mishap where his gun misfired in his first roll call, now a sergeant in the railroad police
* Roselyn Sánchez as Valerie Castillo: An ambitious reporter
* Ryan Seacrest as himself
* Katy Perry as herself
* Luke Bryan as himself
* Lionel Richie as himself
* Bailey Chase as Michael Banks: A DEA agent who assists Nolan and Harper during a drug raid
* Don Swayze as Sharp: A prison guard deputy at the California Correctional Facility who assists Nolan and Harper during a riot
* Hannah Kasulka as Erin Cole: A rookie officer who is later revealed to be a dirty cop working for the Derians, but later is shot dead by Armstrong
* Christopher O'Shea as Chris Rios: A rookie officer who is fatally shot by Serj Derian, leaving Jackson devastated as the two had been close friends
* Armin Shimerman as Judge Paloma: The on-call judge that approves the warrant for Nolan's arrest in the first episode of the third season
* Frances Fisher as Evelyn Nolan: Nolan's overbearing and manipulative mother
* Frankie Muniz as Corey Harris: A former child actor who now runs a cult
* Skyler Samuels as Charlotte Luster: Corey's childhood co-star and friend
* Rainn Wilson as himself: A celebrity who owned the mummified body of Charlie Chaplin interviewed by a true crime documentary
* Molly Quinn as Ashley: The daughter of prisoner Oscar Hutchinson who is a person of interest in a kidnapping case
* Katy O'Brian as Katie Barnes: A new rookie in the LAPD who was a war veteran. Tim is assigned as her TO but she later resigns from the job.
* Emily Deschanel as Sarah Nolan: Nolan's ex-wife and mother to their son Henry
* Kyle Secor as Sam Taggart: A DEA special agent assigned to the La Fiera case
* Joshua Malina as Max: A man with ties to U.S. intelligence
* Tricia Helfer as Claire Ivey: A master thief whom Angela Lopez was after five years prior but was unable to capture
* Kathryn Prescott as Katerina Antonov / Linda Charles: A Russian FSB case officer who has gone rogue and was planning to kill all the men involved in a drone strike that killed her brother
* Piper Curda as Billie Park: A drug mule who was arrested by Jackson and Lucy when she attempts to flee during a rolling stop
* Peter Onorati as Jerry McGrady: A police officer who rides his final shift with Tim before finally retiring after 43 years of service
* Helena Mattson as Ashley McGrady: Jerry McGrady's daughter who has a brief relationship with Tim
* Peyton List as Genny Bradford: Tim Bradford's younger sister
* James Remar as Tom Bradford: Tim and Genny Bradford's alcoholic and abusive father
* Flula Borg as Skip Tracer Randy, a bounty hunter and skip tracer
* Tamala Jones as Yvonne Thorsen: Aaron Thorsen's mother, who is trying to publicize his life as a police officer
* Niecy Nash as Simone Clark: A trainee FBI agent who has the same priorities as John Nolan, and the protagonist of the spin-off series The Rookie: Feds. She is also the oldest NAT ever at Quantico.
* Britt Robertson as Laura Stensen, Simone Clark's FBI colleague in The Rookie: Feds.
* Felix Solis as Matthew Garza, the FBI Special Agent in Charge and leader of Simone Clark's team in The Rookie: Feds.
* Kevin Zegers as Brendan Acres, Simone Clark's friend and FBI colleague in The Rookie: Feds.
* Thomas Dekker as Jeffrey Boyle / Eli Reynolds on The Rookie: Feds, an acolyte of Rosalind Dyer
* Kelly Clarkson as herself
* Kyle Schmid as Noah Foster, an undercover (UC) detective who was a classmate of Lucy at UC school
* Preeti Desai as Charlie Bristow, a private security hired by Wesley
* Lance Bass as himself
* Jake Tapper as himself
* David Dastmalchian as Ray Watkins, a former member of Tim's army squad who betrayed him in the past
* Neil Hopkins as Eric Ramsey, an enigmatic businessman and criminal
* Jimmy Gonzales as Malvado, a hitman who is trying to kill Jason Wyler
* Noel Fisher as Harrison Novak, a serial killer
* Devika Bhise as Antoinette Benneteau, an FBI agent
* Seth Gabel as Liam Glasser, a vending machine supplier who Harper suspects of being a serial killer
* Maria Zhang as Kylie Thomas, a friend of James who is being targeted by the Sixth Street Devils gang

## Production
### Development

On October 26, 2017, ABC announced a straight-to-series order for The Rookie, starring Castle star Nathan Fillion, and written by Castle executive producer and co-showrunner Alexi Hawley. Fillion and Hawley serve as executive producers, along with Mark Gordon, Nicholas Pepper, Michelle Chapman, and Jon Steinberg. The series is produced by ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company, and premiered on October 16, 2018. On November 5, 2018, The Rookie was picked up for full season of 20 episodes. On May 10, 2019, ABC renewed the series for a second season which premiered on September 29, 2019. On October 28, 2019, the series received a full season order of 20 episodes for the second season.
On May 21, 2020, ABC renewed the series for a third season which premiered on January 3, 2021. On May 14, 2021, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 26, 2021. On March 30, 2022, ABC renewed the series for a fifth season which premiered on September 25, 2022. On April 17, 2023, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season which premiered on February 20, 2024. On February 17, 2024, executive producer and showrunner Alexi Hawley confirmed in an interview with TVLine that the sixth season would contain ten episodes. On April 15, 2024, ABC renewed the series for a seventh season, which premiered on January 7, 2025.

### Casting

With the series order in October 2017, Fillion was cast as John Nolan. On February 7, 2018, Afton Williamson and Eric Winter were cast as Talia Bishop and Tim Bradford, respectively. They were shortly followed by Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen, Richard T. Jones as Sergeant Wade Grey, Titus Makin as Jackson West, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, and Mercedes Mason as Captain Zoe Andersen.
On August 4, 2019, it was announced that Williamson would not be returning for the second season due to the alleged racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault she suffered during the first season. On October 2, 2019, Mekia Cox joined the cast as a new series regular, Nyla Harper, for the second season.

### Filming

In January 2018, Liz Friedlander signed on to direct and executive produce the pilot. Production on the pilot began on March 7, 2018, with filming taking place in Los Angeles, Oxnard, Burbank and New York City. On April 15, 2021, police received a call of a possible shooting while filming was taking place between Hartford Avenue and West 5th Street in Los Angeles. Three gunshots were heard by various eyewitnesses, and the production crew confirmed that no one from the show was injured during the incident. Filming in the area was shut down as a result of the reports, but filming continued at other already scheduled locations. Following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on October 21, 2021, on the set of the film Rust, live weapons were banned from The Rookie while filming. Prior to the ban, the series occasionally used quarter or half rounds on large outdoor set pieces. Showrunner Alexi Hawley stated that "any risk is too much risk" and explained that, going forward, only airsoft guns would be used, with muzzle flashes being added in post production using computer-generated imagery.

### On-set misconduct and harassment allegations

On July 26, 2019, TVLine reported that Afton Williamson, who portrays Talia Bishop, would not be returning for the second season. While the outlet initially claimed that the split was amicable, Williamson, in a lengthy Instagram post, stated that she left the series due to having "experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department." The head of the hair department was identified as Sallie Ciganovich. Williamson also alleged that she was sexually harassed by guest star Demetrius Grosse, who portrays Kevin Wolfe in a recurring role, as well as an incident of bullying that escalated into sexual assault at a party. Williamson claimed that she had gone to the showrunners multiple times with these allegations, but was ignored.
Everyone involved in the allegations denied them. An investigation was commissioned through the law firm Mitchell Sillerberg and Knupp along with a third-party firm, EXTTI, which conducted nearly 400 hours of interviews and examined video and other evidence. The results of the investigation were published on September 17, 2019, which found that the allegations made by Williamson had no merit and could not be proven. Williamson stood by her claims, calling the results of the investigation "heartbreaking" and postulated that the producers had lied to cover up the truth of what happened.

## Release
### Broadcast

The Rookie is broadcast in the United States on ABC and repeats are syndicated across 95% of the country. The first season aired on Tuesday, while the second season aired on Sunday. The Rookie has been licensed in more than 180 countries and territories.

### Home media

The first season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 27, 2019, and in Region 4 (Australia) on January 22, 2020.
| DVD name | Release dates | Release dates | Release dates | Episodes | Discs |
| DVD name | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Episodes | Discs |
| 1 | August 27, 2019 | — | January 22, 2020 | 20 | 4 |
| 2 | — | — | February 24, 2021 | 20 | 5 |
| 3 | — | — | February 16, 2022 | 14 | 4 |
| 4 | — | — | August 31, 2022 | 22 | 6 |
| 5 | — | — | February 12, 2025 | 22 | 6 |

## Reception
### Critical response

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating with an average rating of 6.3/10 based on 22 reviews for Season 1. The website's consensus reads, "Nathan Fillion's reliably likable presence makes The Rookie worth tuning in, even if the show around him isn't particularly memorable." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of The Rookie :
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | First aired | Last aired | Last aired | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | 18–49 rank | Avg. 18–49 rating |
| Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | Date | Viewers (millions) | Date | Viewers (millions) | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | 18–49 rank | Avg. 18–49 rating |
| 1 | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. | 20 | October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16) | 5.43 | April 16, 2019 (2019-4-16) | 4.06 | 2018–19 | 48 | 7.79 | 50 | 1.4 |
| 2 | Sunday 10:00 p.m. | 20 | September 29, 2019 (2019-9-29) | 4.11 | May 10, 2020 (2020-5-10) | 4.66 | 2019–20 | 32 | 8.19 | 33 | 1.3 |
| 3 | Sunday 10:00 p.m. | 14 | January 3, 2021 (2021-1-3) | 3.44 | May 16, 2021 (2021-5-16) | 3.77 | 2020–21 | 29 | 7.11 | 34 | 1.0 |
| 4 | Sunday 10:00 p.m. | 22 | September 26, 2021 (2021-9-26) | 3.03 | May 15, 2022 (2022-5-15) | 3.65 | 2021–22 | 33 | 6.44 | 33 | 0.8 |
| 5 | Sunday 10:00 p.m. (2022) Tuesday 8:00 p.m. (2023) | 22 | September 25, 2022 (2022-9-25) | 3.36 | May 2, 2023 (2023-5-2) | 4.33 | 2022–23 | 25 | 6.47 | 32 | 0.7 |
| 6 | Tuesday 9:00 p.m. | 10 | February 20, 2024 (2024-2-20) | 3.77 | May 21, 2024 (2024-5-21) | 3.14 | 2023–24 | 33 | 5.92 | 40 | 0.6 |
| 7 | Tuesday 10:00 p.m. (1–6) Tuesday 9:00 p.m. (7–TBA) | TBA | January 7, 2025 (2025-1-7) | 3.41 | TBA | TBD | 2024–25 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

## Spin-offs

On February 8, 2022, ABC ordered a pilot for a planned FBI spin-off of the series starring Niecy Nash. It was introduced in a two-episode backdoor pilot during Season 4. On March 9, 2022, Kat Foster and Felix Solis joined the cast of the spin-off. Also that month, Frankie Faison joined the cast. On May 13, 2022, ABC gave a series order under the title The Rookie: Feds. It was then reported that the series had undergone creative tweaks that cut Foster's character, Special Agent Casey Fox. In June 2022, Britt Robertson, Kevin Zegers and James Lesure joined the cast as series regulars. The Rookie: Feds aired from September 27, 2022 to May 2, 2023. It was canceled on November 9, 2023, after one season as a consequence of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
On December 5, 2024, it was reported that a second spin-off series was in development. The series would be set in Washington state and center around a "male cop who is stepping into a new phase of life in his second act". Created by Hawley, he, Fillion, Norcross, and Chapman would serve as executive producers. The series will be co-produced by Lionsgate Television and 20th Television.