The Rookie

***The Rookie*** is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that airs on ABC. The first episode of *The Rookie* premiered on October 16, 2018.

## *Summary*

Officer John Nolan is a 45-year-old newly divorced man from Pennsylvania, former owner of a construction company and father of a son in college, who, after inadvertently helping police officers during a bank robbery, moves to Los Angeles to pursue a new career as a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). As an officer of the law, he must adjust to his new position in law enforcement, but in the process he and his colleagues become close, helping each other to serve and protect the city of Los Angeles.

## *Cast*

### *Main characters*

* Nathan Fillion as Officer III John Nolan
* Alyssa Diaz as Detective I Angela Lopez
* Richard T. Jones as Sergeant II Wade Grey
* Titus Makin as Officer II Jackson West (seasons 1-3)
* Mercedes Mason as Captain Zoe Andersen (season 1)
* Melissa O'Neil as Officer II Lucy Chen
* Afton Williamson as Officer III Talia Bishop (season 1)
* Eric Winter as Sergeant II Tim Bradford
* Mekia Cox as Detective I Nyla Harper (season 2–present)
* Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers (season 3–present; recurring season 1–2)
* Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune (season 4–present; recurring season 3)
* Tru Valentino as Officer II Aaron Thorsen (season 5–present; recurring season 4)
* Lisseth Chavez as Officer Celina Juarez (season 6; recurring season 5)

### *Recurring characters*

* Mircea Monroe as Isabel Bradford (season 1; guest season 5)
* Sara Rue as Nell Forester (seasons 1-2, 4)
* Currie Graham as Ben McRee (seasons 1, 3)
* Demetrius Grosse as Detective Kevin Wolfe (season 1)
* David DeSantos as Detective Elijah Vestri (season 1)
* Zayne Emory as Henry Nolan
* Michael Beach as Commander Percy West (seasons 1, 3)
* Brent Huff as Officer III Quigley Smitty
* Angel Parker as Luna Grey (seasons 1, 3-present)
* Michael Trucco as ADA Sean Del Monte
* Matthew Glave as Oscar Hutchinson
* Sarah Shahi as Jessica Russo (seasons 1–2)
* Harold Perrineau as Detective Nick Armstrong (season 2)
* Ali Larter as Dr. Grace Sawyer (season 2)
* Jasmine Mathews as Rachel Hall (season 2)
* Annie Wersching as Rosalind Dyer (seasons 2–3, 5)
* Brandon Routh as Officer Doug Stanton (season 3)
* Arjay Smith as James Murray (season 3-present)
* Toks Olagundoye as Professor Fiona Ryan (season 3)
* Dylan Conrique as Tamara Colins (season 3–present)
* Camille Guaty as Sandra "La Fiera" De La Cruz (seasons 3-4)
* Brandon Jay McLaren as Elijah Stone (season 4–present)
* Kanoa Goo as ADA Chris Sanford (season 4–present)

## *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 was premiered on January 3, 2021. On May 14, 2021, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season, which was 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 is set to premiere on February 20, 2024.

### *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 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.

## *Release*

### *Broadcast*

*The Rookie* is broadcast in the United States on ABC. 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. Starting in the fifth season, *The Rookie* returned to Tuesday nights.

### *Home media*

The first season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 27, 2019. The first season was released on DVD in Region 4 (Australia) on January 22, 2020. None of the subsequent seasons have been officially released in any physical format.

## *Spin-off*

On February 8, 2022, ABC announced a planned spin-off of the series starring Niecy Nash. It was introduced in a two-episode backdoor pilot during the fourth season. 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. *The Rookie: Feds* was cancelled after one season on November 9, 2023 following the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

## *Reception*

### *Critical response*

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating for *The Rookie* with an average rating of 6.33/10 based on 22 reviews. 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".

## *References*

1. ↑ "ABC Renews 13 Series, Including Freshmen ‘Stumptown’ & ‘Mixed-ish’, For 2020-21 Season", Deadline, May 21, 2020
2. ↑ "ABC Sets 2021 Scripted Series Premiere Dates; ‘The Rookie’ & ‘Call Your Mother’ Join Schedule, *Grey's*-Led Thursday Returns In March, ‘Black-ish’ Back On Tuesday", Deadline, November 19, 2020
3. ↑ "*The Rookie, A Million Little Things* and 3 Other Series Renewed at ABC", TVLine, May 14, 2021
4. ↑ "*The Rookie* Renewed For Season 5 By ABC", Deadline Hollywood, March 30, 2022
5. ↑ "ABC Sets Fall Premiere Dates; Tom McCarthy's New Drama *Alaska Daily* To Follow *Grey's Anatomy*"
6. ↑ "*The Rookie* Renewed for Season 6 By ABC", Deadline Hollywood, April 17, 2023
7. ↑ "ABC Midseason Premiere Dates: 'The Bachelor', '9-1-1', 'Abbott Elementary', 'Grey's Anatomy', More", Deadline Hollywood, November 16, 2023
8. ↑ "‘The Rookie’ Co-Star Afton Williamson Claims She Quit ABC Series Over Racism & Sexual Misconduct On Set", Deadline, August 4, 2019
9. ↑ "The Rookie": Mekia Cox Joins ABC Cop Show As New Series Regular In Season 2, Deadline, October 2, 2019
10. ↑ 'The Rookie' Gets FBI Spinoff Starring Niecy Nash With Two-Episode Backdoor Pilot At ABC, Deadline, October 2, 2019

## *External links*

* Official website
* The Rookie at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
* The Rookie at the Internet Movie Database