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. In April 2025, the series was renewed for an eighth season, which is scheduled to premiere in January 2026.
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 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.[1]
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.[2] 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's, who based the show on his story. Norcross continues to serve in the LAPD and also as executive producer on The Rookie.[3]
Nathan Fillion as Officer Jonathan “John” Nolan: The oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), he is assigned to the Mid-Wilshire Division.[1] 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, 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 Detective Angela Lopez: An LAPD officer, 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 Lieutenant Wade Grey: A sergeant (later lieutenant) 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 Officer Jackson West (seasons 1–3):[4][5] An eager, if somewhat naive, rookie, he is the son of Commander Percy West, head of the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division. The top of his class at the police academy, he is firmly committed to the LAPD and strives to be the best officer he can be, as he wants to maintain his family's traditions. He is shot and killed at the start of the fourth season while trying to protect Lopez from La Fiera.
Mercedes Mason as Captain Zoe Andersen (season 1; guest season 3): Nolan's confident and irreverent commanding officer,[6] 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. She is shot and killed near the end of the first season while protecting Nolan from a vengeful gang leader.
Melissa O'Neil as Sergeant Lucy Chen: An ambitious rookie, she 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. She later qualifies to become an undercover officer and starts dating Tim, and becomes a temporary training officer, and a sergeant afterwards.
O'Neil also stars as Lucy's doppelganger Sava Wu, nicknamed "Juicy" by Tim, in seasons 4-5.
Afton Williamson as Officer Talia Bishop (season 1): A newly promoted training officer, her first assignment is Nolan. Ambitious, she tries hard to make detective and hopes to eventually work her way up to chief of police. She leaves the LAPD between the first and second seasons after information about her past that she withheld is brought to light and threatens to stall her career, and joins the ATF for a fresh start.
Eric Winter as Sergeant Timothy “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 Army staff sergeant and squad leader who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in special operations before joining the LAPD. Tim gives up patrol duties to have a relationship with Lucy, and eventually becomes a sergeant and a member of the elite Metro Division. He later breaks up with Lucy, thinking that she deserves better and that he is not in the right place emotionally to be in a relationship. He is also later removed from Metro due to conducting an unofficial operation, returning to patrol as a sergeant.
Winter also stars as Tim's doppelganger Jake Butler, nicknamed "Dim" by Lucy, in seasons 4–5.
Mekia Cox as Detective Nyla Harper (season 2–present): Nolan's second training officer, a tough, experienced detective, she is leaving behind four years of undercover work so that she can return to patrol work. After training Nolan and Aaron, marrying James Murray, and giving birth to a daughter named Leah, she returns to being a detective and is partnered with Angela 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 Jackson "Jack" and a daughter named Emmy. He later takes a job as an assistant district attorney.
Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune (season 4–present;[7] guest season 3): A firefighter lieutenant, she first appears at Nolan's door in only a towel 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 Officer Aaron Thorsen (seasons 5–6; recurring season 4): A newbie rookie, he 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, and eventually clears his name after nearly being implicated by the actual killer in a second murder. Sometime after completing his rookie training, he transfers to Hollywood Division between the sixth and seventh seasons for a fresh start after being caught up in the scandal caused by corrupt police psychologist Blair London and Monica Stevens.
Lisseth Chavez as Officer Celina Juarez (season 6–present;[8] recurring season 5): Nolan's enthusiastic new rookie,[9] she causes trouble for Nolan, as he believes she is too superstitious. She joined the academy to solve her sister's murder and disappearance. She is close friends with Bailey Nune and Aaron Thorsen. She later completes her rookie training.
Recurring
Mircea Monroe as Isabel Bradford (season 1; guest season 5): Tim Bradford's ex-wife, she is a former undercover narcotics officer who developed a drug addiction as a result of her work. Tim breaks up with her to give her time to recover, and she later reappears in season 5, where Lucy and she go undercover together, having become sober.
Sara Rue as Nell Forester (seasons 1–2; guest season 4, 6): A dispatcher for the LAPD, Tim bribes her 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, he lets Nolan stay in his mansion as a house guest until Nolan moves out. He leaves Los Angeles after being assaulted by a mugger who steals his car.
Sarah Shahi as Jessica Russo (seasons 1–2): A former FBI hostage negotiator, she 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.
Michelle Bernard as Officer DeSantos (season 1-2): A veteran police officer at the LAPD station.
David DeSantos as Elijah Vestri (season 1): A detective who is assigned to Isabel's case.
Zayne Emory as Henry Nolan (seasons 1-3; guest seasons 4, 6): John Nolan's son, he is a freshman in college but drops out to go work for Ben's foundation. He becomes engaged to his girlfriend, Abigail in the second season.[10] In season 3, he is revealed to have a congenital heart condition, tetralogy of Fallot. He reveals in season 7 that he and Abigail have split up.
Michael Beach as Commander Percy West (seasons 1–3; guest season 6): Jackson's father, the commander of Internal Affairs. Oscar Hutchinson accuses him to Jackson of being a dirty cop back in the old days, causing a momentary rift between Jackson and his dad.
Brent Huff as Officer Quigley Smitty: A lazy yet well-intentioned police officer who does the bare minimum. He lives in "Shan-Gri-La," a trailer community parked across the street from Mid-Wilshire. He was the station's union representative for years before being voted out and replaced by Nolan in season 4.
Jasmine Mathews as Rachel Hall (season 2; guest season 7): Lucy Chen's friend from college, she is involved with Tim Bradford before taking a job in New York.
Michael Trucco as Sean Del Monte: 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 to find the bodies of her previous victims, as well as in season 4 onwards. In season 7, he decides to run for District Attorney but drops out after his son's life is threatened.
Kanoa Goo as Chris Sanford (seasons 4-5): An assistant district attorney, and Lucy Chen's ex-boyfriend. He is kidnapped by Rosalind Dyer, has his wrists slit and left to bleed out in Lucy's apartment before being discovered by Lucy and Tim. Lucy later breaks up with him after realizing she doesn't love him.
Angel Parker as Luna Grey (seasons 1, 3-present): Wade Grey's wife and mother of their daughter Dominique[11]
Matthew Glave as Oscar Hutchinson: A prisoner who escapes from a prison bus crash, he is later apprehended by Lopez and Jackson. Oscar eventually helps the precinct officers as an informant on several cases, including former prisoners, helping Nolan and Harper save the warden's life. He later discovers he has a daughter who he ends up donating a kidney to. At the end of season 6, he and Jason Wyler escape from prison together. He spends season 7 on the run.
Harold Perrineau as Detective Nicholas “Nick” Armstrong (season 2; guest season 3): A new night detective recently reassigned to the LAPD Mid-Wilshire Division and a mentor to Nolan. Initially a role model for Nolan, he is later revealed to be a dirty cop working for a crime family. After attempting to paint Nolan as the dirty cop, he is shot dead as part of a cover-up by the crime family he worked for.
Daniel Lissing as Sterling Freeman (season 2; guest season 3): A celebrity actor starring in a popular police procedural show, he briefly becomes Jackson's boyfriend before he is revealed to have been a former Australian criminal named Skipper Young.
Ali Larter as Grace Sawyer (season 2): A doctor at Shaw Memorial Hospital and Nolan's former college girlfriend with whom he briefly reconciles. They end things after she decides to give her marriage another try for her son.
Enver Gjokaj as Donovan Town (seasons 2, 4): Harper's ex-husband, he initially had full custody of their daughter Lila, but later agrees to split custody following Harper's decision to leave undercover work in an effort to get Lila back. He attempts to move to San Francisco with his new fiancee and take Lila with him, before Harper reveals his fiancee's secret past to him, forcing him to end the engagement.
Carsyn Rose as Lila Town (seasons 2, 4): Harper's daughter from her marriage to Donovan.
Madeleine Coghlan as Abigail Tierney (seasons 2–3; guest season 7): Henry Nolan's fiancée, she wishes to become a cop, but discovers she can't because she has a criminal record for arson despite it being as retaliation against her ex for revenge porn. She is revealed to have broken up with Henry in season 7.
Annie Wersching as Rosalind Dyer (seasons 2, 5; guest season 3): A serial killer, she is the nemesis of Detective Armstrong, the officer whose arrest led to her conviction for murder. In season 2, her protégé, Caleb Wright, seduces Lucy Chen in a bar, then later kidnaps her and buries her alive in a barrel before ultimately being rescued by Tim and Nolan. Rosalind later escapes prison in season 5 with the help of her attorney, Beth Veston. Nolan manages to recapture her, but before he can bring her in, her acolyte Jeffrey assassinates her on her orders.
Jeff Pierre as Emmett Lang (season 2): A firefighter who is a friend of Tim Bradford's, he briefly dates Lucy, but ultimately dumps her via text.
Hrach Titizian as Ruben Derian (season 2; guest season 3): A member of the Derian crime family, recruited Detective Armstrong and then later officer Erin Cole, who attended the academy was with Nolan, Lucy, and Jackson, to help him destroy evidence that implicates his brother Serj in the murder of Chris Rios.
Brandon Routh as Officer Douglas "Doug" Stanton (season 3): Jackson West's new training officer after Lopez is promoted to detective, he has questionable ethics and is prone to racial profiling. Him and Jackson butt heads due to Jackson's refusal to accept Doug's blatant racism. After an incident where he watches Jackson get jumped and attacked but does nothing to help, he is fired from Mid-Wilshire after his body cam footage show him watching the incident from afar. He appeals his firing and wins, with Jackson discovering that he was reassigned to the Hollywood division. He attempts to paint Jackson as a bad partner, but is humiliated when Jackson and Sergeant Grey use the body cam footage to expose him for abandoning Jackson.
Arjay Smith as James Murray (season 3–present): A local resident in the neighborhood where Nolan and Harper are assigned to community outreach, Harper and he 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 named Leah together.
Toks Olagundoye as Fiona Ryan (season 3): A professor in ethics and criminal justice, Nolan attends her night classes 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 and orphaned high school student, she steals Lucy's car, but Lucy ultimately decides not to press charges and let's her keep it. Lucy takes her under her wing and tries to help her navigate her situation. They later become roommates after Jackson is killed, before moving out in Season 6. She later begins dating Seth but breaks up with him after he comes clean to her about his lies.
Camille Guaty as Sandra "La Fiera" De La Cruz (season 3; guest season 4): A Guatemalan businesswoman and drug lord, she initially befriends Lopez, referring to her as "Hermana," but later develops a friendly vendetta with Lopez after multiple encounters. After her son Diego is murdered by a rival gang, she kidnaps a pregnant Lopez and flies her back to Guatemala to raise the child as her own, but is shot dead after Harper, Tim, Nolan, and Wesley fly down and rescue Lopez.
Brandon Jay McLaren as Elijah Stone (seasons 4–5): A crime boss who forces Wesley onto his payroll in exchange for information on how to retrieve Lopez from Guatemala. He is later arrested after several encounters with the LAPD.
Flula Borg as Randy Spitz / Skip Tracer Randy (season 4-present): A German bounty hunter and skip tracer, he occasionally works with the LAPD, first with Harper, then later particularly with Nolan. He is over the top and fails to understand personal boundaries.
Steve Kazee as Jason Wyler (season 4, guest seasons 6-7): Bailey's psychologically abusive ex-husband. Shortly after being released from prison, he runs into Bailey and Nolan, revealing that Bailey and him are still technically married. He then paints himself as the victim of harassment in an attempt to ruin Bailey's and Nolan's lives after Bailey confronts and humiliates him in public demanding a divorce and for him to leave her and Nolan alone. He is assassinated by the hitman Malvado after attempting to abduct Bailey in season 7.
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 first introduced as Elijah's new 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, developing her own criminal empire. In season 7, with the help of an accomplice, she steals confidential NSA documents and forces the government to give her immunity.
Danielle Campbell as Blair London (season 6): A psychiatrist for the LAPD, she is assigned to help Aaron Thorsen as well as countless other cops, but is later revealed to be working with Monica.
Deric Augustine as Officer Miles Penn (season 7-present): One of the newest rookies in the LAPD, he spent two years with the Sugar Land Police Department in Texas after being injured out of a football career in college. He is assigned Tim as his training officer, who discovers him living in his car. Since having a home address is required to be on the force, he moves into Smitty's Shan-Gri-La community.[12]
Patrick Keleher as Officer Seth Ridley (season 7): One of the newest rookies in the LAPD, he chose the job after his high school girlfriend allegedly died. He is assigned Lucy as his training officer, who subsequently catches him in several lies, including ones about his girlfriend's death and having cancer, which he claims has returned. After refusing to take a blood test to confirm his diagnosis, he is fired. Later, he successfully sues the city and returns to the FTO program. Shortly thereafter, he saves Nolan from a gunshot at the cost of his leg. He briefly dates Tamara, but she breaks up with him after finally coming clean on all his lies in an effort to do better.
Zander Hawley as Rodge Bronson (season 7; guest seasons 5, 6): A musician, Nolan runs into him while investigating a call. Rodge is playing in his garage with his band and performs a song he later calls "Daddy Cop" for Nolan, which Nolan immediately despises. He begins dating Celina in season 7, which Nolan learns after he calls him out as "the OG Daddy Cop" before a performance, much to Nolan's horror. He later reveals to Celina that he has to go on a tour and leaves LA.
Notable guests
Danny Nucci as Sanford Motta: An arrogant major assault crimes detective who looks down on rookies[13]
Shawn Christian as Jeremy Hawke: Nolan's former training officer at the academy who goes rogue[14]
Joelle Carter as Megan Mitchell: Jeremy's ex-wife who is fighting with him over custody of their son Logan[14]
Jose Pablo Cantillo as Franco DeSantis: A drug dealer who steals money from a drug bust after being tipped off[17]
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[18]
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[19]
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[20]
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[21]
Jon Huertas as Alejandro Mejia / Cesar Ojeda: An undercover DHS agent who is compromised and nearly killed by two assailants seeking information from him[21]
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.[22]
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.[23]
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[24]
Pete Davidson as Pete Nolan: John Nolan's half-brother whom he meets following their father's death[25]
Seth Green as Jordan Neil: A man who steals Nolan's identity, causing his credit score to go down[26]
Greg Grunberg as Larry "Badger" 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
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, a lifeguard 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
Tamala Jones as Yvonne Thorsen: Aaron Thorsen's mother, who is trying to publicize his life as a police officer
Thomas Dekker as Jeffrey Boyle / Eli Reynolds, an acolyte of Rosalind Dyer
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.[28] She is also the oldest NAT ever at Quantico.
Britt Robertson as Laura Stensen, Simone Clark's FBI colleague.
Felix Solis as Matthew "Matt" Garza, the FBI Special Agent in Charge and leader of Simone Clark's team.
Kevin Zegers as Brendan Acres, Simone Clark's friend and FBI colleague.
Devika Bhise as Antoinette Benneteau, an FBI agent and Brendan's partner
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,[1] and premiered on October 16, 2018.[29] On November 5, 2018, The Rookie was picked up for full season of 20 episodes.[30] On May 10, 2019, ABC renewed the series for a second season which premiered on September 29, 2019.[31][32] On October 28, 2019, the series received a full season order of 20 episodes for the second season.[33]
On May 21, 2020, ABC renewed the series for a third season which premiered on January 3, 2021.[34][35] On May 14, 2021, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 26, 2021.[36][37] On March 30, 2022, ABC renewed the series for a fifth season which premiered on September 25, 2022.[38][39] On April 17, 2023, ABC renewed the series for a sixth season which premiered on February 20, 2024.[40][41] On February 17, 2024, executive producer and showrunner Alexi Hawley confirmed in an interview with TVLine that the sixth season would contain ten episodes.[42] On April 15, 2024, ABC renewed the series for a seventh season, which premiered on January 7, 2025.[43][44] On April 3, 2025, ABC renewed the series for an eighth season.[45]
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.[50] On October 2, 2019, Mekia Cox joined the cast as a new series regular, Nyla Harper, for the second season.[51]
On September 27, 2022, it was announced that Makin Jr would not be returning to the show due to his personal conviction that the show's portrayal of a Black police officer did not adequately address the realities of police brutality and racial injustice, particularly in the wake of the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor killings. [52][53] On November 1, 2021, Jenna Dewan was upped to regular for season 4.[54] On July 21, 2022, Tru Valentino joined the main cast for season 5. [55] On August 8, 2024 it was confirmed his exit for season 7 due creative reasons.[56]
On December 14, 2023, Lisseth Chavez was promoted to regular for season 6. [57] On April 22, 2025, it was announced that Deric Augustine will be upped to regular for season 8.[58]
Filming
In January 2018, Liz Friedlander signed on to direct and executive produce the pilot.[59] Production on the pilot began on March 7, 2018,[60] with filming taking place in Los Angeles, Oxnard, Burbank and New York City.[61] 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.[62] 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.[63] Prior to the ban, the series occasionally used quarter or half rounds on large outdoor set pieces.[64]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.[65]
In 2025 the show filmed scenes in Prague in the Czech Republic for the premiere of season 8.[66]
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."[67] 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.[68]
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.[69] 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.[70]
Release
Broadcast
The Rookie is broadcast in the United States on ABC and repeats are syndicated across 95% of the country.[71] 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.[72] As of April 1, 2025, the first 5 seasons of The Rookie were made available for streaming on Disney+ via the Star content hub in Australia and New Zealand. It is also streaming on Netflix in most regions and on Paramount+, Crave and Netflix in Canada.[73]
Home media
The first season was released on DVD in Region1 on August27, 2019,[74] and in Region4 (Australia) on January22, 2020.[75]
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."[76]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[77]
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.[98] On March 9, 2022, Kat Foster and Felix Solis joined the cast of the spin-off.[99] Also that month, Frankie Faison joined the cast.[28] On May 13, 2022, ABC gave a series order under the title The Rookie: Feds.[100] It was then reported that the series had undergone creative tweaks that cut Foster's character, Special Agent Casey Fox.[101] In June 2022, Britt Robertson, Kevin Zegers and James Lesure joined the cast as series regulars.[102][103][104]The Rookie: Feds aired from September 27, 2022, to May 2, 2023.[39] It was canceled on November 9, 2023, after one season as a consequence of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.[105]
On December 5, 2024, it was reported that a second spin-off series was in development.[106] 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".[107] Created by Hawley, Fillion, Norcross, and Chapman would serve as executive producers. The series will be co-produced by Lionsgate Television and 20th Television.[108]
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