The Rookie (TV series)

This article is about the 2018 drama series. For the 1972 drama series, see The Rookies. For the reality series, see Rookies (TV series).

For other uses, see Rookie (disambiguation).

The Rookie
File:The Rookie Logo.png
Genre	Police procedural Comedy-drama
Created by	Alexi Hawley
Starring	Nathan Fillion Alyssa Diaz Richard T. Jones Titus Makin Jr. Mercedes Mason Melissa O'Neil Afton Williamson Eric Winter Mekia Cox
Composer	Jordan Gagne
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	36 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Alexi Hawley Nathan Fillion Mark Gordon Nicholas Pepper Michelle Chapman Jon Steinberg Liz Friedlander Bill Norcross
Producer	Michele Greco
Production location	Los Angeles, California
Cinematography	Doug Emmett
Editors	C. Chi-Yoon Chung Emily E. Greene
Running time	43 minutes
Production companies	ABC Studios Entertainment One Perfectman Pictures
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16) – present (present)

The Rookie is an American police procedural comedy-drama television series created for ABC by Alexi Hawley. The series follows John Nolan, a man in his forties, who becomes the oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department. The series is produced by ABC Studios and Entertainment One.

The series stars Nathan Fillion, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Titus Makin Jr., Mercedes Mason, Melissa O'Neil, Afton Williamson, Mekia Cox and Eric Winter. In October 2017, The Rookie received a series order from ABC, and premiered on October 16, 2018. In November 2018, The Rookie was picked up for a full season of 20 episodes. In May 2019, ABC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on September 29, 2019. In October 2019, ABC issued a full season order of 20 episodes for the second season.

Premise

The series follows John Nolan, a forty-five-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. After graduating from the Police Academy as the oldest rookie on the force, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, unpredictable nature of his job and is determined to make it in his new career despite the challenges.

Series lead Nathan Fillion stated during an interview 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 Bill Norcross, who continues to serve in the LAPD and also as executive producer on The Rookie.

Cast and characters

Main

• Nathan Fillion as John Nolan: The oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department, he is assigned to Wilshire Division. He studied law at Pennsylvania State University and then worked in the construction sector. At the age of 45, Nolan closed his construction company in Pennsylvania and moved out west to become a police officer. He is divorced with a 19-year-old son, Henry, who is a freshman in college. While at the Police Academy, Nolan started a relationship with fellow cadet Lucy Chen, who is 17 years his junior, which departmental policy forces them to end.
• Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez: An LAPD training officer on the cusp of making detective-trainee, a situation which is threatened when West is assigned to her. She also gives West a hard time. She is engaged to defense attorney Wesley Evers.
• Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey: A sergeant and the watch commander of Mid-Wilshire station who is initially against Nolan being a rookie because he feels that he is just having a midlife crisis and that being a police officer is not his true calling. Sergeant Grey served in the United States Army prior to joining the LAPD. He has a daughter who is planning to go to college in the fall.
• Titus Makin Jr. as Jackson West: An eager rookie officer and the son of Commander West, head of the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division.
• Mercedes Mason as Zoe Andersen (season 1): Nolan's confident and irreverent commanding officer, Captain Andersen was a former Marine 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 rose up the ranks very quickly to the point where some of her officers saw her more as a boss than a fellow officer. Unlike Grey, she took Nolan under her wing and believed his life experiences would benefit the station. She was killed late in the first season while protecting Nolan from an attempt on his life.
• Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen: An ambitious rookie cop who struggles to prove herself to Tim Bradford, her training officer. She is 28 years old and her parents are psychologists. She briefly had a romantic relationship with Nolan, despite it being against the rules.
• Afton Williamson as Talia Bishop (season 1): A newly promoted training officer whose first assignment was Nolan. Throughout the first season, she worked hard to make detective and work her way up to chief of police. Near the end of the first season, Bishop was revealed to have lied about having an ex-con foster brother in order to get into the police academy. She does not return for the second season, as she has moved on to U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rather than face a possibly stalled career in the LAPD.
• Eric Winter as Tim Bradford: An overbearing training officer. He is assigned Chen as a rookie and gives her a hard time. He still has feelings for his estranged ex-wife, Isabel. Later in the first season, he breaks off his relationship with Isabel and starts dating social services agent Rachel Hall in the second season after losing a bet to Chen.
• Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper (season 2): Nolan's new training officer, a detective coming off of four years of undercover work who is trying to return to her patrol roots. She is also fighting with her ex-husband for joint custody of their daughter.

Recurring

• Mircea Monroe as Isabel Bradford (season 1): Tim Bradford's ex-wife, a former undercover narcotics officer who is now a drug addict
• Danny Nucci as Sanford Motta (season 1): An arrogant major assault crimes detective who looks down on rookies
• Sara Rue as Nell Forester: A dispatcher for the LAPD who Bradford bribes in order to get the best calls
• Currie Graham as Ben McRee (season 1): Nolan's friend who lets Nolan stay in his mansion as a house guest
• 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
• Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers: A defense lawyer with whom Lopez initially clashes but then starts dating
• Zayne Emory as Henry Nolan: John Nolan's son who is a freshman in college. He becomes engaged in the second season.
• Michael Beach as Percy West: Jackson's father and the commander of Internal Affairs
• Brent Huff as Officer Smitty: A lazy training officer who lives in a trailer park across the street from the Mid-Wilshire station. He is usually only seen at roll call, and he filled in for Lopez in one episode when she rode with Nolan.
• Sarah Shahi as Jessica Russo: A former FBI hostage negotiator who now runs her own security firm and is a published author. She dated Nolan but later broke up with him in "Safety"
• Harold Perrineau as Nick Armstrong (season 2): A new night detective who assists the LAPD Mid-Wilshire Division. Nolan is eager to learn from him
• Ali Larter as Grace Sawyer (season 2): A doctor at Shaw Memorial Hospital. She and Nolan dated in college, but he broke up with her after discovering that Sarah (who would later become his wife) was pregnant with his son Henry
• Jasmine Mathews as Rachel Hall (season 2): A social services agent who Bradford begins dating after Chen sets them up on a date as part of a bet

Notable guests

• Shawn Christian as Jeremy Hawke: Nolan's former training officer at the Academy who goes rogue
• Joelle Carter as Megan Mitchell: Hawke'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
• Angel Parker as Luna Grey: Wade Grey's wife and mother of their daughter Dominique
• 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, Bishop, and Russo
• Matthew Glave as Oscar Hutchinson: A prisoner who escapes from the prison bus crash but is later apprehended by Lopez and West. He later claims that West's father Percy was a dirty cop. He returns in the season 2 episode "Fallout", when he has a scheduled court hearing and collaborates with another prisoner to escape the Fallout shelter during the bomb threat, but his escape attempt fails when West apprehends him once again.
• Mario Lopez as himself: A celebrity pulled over by Bradford and Chen 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 placed under the protective detail of Bradford and Nolan
• Michael Trucco as Sean Delmonte: An assistant district attorney
• 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 got stuck in a tree
• Stephen Lang as Williams: The LAPD chief of police
• Felicia Day as Dr. Morgan: A CDC task-force specialist specializing 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 Bradford
• 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
• Enver Gjokaj as Donovan: Nyla Harper's ex-husband. Harper is fighting with him over joint custody of their daughter Lila
• Carsyn Rose as Lila: Nyla Harper's daughter
• Madeleine Coghlan as Abigail: Henry Nolan's fiancée
• Eric Weddle as himself: appeared during a Los Angeles Rams junior football camp. Was a high school football adversary of Bradford'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 also has a crush on Nell Forester
• Daniel Lissing as Sterling Freeman: The star of a procedural drama that Lopez and West are assigned by Grey to help after they meet him during a street chase. He later begins dating West.
• Annie Wersching as Rosalind Dyer: A serial killer who assists the LAPD in finding unrecovered bodies as part of a plea deal
• Michael Cassidy as Caleb Wright: A man whom Chen meets at a bar, who later turns out to be a serial killer and Rosalind Dyer's associate
• Pete Davidson as Pete Nolan: Nolan's half-brother who he meets following his father's death
• Seth Green as Jordan Neil: A man who stole Nolan's identity causing his credit score to go down
• Roselyn Sánchez as Valerie Castillo: An ambitious reporter.

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	20		October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16)	April 16, 2019 (2019-04-16)
2	20		September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)	May 10, 2020 (2020-05-10)

Season 1 (2018–19)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Liz Friedlander	Alexi Hawley	October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16)	101	5.43
John Nolan is a 45-year-old divorcé who, after witnessing (and foiling) a bank robbery in his small town, packs up his entire life to move to Los Angeles and becomes a cop. His assignment to the force is met with skepticism from his fellow officers, particularly his watch commander, Sergeant Wade Grey, and his training officer Talia Bishop. Nolan's first few days on the job are marked by a domestic dispute that quickly escalates out of hand (during which Nolan witnesses his first death), an unbalanced father who leaves his child in a locked car on a hot day, and an escaped felon who quickly tests Nolan in ways he never expected. Also joining Nolan as rookie officers are Jackson West, son of a high-ranking LAPD officer and eager to live up to the family legacy, and Lucy Chen, who became a cop against the wishes of her therapist parents and is carrying on a secret affair with Nolan despite the risk it poses to her career. Grey informs Nolan that he will do everything in his power to discourage him from continuing to serve, as he fears that Nolan's inexperience and age will endanger the lives of his officers. Nolan tells Grey that he believes being a cop might be his calling. Grey responds that if that is true, nothing Grey puts Nolan through will deter him.
2	2	"Crash Course"	Adam Davidson	Alexi Hawley	October 23, 2018 (2018-10-23)	102	4.54
Nolan persuades a woman not to commit suicide. Jackson is questioned as to why he didn't fire his weapon, but Lopez covers for him. She then forces him to handle the arrest of a man on PCP, which he pulls off. Nolan and Bishop arrest an addict for possession of drugs, but then learn that she stabbed a teenager dead in an argument. Chen is stuck with a lazy new training officer while Tim recovers, and winds up arresting a man for shoplifting. Nolan continues to face difficulties in navigating between his civilian instincts and how they affect his actions as a cop. Jackson is able to subdue a suspect without assistance. Nolan is assigned a rusty old car as punishment for damaging his vehicle. A kidnapping victim is rescued, and Nolan and Bishop obtain a lead on the kidnapper. While apprehending him, Bishop stops Nolan from beating the suspect in a rage. Captain Anderson thanks him for his success, but reminds him that it is not his job to punish criminals. Chen finds out that Tim intentionally got her assigned to a poor officer to test her commitment. Bishop is able to get Nolan a new vehicle, which he nearly crashes on his first drive.
3	3	"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"	Greg Beeman	Liz Alper & Ally Seibert	October 30, 2018 (2018-10-30)	103	4.53
Nolan and Bishop chase a group of thieves and Nolan loses a bag of stolen money when a street performer runs off with it. The precinct learns that the thieves are part of a gang who have pulled off a string of heists and they begin searching for the remaining gang members. Meanwhile, Chen helps Bradford as he readjusts to being back on duty while also trying to help his drug addicted wife, who reveals to Chen she was once a narcotics cop. Elsewhere, an arrest of a former college athlete causes West and Lopez to talk about alternative careers to police work since Lopez still doubts West's ability to handle the job.
4	4	"The Switch"	Toa Fraser	Vincent Angell	November 13, 2018 (2018-11-13)	104	4.01
Sgt. Grey tests the rookies by assigning them new TOs, partnering Nolan with Lopez, West with Bradford and Chen with Bishop. He tasks the rookies with gaining insight into their new TOs. Lopez takes Nolan to court and Nolan ends up chasing an escaped prisoner, leading to a potentially career-making bust for the pair. Bradford, however, learns about West's struggles when he freezes during a shootout. Bradford takes West to meet an agoraphobe who gives West advice on facing his fears. Meanwhile, Chen defends her relationship with Nolan to Bishop during their patrol, prompting Nolan and Chen to have a talk about their relationship.
5	5	"The Roundup"	Nelson McCormick	Marcus Black	November 20, 2018 (2018-11-20)	106	4.10
Nolan struggles to deal with his breakup with Chen just as the TOs start an annual competition to see who can get the most arrests in a single shift. Bradford plays to win, even bribing a dispatcher to get the best calls, which worries Chen. Meanwhile, West dives headfirst into the competition to prove himself while Nolan and Bishop, who is refusing to play, find themselves dealing with a mob-connected banker.
6	6	"The Hawke"	Timothy Busfield	Fredrick Kotto	November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27)	105	4.38
Upon learning that his former academy instructor, Jeremy Hawke, has fallen on hard times, Nolan offers to help him out. Hawke politely declines but, the next morning, Lopez and West answer a call from Hawke's estranged wife. She claims Hawke has become unstable and dangerous. Nolan and Bishop get involved in the pursuit of Hawke, which quickly escalates. Then, they discover Hawke has his son with him, who is willingly participating with his father's fugitive activities. Meanwhile, West and Lopez deal with a shooting victim and his father, both of whom they suspect aren't telling them the whole truth and Bradford tries to teach Chen to anticipate the behavior of criminals.
7	7	"The Ride Along"	Cherie Nowlan	Robert Bella	December 4, 2018 (2018-12-04)	107	4.20
Nolan and Bishop are assigned Hollywood director Rupert Payne, of whom Nolan is a fan, for a ride along to research his new film. Despite orders to keep him away from any dangerous situations, Payne observes Nolan and Bishop deescalate a situation involving a mentally impaired young man from a troubled neighborhood, which leads to a dangerous situation when Rupert tries to help the young man's family. Meanwhile, West informs Lopez that she is being considered for detective, which prompts Lopez to attempt leveraging smaller criminals into giving up a major player, which ultimately backfires. Elsewhere, Bradford's wife is arrested in a drug bust, forcing Bradford to choose, once and for all, between his devotion to his wife and his duty as a cop.
8	8	"Time of Death"	Mike Goi	Brynn Malone	December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11)	108	4.27
While in pursuit of a robber, Nolan fatally shoots him in self defense. The episode centers on the processing of this event. Bradford's wife is returning to be a CI. While trying to get evidence against a major drug trafficker, the connection to her wire is lost and Bishop and Bradford find the camera and blood upon searching the apartment. Bradford's wife seems to have been taken by the drug traffickers. Chen gives Nolan a ride home from the precinct and they sleep together. While Chen is in the shower, the brother of the robber attacks Nolan. The episode ends with Nolan's attacker holding a gun on Nolan and a shot fired off camera.
9	9	"Standoff"	John Terlesky	Alexi Hawley	January 8, 2019 (2019-01-08)	109	3.95
Nolan manages to fight off his attacker, throwing him through the window and calling for backup. Meanwhile, Tim, Angela, and Talia find Isabel. She has been shot in the head but will survive. Nolan lies repeatedly to Commander West about his affair with Lucy. Nolan is assigned to desk duty during the investigation of his attack. Tim, Lucy, Jackson, Angela, and Talia go to an apartment building to find Vance, the drug dealer who shot Isabel and left her for dead. Things go sideways and they end up in a shootout with Vance and his men. Lucy helps deliver Vance's girlfriend's baby while Jackson is able to turn off the power to a frequency jammer, so Talia can call for backup. Vance and his men break into the apartment and fight with Tim and Lucy. The other officers, including Nolan, Commander West, and the SWAT team arrive and Vance and his men are arrested. Lucy tells Nolan not to tell the truth about what really happened the previous night. Nolan reports to Andersen and Commander West and the latter informs him that he has been cleared of all charges and can return to the police force immediately.
10	10	"Flesh and Blood"	Jessica Yu	Inda Craig-Galvan	January 15, 2019 (2019-01-15)	110	3.83
Henry Nolan comes to visit his dad, who is surprised to learn that Jackson and Lucy already know Henry through social media. At morning roll call, Andersen announces she will ride along with Lucy, while Grey will partner with Nolan, and Tim and Talia will partner with each other. Grey's daughter Dominique also shows up unexpectedly for an internship. Henry and Dominique bond over their concern over their dads' work, and Tim and Talia clash over procedure, as each is used to being the boss of their rookie. The episode ends with Nolan and his son talking about Nolan's job and how they would use a code word if Nolan was ever in trouble.
11	11	"Redwood"	Sylvain White	Ally Seibert & Liz Alper	January 22, 2019 (2019-01-22)	111	3.84
The officers are forced to come in to work on their day off, as the Vice President has made an unexpected visit to Los Angeles. Nolan and Bishop stop a man who was a threat to the Vice President after they find a flare gun in his underwear. Chen also gets pricked by a used needle while trying to break up a fight between two homeless women, and is forced to go to the hospital. Bradford also tries to comfort her as she could have various diseases as a result of getting injected. Meanwhile, Lopez and West try to break up protestors, and tell people who have obscene banners to take them down. Nolan and Bishop also engage in a shootout with several robbery suspects. When Lopez and West defy Agent Danvers' orders and decide to go help Bishop and Nolan, Grey defends them, saying it was the right thing to do. During the episode, West has trouble focusing on the job and nearly loses his cool with a man who left his elderly mother in handcuffs. At the end of the episode, West waits with Chen as she gets good news about her diagnosis. West also tells Chen about his family problems, and Nolan sells his house in Pennsylvania after having a dilemma about what to do about it.
12	12	"Heartbreak"	Carol Banker	Vincent Angell	February 12, 2019 (2019-02-12)	113	3.64
The evening before Valentine's Day, the rookies are on a night out in the same location as Grey and his wife. When the rookies have to leave, Nolan gets in trouble with a man harassing a woman at the bar, ruining Grey's evening. On Valentine's Day, Bradford takes a day off to meet up with his wife, who is in rehab. They end up breaking off their relationship, with Bradford telling her that she'll never move past who she was as an addict if they remain together. Nolan and Bishop arrive at a car crash where Nolan saves the driver's life. She lost her husband a year ago and tries everything to get together with Nolan, even cozying up to Ben to get close to Nolan. Lopez and West interrogate an alleged assault victim who claims to suffer from dementia, but turns out to be a dangerous criminal. West hits it off with a male nurse. Lopez searches Evers' smartphone, assuming he cheats on her, but in the end, it turns out to be different than what she had thought. Nolan arranges a party for his first Valentine's Day in a long time without company and is surprised when Officer Bishop attends.
13	13	"Caught Stealing"	Omar Madha	David Radcliff	February 19, 2019 (2019-02-19)	112	3.54
Bishop and Nolan respond to a car accident and find the victim has been stabbed, but he escapes from the ambulance and flees the scene. To their surprise, he turns up at the station and is revealed to be an undercover officer investigating a drug cartel, which plans to transfer one million dollars that night. The LAPD raids the home before the transfer, and the rookies are put in charge of the scene until the money counters arrive. The counters finish, and $250,000 is missing. The rookies are interrogated, polygraphed and cleared, but still suspended. Chen is surrounded and attacked by members of the cartel and forced to flee. Nolan and West are on the phone with Chen during the attack, and notify the LAPD before rushing to her aid. Meanwhile, the cartel boss and his men catch up to Chen and demand to know where she hid the missing money – Chen realizes that the cartel boss must have hidden the money himself, recognizing his boots as belonging to the same man she saw leaving the house before the raid with a large duffel bag. The boss shoots his men, but after a scuffle is subdued by Chen. Nolan agrees to pay Ben what he can for his apartment on a monthly basis to ensure that he is not accepting goods or services for free, which would imperil his status as a police officer.
14	14	"Plain Clothes Day"	Mike Goi	Terence Paul Winter	February 26, 2019 (2019-02-26)	114	3.89
The rookies undergo Plain Clothes Day, where their training officers ride along out of uniform and do not assist in any capacity. West is eager to break his father's records but gets stuck working behind a desk. Chen is confident that she can handle herself but Bradford is intent to rattle her as much as possible, causing her to make a mistake that would threaten her career. Nolan, meanwhile, works hard to prove himself as he announces his intent to make detective within five years.
15	15	"Manhunt"	Bill Johnson	Robert Bella	March 5, 2019 (2019-03-05)	115	4.51
A prisoner transport crashes while on the road and several violent criminals are on the loose in suburban Los Angeles. The LAPD is able to quickly recapture all but two, a young gang member and a criminal investment banker, and starts a major manhunt to apprehend them before they can flee the city.
16	16	"Greenlight"	Valerie Weiss	Brynn Malone	March 19, 2019 (2019-03-19)	116	4.24
Internal Affairs is conducting random integrity tests at the precinct to ensure officers are following procedure. During an arrest of Nolan's, the shoulder strap on an unruly lady's dress accidentally breaks. Assuming she's with IA when she asks Nolan for his badge number, he complies. Later that evening, a gunman with a fully automatic firearm attempts to kill Nolan, who learns a hit has been put on his life by the unruly lady's boyfriend Cole, whose father is the leader of a violent white supremacist gang. After some soul-searching, Nolan returns to work the next morning and is partnered with Captain Andersen. Officers seize millions of the gang's assets, and Sergeant Grey visits the imprisoned gang leader to call off the hit on Nolan. But while on patrol, Nolan and Andersen are captured by Cole when responding to a false home burglary call he orchestrated. Cole later kicks a handcuffed and seated Andersen into the backyard pool, but she's able to free herself and kills two gang members, saving Nolan. Unfortunately, during the shootout, a fleeing Cole fatally shoots Andersen through her neck. The officers salute Andersen. Later, Grey revisits the gang leader and demands he hand over his son. At the end, an ambush is set, and Cole is arrested by Nolan.
17	17	"The Shake Up"	Steve Robin	Alexi Hawley	March 26, 2019 (2019-03-26)	117	4.24
Jessica arranges for Nolan to be put on a protective detail for a former border patrol guard who became a human trafficker, accompanied by Bradford. Grey struggles with the orders issued by the new captain, while West deals with relationship issues. Chen and Bishop save a young man from a brutal exorcism performed by his mother, but Chen confronts her father, a therapist whose arm was broken by a patient. An earthquake rocks the city, leaving Grey to try and coordinate the city's response while Nolan and Bradford are attacked at the safehouse.
18	18	"Homefront"	April Mullen	Bill Rinier & Natalie Callaghan	April 2, 2019 (2019-04-02)	118	3.91
A detective is investigated and arrested by Internal Affairs. Also, Nolan comes under fire after a man claims Nolan used excessive force and inflicted an injury.
19	19	"The Checklist"	John Fortenberry	Elizabeth Davis Beall & Fredrick Kotto	April 9, 2019 (2019-04-09)	119	3.63
A few days before the rookies' final exam, Bradford and Lopez reveal that Lucy and Jackson still have seven and four types of crime to witness, respectively, and must do so in the next 48 hours. Since Nolan has no outstanding crimes, he is assigned to desk duty while Talia goes before Internal Affairs, but he asks to work with Wolfe instead. While on the streets, Jackson and Lucy come across Ben, who was the latest victim of a car theft ring. Nolan ends up helping to catch the thieves, and tries to plead Talia's case in front of IA. The episode ends with Talia being offered to become a mole for IA, and Nolan telling Ben both about the trauma he suffered after the bank robbery seen in the Pilot episode, and how he got over it.
20	20	"Free Fall"	Mike Goi	Alexi Hawley	April 16, 2019 (2019-04-16)	120	4.06
On the day of an important rookie exam, an isolated terrorist cell plot to use a weaponized virus threatens to derail the rookies' advancement as well as put strain on Nolan's personal relationships. While responding to the threat, Bradford may be infected with the virus, while Jessica makes a questionable shooting on a surrendering terrorist.

Season 2 (2019–20)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
21	1	"Impact"	Mike Goi	Alexi Hawley	September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)	201	4.11
Bradford fights for his life as the rest of the team deals with the aftermath of the attack on Los Angeles. Bradford survives, and the team helps to subdue a third terrorist from the previous attack. Two weeks later, Nolan has moved into a new home, and the rookies learn the scores of their mid term exams. They all pass, but West is upset with his score. The team learns of a plan involving fake police officers after Nolan and Grey witness a robbery at a police uniform store. They later find one of the robbers killed after he was burned alive. A clerk at the criminal court house is abducted, and Nolan helps to save her life after subduing a fake police officer. Bradford, Chen, Lopez, and West also arrest the other fake cops following a shootout. West is demoted by Grey, as Grey is disappointed in West's speech that he had given to a group of cadets earlier. As a result, West cannot wear short sleeves until Grey can trust him again.
22	2	"The Night General"	Rob Bowman	Fredrick Kotto	October 6, 2019 (2019-10-06)	202	3.83
Nolan is assigned as partner to new detective Nick Armstrong, but their investigation into a recent murder leads to an unexpected reunion with an old love interest. Chen is also still upset at Bradford because he will not allow her to wear short sleeves even though she passed the mid term exam. Meanwhile, the father of the murder victim kills one of the men who murdered his son, and nearly kills the other suspect as well by placing him in a concrete mold, before Nolan and Armstrong manage to save him. Unfortunately, the father commits suicide by hanging himself from a metal cable in a warehouse despite Nolan attempts to persuade him not to.
23	3	"The Bet"	Barbara Brown	Corey Miller	October 13, 2019 (2019-10-13)	203	3.60
Nolan tries to navigate his relationship with Russo and he builds a rapport with Grace while investigating a criminal case involving a homeland security agent with Lopez. West's landlord is also arrested and he is evicted from his apartment. West is assigned to Officer Smitty for the day and he struggles to deal with the laid back Smitty. Chen also sets up Bradford on a date with Rachel Hall, a social services agent and a friend of Chen's from college, as a part of a bet. Chen later discovers that Bradford and Hall are now dating, meaning that she has won the bet and can go back to wearing short sleeves. West attempts to move into Smitty's trailer park as he doesn't have a place to live. However, Chen learns of his predicament, and she allows him to move into her apartment.
24	4	"Warriors and Guardians"	Lisa Demaine	Brynn Malone	October 20, 2019 (2019-10-20)	204	3.76
Nolan gets introduced to a new training officer, Nyla Harper, and he struggles to understand Harper's extreme police tactics. Bradford also struggles to find a birthday gift for Rachel and Officer Lopez navigates a case that triggers a personal memory. In addition, the team helps to take down a cartel in a raid, and Harper confronts a drug dealer from her past life as an undercover detective.
25	5	"Tough Love"	Rachel Feldman	Vincent Angell	October 27, 2019 (2019-10-27)	205	3.24
Officer Chen's mother comes to stay with her after having an argument with Chen's father, frustrating Chen. Also, Officer Nolan deals with surprising news that his son Henry is now engaged. The rookies also develop their first confidential informants with Nolan and Harper helping to save several women from a cartel, Bradford and Chen dealing with a young woman who is selling her step mother's things to a pawn shop out of revenge, and Lopez and West flipping an informant from an FBI special agent. This impresses Sgt. Grey and he finally allows West to wear short sleeves.
26	6	"Fallout"	Bill Johnson	Robert Bella	November 3, 2019 (2019-11-03)	206	3.50
The officers deal with an impending missile attack and also deal with their own disasters. Nolan attends a probationary court hearing, and he, Russo, and Evers help calm people down during the threat. They all hide in a fallout shelter, and Nolan and Russo help subdue two prisoners that attempt to escape. Harper picks up her daughter from school, and has Rachel watch her at the station. Bradford and Chen also help a store owner deal with looters and Lopez and West help save several people who are preparing to jump off of a building. Harper's ex-husband is furious at her for picking up their daughter and wants her arrested, but Nolan helps convince him that she has changed for the better. Evers is also stabbed by one of the prisoners during the escape attempt and is hospitalized, but he survives his injuries.
27	7	"Safety"	Sylvain White	Terence Paul Winter	November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10)	207	3.73
The relationship between Nolan and Russo gets a lot more complicated after she delivers some surprising news. Nolan also assists Grace at the hospital at a meeting for expectant mothers, where he helps to subdue the unruly boyfriend of one of the women. Lopez is on temporary leave from the force following Evers's stabbing, and she takes a job in private security escorting a high profile businessman. Officers Bradford and West also help out the Watts Rams as volunteer coaches, and they help rescue the mother of one of the teams star players from several armed kidnappers. Chen and Harper are also assigned to one another, and have several disagreements before they work together to subdue a serial bomber. Nolan and Russo break up at the end of the episode as Nolan isn't ready to have more kids of his own.
28	8	"Clean Cut"	Toa Fraser	Mary Trahan	November 17, 2019 (2019-11-17)	208	3.61
Nolan kicks off his birthday by babysitting a crime scene at a law office. He meets Ellroy Basso, a professional cleaner, and they have to evade two criminals when they return to the scene. Meanwhile, Officer Bradford is involved in an accident when he rear ends a woman while on patrol. Officer West is also exposed to a substance during a traffic stop and begins to act like he is on drugs. Sgt. Grey also rides patrol with Officer Harper after she requests an early annual evaluation. In the end, it is revealed the boyfriend of the woman Bradford hit is intentionally scamming people to earn money by disconnecting the brake lights on the woman's car. Bradford and Chen also thwart a potential murder that the woman's boyfriend is trying to commit. West is evaluated at the hospital but his exposure to the substance is not as serious as initially feared, allowing both Bradford and West to receive a special award from the deputy chief.
29	9	"Breaking Point"	Leslie Libman	Alexi Hawley & Corey Miller	December 1, 2019 (2019-12-01)	209	3.36
Officer Nolan's trust is tested when he tries to help the previous owner of his home reconnect with his family. Nolan later has to subdue and arrest him when he breaks in in the middle of the night. Meanwhile, Officer Harper has finally earned an overnight visit with her daughter that is put into jeopardy when her past undercover life resurfaces again. Nolan also has to go undercover in order to save Harper's life. Also, Bradford and Chen deal with a murder, Wesley struggles with PTSD from when he was stabbed, and Lopez and West assist the stars of a police drama by showing them proper LAPD procedure.
30	10	"The Dark Side"	Bill Roe	Alexi Hawley	December 8, 2019 (2019-12-08)	210	3.70
The department is tasked with assisting convicted serial killer Rosalind Dyer to find the remains of 3 of her victims in exchange for commuting her death sentence to life in prison. While on the way to her gravesites, the team is forced to stop a man from killing her, and they discover new bodies in Dyer's gravesites. Nolan talks to Dyer about the possibility of there being a third victim, as two bodies were found along with Dyer's original kills, having been killed by a different serial killer. Dyer refuses to help them, and the team is forced to find the new victim on their own. Nolan and Harper manage to find the third victim alive but the killer manages to escape after attempting to drown Nolan in a storm drain. The episode ends with Chen being drugged and forced into the back of a car by her date at a bar.
31	11	"Day of Death"	David McWhirter	Brynn Malone & Fredrick Kotto	February 23, 2020 (2020-02-23)	211	4.92
Chen awakes after being drugged by her date, tattooed by him with her "day of death". The station works to find Chen after they all realize they haven't seen her in 13 hours. It is revealed that her date, Caleb Wright is the protégé of serial killer Rosalind Dyer. Caleb orders Chen to get in a barrel at gunpoint, which he proceeds to bury in the middle of the desert. As the station works to find her, Caleb proceeds to kidnap Armstrong and take him to a house that belonged to Rosalind's uncle. Nolan and Harper proceed to track Caleb to the house, where Harper shoots Caleb, killing him. With Caleb dead, the officers spread out and search for loose dirt to find Chen, with Bradford finding and performing CPR on her, saving her life. Meanwhile, Angela and Wesley discuss his mental health after she found him unconscious after mixing his pills with alcohol. Wesley decides to go to work after seeing what Chen went through and acknowledges that he can seek help. Nolan visits Rosalind in prison, revealing that they found the locations where she buried her victims, meaning there will be no more deals. Rosalind tells him that she has one more secret, which is about Armstrong. Nolan tells her that he doesn't care about that but Rosalind replies that she knows he'll be back.
32	12	"Now and Then"	C. Chi-Yoon Chung	Robert Bella	March 1, 2020 (2020-03-01)	212	4.55
Nolan takes his son's fiancé Abigail on a ride-along with Bradford after she reveals she wants to be a police officer. Bradford offers to put in a word for her at the police academy, but tells Nolan that she won't be able to become a cop due to her criminal record. Harper asks Bradford to switch rookies for the week, where she will ride with a recovering Chen. Chen struggles to trust her judgment again, so Harper and Lopez take her to speed dating to try and regain her judgment. Chen snaps when one of the men at the event pulls a loose thread on her sweater, throwing him to the ground. Chen says that Harper will never understand what she went through, where Harper later reveals that she was raped by her UC handler and implies that she sent him to early retirement, throwing him down some stairs.
33	13	"Follow-Up Day"	Liz Friedlander	Alexi Hawley	March 8, 2020 (2020-03-08)	213	5.12
Nolan is given some life-changing news and invites Grace over for a home-cooked meal in his newly remodeled kitchen; Each unit is tasked with following up on dormant cases in hopes of uncovering new leads.
34	14	"Casualties"	Sylvain White	Bill Rinier	March 15, 2020 (2020-03-15)	214	5.17
Officers Nolan and Harper investigate a murder which may have national security implications; Officer Bradford must confront his past when he crosses paths with a homeless veteran.
35	15	"Hand-Off"	Michael Goi	Vincent Angell & Mary Trahan	March 22, 2020 (2020-03-22)	215	5.18
Nolan's identity is stolen and he works to restore his credit score to remain a police officer and get his money back to fund Henry's college tuition. He and Harper are able to track the identity thief (guest star Seth Green) using one of the purchases made under Nolan's name, but later have to track him down when one of the other people whose identity he stole kidnaps him for his money back. Nolan and Harper are able to save the identity thief and in return for his gratitude, he gifts Nolan a secret comic book collection he purchased with his money so that he can get his money back. Grey and Lopez head to Lompoc Prison to testify at a parole hearing for a man who shot Grey and his partner Dennis Rowland, who died in Lopez's arms her first day on the job. On the way there, Lopez reveals that she had smelled alcohol on Rowland's breath as he died, which shocked Grey as he believed Rowland was sober for four months. Despite the man's parole being denied, Grey votes in favor of parole after interacting with the man and his son. While Grey and Lopez are at the hearing, West is assigned to make sure the station is in compliance with all guidelines, during which he finds an unassigned unsolved vandalism case which leads to him solving a homicide. Bradford meets Rachel's father, a former sheriff of a small town who reveals he does not want his daughter marrying a cop, especially since there's a chance Rachel might have Huntington's disease.
36	16	"The Overnight"	Stephanie Marquardt	Corey Miller & Rachael Seymour	April 5, 2020 (2020-04-05)	TBA	5.87
37	17	"Control"	Marcus Stokes	Alexi Hawley & Robert Bella	April 12, 2020 (2020-04-12)	TBA	N/A
38	18	"Under the Gun"	Tori Garrett	Terence Paul Winter & Elizabeth Davis Beall	April 26, 2020 (2020-04-26)	TBA	N/A

Production

Development

On October 26, 2017, ABC announced a straight-to-series order for The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion, and written by Castle executive producer and co-showrunner Alexi Hawley. Fillion and Hawley will 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.

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-set misconduct and harassment allegations

On July 26, 2019, it was reported by TVLine 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 had left the series due to having "experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department." Williamson also alleged that she was sexually harassed by a guest star, who was later identified as 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; the head of the hair department was later identified as Sallie Ciganovich. 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, who 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.

Reception

Ratings

Season 1

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Rookie

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	October 16, 2018	1.0/5	5.43	0.8	4.26	1.8	9.68
2	"Crash Course"	October 23, 2018	0.8/3	4.54	0.8	4.29	1.6	8.83
3	"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"	October 30, 2018	0.8/3	4.53	0.7	3.82	1.5	8.35
4	"The Switch"	November 13, 2018	0.7/3	4.01	0.9	4.19	1.6	8.20
5	"The Roundup"	November 20, 2018	0.7/3	4.10	0.9	4.43	1.6	8.53
6	"The Hawke"	November 27, 2018	0.8/3	4.38	0.8	4.26	1.6	8.64
7	"The Ride Along"	December 4, 2018	0.7/3	4.20	0.8	3.98	1.5	8.18
8	"Time of Death"	December 11, 2018	0.8/3	4.27	0.7	3.94	1.5	8.21
9	"Standoff"	January 8, 2019	0.6/3	3.95	0.7	3.47	1.4	7.43
10	"Flesh and Blood"	January 15, 2019	0.7/3	3.83	0.8	4.29	1.5	8.12
11	"Redwood"	January 22, 2019	0.7/3	3.84	0.9	4.42	1.6	8.26
12	"Heartbreak"	February 12, 2019	0.6/3	3.64	0.9	4.49	1.5	8.13
13	"Caught Stealing"	February 19, 2019	0.6/3	3.54	0.8	4.09	1.4	7.63
14	"Plain Clothes Day"	February 26, 2019	0.6/3	3.89	0.9	4.18	1.5	8.09
15	"Manhunt"	March 5, 2019	0.8/4	4.51	0.7	4.02	1.5	8.54
16	"Greenlight"	March 19, 2019	0.7/3	4.24	0.8	4.36	1.5	8.60
17	"The Shake Up"	March 26, 2019	0.7/4	4.24	0.8	4.12	1.5	8.37
18	"Homefront"	April 2, 2019	0.7/3	3.84	0.8	4.06	1.5	7.91
19	"The Checklist"	April 9, 2019	0.6/3	3.63	0.8	4.29	1.4	7.92
20	"Free Fall"	April 16, 2019	0.7/3	4.06	0.8	4.41	1.5	8.48

Season 2

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Rookie

No.	Title	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Impact"	September 29, 2019	0.7/3	4.11	0.7	4.02	1.4	8.13
2	"The Night General"	October 6, 2019	0.6/3	3.83	0.7	3.91	1.3	7.74
3	"The Bet"	October 13, 2019	0.6/3	3.60	0.7	3.92	1.3	7.52
4	"Warriors and Guardians"	October 20, 2019	0.6/3	3.76	0.7	3.83	1.3	7.55
5	"Tough Love"	October 27, 2019	0.5/3	3.24	0.8	3.91	1.3	7.15
6	"Fallout"	November 3, 2019	0.5/3	3.50	0.7	3.90	1.2	7.40
7	"Safety"	November 10, 2019	0.6/3	3.73	0.7	3.87	1.3	7.60
8	"Clean Cut"	November 17, 2019	0.5/3	3.61	0.7	3.67	1.2	7.28
9	"Breaking Point"	December 1, 2019	0.5/2	3.36	0.7	3.97	1.2	7.34
10	"The Dark Side"	December 8, 2019	0.6/3	3.70	0.7	4.12	1.3	7.82
11	"Day of Death"	February 23, 2020	0.8/4	4.92	0.6	3.99	1.4	8.91
12	"Now and Then"	March 1, 2020	0.7/4	4.55	0.7	3.96	1.4	8.51
13	"Follow-Up Day"	March 8, 2020	0.8/4	5.12	0.7	3.69	1.5	8.82
14	"Casualties"	March 15, 2020	0.8/4	5.17	0.7	3.90	1.5	9.07
15	"Hand-Off"	March 22, 2020	0.8/4	5.18	0.6	3.60	1.4	8.78
16	"The Overnight"	April 5, 2020	0.8	5.87	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Critical response

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating 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".

Broadcast

The Rookie is broadcast in the United States on ABC. The first season aired on Tuesday while the second season airs on Sunday.

Home media

The first season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 27, 2019.

See also

• Television portal
• United States portal

External links

• Official website
• The Rookie at IMDb