Nathan Hopes the Legacy of ‘The Rookie’ Lives on As It Hits 100 Episodes

The Big Picture

• Nathan Fillion reflects on
  The Rookie
  ‘s success, bouts with cancellation, and unlikely friendship with Pete Davidson.
• The show tackles sensitive topics like police brutality, strives for realism, and thrives on guest stars.
• Fillion hopes
  The Rookie
  becomes a classic cop show, sparks important conversations, and maintains its legacy.

Nowadays, shows get canceled before people know about them, making The Rookie‘s 100th episode a milestone worth celebrating. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Rookie‘s leading man Nathan Fillion reflects on what they have been able to achieve in making the show, the challenges they have encountered, and striking a friendship with Pete Davidson, despite thinking they could never be friends when they first met on the set of The Suicide Squad. Fillion dishes on working with Alexi Hawley, handling sensitive topics like police brutality, and the legacy he hopes for the show.

Signing on for a procedural is not a light decision for any actor especially when they’re to star on it. Procedurals have a reputation for going on for decades and some like Law and Order have been revived after being previously canceled. Fillion agreed to carry the torch for The Rookie because he had worked with Hawley before and knew he was in good hands. He said this about the show and its creator.

What I knew was that I was getting into business with a person that I’d worked with before in Alexi Hawley. I know how he likes to tell stories. I know how he likes to run a show, which is incredibly important because that’s my day-to-day, day in and day out. What I saw was that he had an interesting new “in” to the police show. This concept of the restart for John Nolan, that was our pathway into this classic TV genre. And what I’ve noticed since is that it’s the engine that will keep this thing moving.

What Has Kept ‘The Rookie’ Going This Long?

Fillion credits John Nolan’s willingness to learn as something that kept the character fresh while still growing as a person. Not many people can leave their already established and comfortable life to put themselves through the hell of becoming a police officer at Nolan’s age. Nolan has always been willing to drop his habits and preconceived notions about people if it means learning something new and becoming a better person. The Rookie boasts a long list of guest stars. Fillion remembers meeting Pete Davidson and striking a friendship with him that saw Davidson appear on The Rookie as Pete, Nolan’s half-brother. He said this about their first meeting and the resulting friendship.

One of the people I had the most fun with is Pete Davidson, whom I met on
The Suicide Squad
. When I first met him, I thought, “He and I are probably not going to be best pals.” And within four minutes, I was embarrassed and ashamed because I’d judged a book by its cover. He’s an incredibly kind man. Within two or three days, I invited him to do an episode, and he graciously accepted. He’s wildly talented and always brings a flavor to the character that’s realistic. It’s been a pleasure seeing what this unlikely friend of mine can do with being an unlikely half-brother and friend to my character.

Some police dramas avoid going into real-life issues that affect the profession or if they do, they mishandle storylines but The Rookie has never been shy about tackling hard conversations. The show explored police brutality through Doug Stanton (Brandon Routh). When asked if real-world events like George Floyd‘s murder in 2020 had a bearing on how they approach some stories, Fillion had this to say.

Yes, absolutely. We want our show to emulate life, and that was certainly a part of what we were all going through at the moment. We had an incredible storyline where my good friend Brandon Routh portrayed a racist police officer, which is a reality, and it’s something that we wanted to address. A fulfilling part of this program for me is hearing about parents watching the show with their kids and appreciating how it starts conversations about what is a very serious issue, policing in general. We were all very nervous, and rightly so, but we’ve managed to keep our heads above water and thrive.

He also added that The Rookie set had banned live weapons on set following the unfortunate incident on the set of Rust that saw Haylana Hutchins die from a live weapon. Fillion touched on The Rookie: Feds‘ cancellation which was fuelled by the strikes and was thankful that their show didn’t meet the same fate. In talking about what he hopes The Rookie‘s legacy will be, Fillion had this to say:

One of the worst nightmares for a television actor would be to be forgotten. I would hope the legacy is it turns out to be one of those classic TV shows that people always think about when they think about cop shows, something they think about when they think about a reset. I want it to become, not iconic, but culturally embedded. If legacy means it has to end first, I hope our legacy doesn’t come for a while yet.

Catch the landmark 100th episode of The Rookie tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. Stream all seasons on Hulu.

WATCH ON HULU