‘The Rookie’ Season 7 Finale Interview: Chenford Cliffhanger & Extra

SPOILER ALERT: The story contains particulars concerning the Season 7 finale of ABC’s The Rookie.

Chenford is (virtually) again collectively. After a season of post-breakup heartache, informal hookups and fact serum-induced confessions, The Rookie‘s fan favourite couple took an enormous step to reconciliation within the finale, which solely bodily exhaustion prevented from completion.

Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim (Eric Winter) confronted one final impediment after she grew to become his peer by passing the Sergeant examination — engaged on reverse schedules as she was assigned the evening shift. Each wanted some encouragement from associates however lastly bought collectively. Tim cooked Lucy breakfast after her shift and poured his coronary heart out in a speech asking her to maneuver in with him to no response as Lucy had shortly dozed off. As Tim mentioned to himself whereas masking Lucy with a blanket, “To be continued.”

John Nolan’s (Nathan Fillion) had his palms full chasing a kind of who bought away, as Oscar (Matthew Glave), who had escaped from jail alongside Bailey’s (Jenna Dewan) ex Jason in final season’s nearer with shady lawyer Monica’s (Bridget Regan) assist, got here again into the image. Satisfied that Oscar is taking out his former crew members from a Vegas diamond heist years in the past, Nolan and Nyla (Mekia Cox), his companion on the case, set a stakeout at a motel hoping to catch Oscar as he makes contact with the final remaining cohort, suspected to have hidden the loot, who was simply launched from jail.

Nevertheless, Oscar noticed Nolan and kidnapped him after killing his former mate and in some way ripped off the person’s arm together with his naked palms for the treasure map tattooed on it (versus, as Nolan recommended later, simply taking a photograph of the tattoo together with his cellphone). With Nolan in his trunk, Oscar headed to the desert looking for the buried treasure.

For some cause, Nolan helped Oscar get again on the trail to the diamonds after he took a detour regardless of being informed bluntly by the convict that he would kill him as soon as Nolan dug up the stones. In the meantime, with the help of a teen boy staying on the motel and his drone, Nyla tracked Oscar down with not a minute to spare as Nolan had simply retrieved the diamonds.

Within the taking pictures, Oscar managed to flee with a getaway helicopter whereas Nolan walked away together with his life — and a bag of diamonds.

That was not the one blast from the previous within the episode. Within the closing minutes, Nolan and Wesley (Shawn Ashmore) had been summoned by Rookie: Feds‘ Particular Agent Matt Garza (Felix Solis) to tell them of a latest safety breach at a neighborhood NSA facility that resulted in somebody leveraging the U.S. authorities with delicate data with a purpose to get immunity.

That somebody was none apart from Monica, who, within the Pace homage episode 11 earlier this season, employed a lady to stage a bus hijacking for the only real goal of acquiring a authorities worker’s safety badge.

In a miscellaneous sub-plotline, a person was caught stealing money from a financial institution for the remedy of an in poor health Bulgarian lady. Seems he was catfished by his personal spouse who felt entitled to the entire couple’s cash and didn’t need to share it in a divorce.

In an interview with Deadline, The Rookie creator, government producer and showrunner Alexi Hawley discusses Tim and Lucy’s season arc and what’s subsequent for the (practically) reunited couple. He additionally addresses the large finale cliffhanger, Monica’s return, her finish recreation, Oscar’s newest escape, Seth’s destiny and the potential for including extra rookies subsequent season.

Moreover, he appears again at Season 7 and its memorable film send-ups and talks about filming in Los Angeles and The Rookie’s shock scores resurgence and newfound reputation amongst children and younger adults. For the 2024-25 season, The Rookie completed as No.3 amongst all broadcast collection in multi-platform adults 18-49 scores.

Tim & Lucy

DEADLINE: One of many overarching storylines of Season 7 was Tim and Lucy discovering a method again to one another. There was the post-gala hook-up, the kiss in the course of the wildfire and the entire April’s Idiot’s re-coupling (which I couldn’t perceive how that made sense that they might have intercourse that day).

HAWLEY: I can clarify it — or not, relying whether or not you care. I believe finally the breakup was heartbreaking, each for the followers, but in addition for Lucy and for Tim. We tried to ascertain that he did it to punish himself, and sadly, it actually punished her, however it felt like such an emotional bombshell that it simply didn’t really feel proper to have a number of episodes of mea culpas after which put them again collectively.

I felt like he had points that he needed to cope with primarily based on the entire lifetime of stuff, and it additionally had her reassess somewhat bit her priorities and eager to be sure that her profession was necessary to her, and that she wasn’t sacrificing issues and all that.

And so it did really feel prefer it warranted a season-long story of them doing the work that wanted to be achieved, and seeing if there was a method again to one another. I do assume that life is stuffed with hookups or exes getting again collectively after which regretting it or no matter. In order that was, I believe, what the try was there, that that after-gala hook-up, which, they each clearly nonetheless longed for one another, after which the April Idiot’s factor simply felt like a little bit of a egocentric act, which to me, felt human. Clearly, folks have completely different opinions on it. Does that reply your query?

DEADLINE: Yeah, it was a joke however I nonetheless don’t understand how that falls into April Idiot’s in the event that they need to have intercourse for at some point…

HAWLEY: We leaned into that, as a result of he’s like, I don’t perceive. She’s like, do you need to speak about this, or do you need to take off your pants.

DEADLINE: I’m with Tim on that one. When there’s a large breakup like that, new persons are sometimes launched for a love triangle or rectangular earlier than the exes return to one another. You didn’t do this. Why? Did you think about it?

HAWLEY: Within the writers room, we’re clearly very acutely aware of what has come earlier than and the place we’re. I labored on Citadel for a number of seasons, and it all the time felt just like the makes an attempt to introduce a love triangle, and even any individual else that both of them is courting by no means felt good on the present, the followers didn’t prefer it and it was not profitable.

And finally for us, I believe it was that the problem wasn’t about they broke up as a result of any individual wished one thing else. It was he ruined it. After which, finally, didn’t really feel like there was a necessity for to introduce one thing else into that dynamic.

We did, we introduced Rachel again, and I believe the viewers was instantly going to imagine that she was going to be that love triangle. However for us once more, that wasn’t the purpose of that story, regardless that we had been acutely aware of what the viewers would assume we had been going to do there.

DEADLINE: That was a blip, I forgot about that.

HAWLEY: Sure, I really feel you.

DEADLINE: We are going to speak about The Rookie’s enjoyable film style homages in a bit however the finale performed like a traditional rom-com for Tim and Lucy. There was the most effective buddy on both sides making an attempt to encourage their cost to inform the opposite how they really feel. After which Tim’s speech and Lucy falling asleep, we’ve seen it in so many motion pictures. Discuss the way you got here up with that.

HAWLEY:I believe on the finish of the day, it made me snort within the writers room once we talked about it. We’re all chasing tales which were informed earlier than. They clearly turned a nook within the final a number of episodes of the season, we knew that they had been heading again to one another.

It felt like, given the storytelling of her working nights and him working days and all that simply lent itself to that decision — figuring out, clearly, that it’s not like she’s gonna say no. So, it simply felt like a enjoyable strategy to cope with that. I do know the web thinks my definition of enjoyable will not be their favourite factor.

DEADLINE: Lucy and Tim’s final scene ended with “to be continued,” so what are you able to inform us about what comes subsequent? Them working reverse shifts will not be working very properly. Is that this one thing you’ll be persevering with, creating extra obstacles for them?

HAWLEY: It’s nonetheless early days, we simply began the room final week for Season 8, however in all probability not. I do really feel like finally, the Season 7 journey of their repairing their relationship is nearly at an finish, and so I don’t need to simply introduce obstacles to introduce obstacles..So, no, in all probability not. I believe, we’re heading for a very good place in Season 8.

DEADLINE: Okay, each working days as a result of we don’t care about these lazy evening shift cops Lucy was put in control of.

HAWLEY: I do know, which was the purpose. And in addition, actually, we don’t do numerous evening shoots on Rookie. We strive to not for numerous causes, some that are, the influence it has on the crew and the forged. And in addition…

DEADLINE: On the finances?

HAWLEY: Not as a lot on the finances. The turnaround occasions now, the wins that the unions bought, particularly IATSE over the past negotiations and the strike, the turnaround makes it arduous to get again to a 7AM begin, and so it snowballs. However I additionally really feel like we’re a daytime motion patrol present for essentially the most half.

DEADLINE: So Lucy again on day shift, and her and Tim transfer in collectively. Have I discovered subsequent season?

HAWLEY: I’m not going to say sure, I’m not going to say no, however we’re each smiling. So…

Oscar, Monica & Felix

DEADLINE: This yr’s finale appears a bit like a repeat of final yr’s, which additionally concerned Oscar escaping, Monica stirring bother, and Felix making a go to. Was this intentional, one thing that you simply’re seeking to do each season now?

HAWLEY: No, it wasn’t essentially intentional. We ended final season with the escape, Monica and all that sort of stuff. Coming into Season 7 — as nice as characters as they’re, and we love having them — I additionally felt like we wished to inform some newer tales, and that Jason, Bailey’s ex-husband, was meant to be extra of the main focus, and the results that she didn’t even notice that she had suffered from that abusive relationship; that to me was the story to inform that felt contemporary.

We did introduce Monica in Episode 11 as being on the market, we wished to maintain that alive. Nevertheless it simply felt, finally, that we’ve got loads of story to inform, and driving in the direction of them within the finale felt like the appropriate factor to do.

DEADLINE: What’s Monica’s finish recreation? Realizing her, immunity appears somewhat small for her. Are you able to tease what sort of bother she’s going to stir this time?

HAWLEY: Once more, it’s early days. However I believe Monica is all the time a little bit of a gadfly. I believe the immunity deal was her 11-and-a-half hour, pulling it out of the fireplace, so to talk, and getting leverage on the federal government.

However I believe what we’ll discover in Season 8 is that there’s different tales to inform together with her. There’s different sides to that immunity deal, which might play out in Season 8, after which additionally, what does the subsequent chapter seem like for her and us?

As a result of she’s not getting her regulation license again, so what? That’s stuff we’re investigating within the room within the coming weeks, what’s the fallout? Once more, [Bridget]’s an enormous useful resource for us within the present, in the identical method that Matthew Glave, who performs Oscar, is and Felix, who performs Garza, is, we love having these actors who’re so good round and out there to us.

DEADLINE: Talking of Bridget Regan, do you know that she was additionally getting used on 9-1-1? She’s change into ABC’s villain of the spring; she simply killed Bobby.

HAWLEY: I truly didn’t know that till you simply mentioned that so, no, I used to be not conscious of that. However what are you going to do about that? She’s been a part of our household, and you may’t begrudge her the work, and clearly she’s actually good at that character. We had been fortunate sufficient to work with Annie Wersching earlier than she tragically handed away; she is one other actress who was so good at a particular tone and particular characters. It’s arduous to seek out villains who don’t chew the surroundings and don’t really feel arch, who you imagine and who’re intimidating and scary and all that sort of stuff, however nonetheless really feel grounded.

DEADLINE: Oscar escaped once more. Will he be this white whale? Will he stay on Nolan’s board and proceed to be large a part of his life, or will he simply parachute in in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later?

HAWLEY: We’ll undoubtedly see him once more. We are able to solely get so many bites of the apple of him getting away, so I believe we’ll see some decision in some form or kind subsequent yr. However look, we love Matthew, he’s an ideal instance, we’ve got lots of them. You write a job and also you rent an actor, and it was by no means meant to be greater than that.

He was a prisoner, escaped from a jail, bus crash, after which he simply popped on display, and also you’re like, oh, I need to see that man once more. Actually, it’s the enjoyment of community tv, and doing as many episodes as we get to do. You actually can develop characters and produce characters alongside; you simply can’t do on streaming the place you solely have six or eight or ten episodes.

DEADLINE: You talked about Felix as Garza. With the finale’s cliffhanger, it looks like the worlds of Rookie and Rookie: Feds are converging once more. Do you assume you’ll incorporate the Feds crew extra subsequent season and produce again different characters, perhaps Niecy Nash’s Simone?

HAWLRE: We noticed Britt, we’ve seen a number of of the characters this season. A part of my dialog with ABC after Feds was tragically canceled was principally saying, I really like these characters, I might like to nonetheless see them. It’s not like we’re not going to have FBI brokers in our present, so somewhat than having to reinvent the wheel, can’t we simply embrace… And, to their credit score, they mentioned sure.

I believe we took a season in between, bringing them again. There’s shorthand with these characters; they exist in our world, they’ve relationships. Felix and Richard [T. Jones], the Garza-Gray relationship is particular, and it’s simply good to see them once more. After which by way of Niecy, she is a really busy lady. I might doubt that we’d have the ability to get her again on the present, simply given how a lot she’s working however clearly, I might like to work together with her once more. By no means say by no means.

Misc finale questions

DEADLINE: Why would Nolan assist Oscar with studying the map once they went astray in order that they discover the treasure quicker and Nolan will get killed sooner? That was shocking to me.

HAWLEY: Okay, that’s honest I suppose. I believe he was making an attempt to string it alongside, on the lookout for his alternative, however, yeah, I don’t know that I’ve a satisfying reply for you on that one.

DEADLINE: Second one, will the mother of that teenage boy file a lawsuit towards the LAPD as a result of the boy was undoubtedly not saved out of hazard in that firefight?

HAWLEY: No, I really feel you. I really feel you. So sure, to be continued.

DEADLINE And one other miscellaneous notice. Thanks for giving a shoutout to my homeland, I’m from Bulgaria, and for not dragging it into the catfishing conspiracy. Was the nation picked randomly or was there a cause for that?

HAWLEY: It wasn’t essentially picked for a cause. I believe Japanese Europe was the dialog, and Bulgaria as being a reputation that we would not hear as a lot made it really feel somewhat unique. And once more, I maintain praising actors, however it’s one other second the place that actor got here in, and that second of the AI, seven fingers and three fingers, and he’s like, “beginning defect;” that was a humorous second.

New rookies & justice for Seth

DEADLINE: You’ve talked about conserving the present contemporary by biking rookies out and in. Will we see new rookies launched subsequent season with Celina graduating and Seth getting injured?

HAWLEY: I don’t know is the sincere reply. Miles remains to be a rookie, and so I believe that can be for many of — if not all — of Season 8, I’m unsure but, it’s nonetheless early days. I believe it’s tremendous necessary to point out that we maintain that alive, clearly, however the sincere reply is, I’m not fairly certain but.

DEADLINE: I’d wish to get some justice for Seth. Sure, he was a vilified character however I’m unsure he deserved what occurred to him with the leg wound after he did the appropriate factor and saved Nolan’s life. Did you need him to be punished? And since he’s doubtlessly getting desk obligation as a result of damage, will he be coming again and proceed to be a part of the Rookie universe?

HAWLEY: I believe Seth’s journey for us was A: a few pathological liar. I actually do imagine that as a personality, Seth noticed himself as a sufferer on a regular basis, which might be his story, however I do assume he confirmed up within the academy eager to be a special particular person and to not be a liar anymore.

And I do assume that he simply panicked when he was getting in bother. And finally it was a weak point of character, that every time he was pushed, he couldn’t come clear, he simply needed to lie extra.

So it did really feel like if we wished to discover a flip, a redemption journey for him, that there did must be some repercussions of his actions, and I did really feel like we would have liked one thing surprising to occur. However I additionally assume that finally, within the LAPD, if he can find yourself passing the bodily exams to get again into the drive with a prosthetic, then he generally is a cop once more.

For us, it was actually about creating this character who actually simply f*cks up stuff, however but making an attempt to… We all the time need them to be human beings. We all the time need to see behind the their eyes that there’s grief and regret. And if that’s relevant, after which problem ourselves to see if we are able to flip them round.

Film spoofs & bodycam footage

DEADLINE: One of many issues that stood out this season had been the film homages: there was the Pace episode, which hit season excessive scores, The Purge. Is it one thing that you simply’re going to attempt to do frequently since followers are clearly responding to it?

HAWLEY: We perceive the homages once they occur. I do really feel like tonally, I love to do the whole lot, and as a present, we do sort of the whole lot — we clearly do humorous, we do motion, we attempt to do horror the place we are able to.

There’s an episode this season the place Lucy and Celina went to research a lacking lady and ended up in that home, which was very a lot an homage to The Silence of the Lambs, the Jame Gumb basement sequence.

So we’re very acutely aware of the tales and the flicks or TV reveals that we’re bumping up towards. We don’t essentially go down the highway of like, what’s the film we’re doing this week? The bus episode specifically, we name them “pod automotive episodes,” they’re one or two.

Through the pandemic once we had been making an attempt to determine how — or if — we are able to even make tv, a part of my course of was, how do I invent a number of episodes the place the actors are the most secure, unmasked. We shoot our driving stuff with a stunt driver on the roof and actors truly behind the wheel, which permits us to actually drive across the metropolis and do all that stuff with out course of trailers or rear projection.

In the end, it meant that there was one or two actors in a automotive unmasked with no different crew round them. And so I’m like, Okay, we’re going to do an episode in Season 3 the place we solely inform tales from physique cams and sprint cams and safety cams, and that’s form of how the pod automotive episodes began.

So we’re all the time on the lookout for episodes which are cell in a method that warrants that sort of storytelling. And clearly Pace is certainly one of them. In order that’s how that course of got here round, on the lookout for one of the best ways to inform a narrative through which we are able to put all our characters in these vehicles and having them a transferring goal, so to talk. And I really feel like that was certainly one of our most profitable pod automotive episodes, it actually did lend itself to the storytelling.

DEADLINE: Additionally Pace is an iconic LA film, in order that made made sense for an LA present like The Rookie. There was additionally the documentary episode, which freaked me out a bit, I don’t do scary.

HAWLEY: That’s one other one which I got here up with as a method, when you have these static interviews with the characters, which take up an enormous portion of it, and it’s simply Nathan on display, or it’s simply two of them. It’s one other one the place we’re like, okay, on the time of the pandemic, that was the most secure factor for the actors. Nevertheless it permits us, each season, to do one thing somewhat unconventional, somewhat enjoyable.

DEADLINE: I really like the body-cam footage concept. We didn’t see it a lot within the second half of the season. Are you phasing it out?

HAWLEY: No, by no means. It is dependent upon the storytelling, Clearly you want the actors to be in uniform and have it on. Generally editorially, it doesn’t, like within the sequence I used to be speaking about, the Silence of the Lambs scene. They had been each in plain garments, they weren’t carrying the physique cam. That will have been a terrific physique cam second, however we didn’t have it.

So, no, it’s nothing acutely aware. It’s simply the best way the storytelling fell. Similar factor within the finale, clearly, Nolan and Harper on the market within the desert, they’re not carrying physique cams. So it simply didn’t work out that method.

Patrol present filming in LA

DEADLINE: The Rookie has an attention-grabbing narrative construction for a procedural. You begin a narrative arc, you utterly bail out on it for a number of episodes and then you definately convey it again. It’s a mixture of serialized and procedural. How did you determine on that?

HAWLEY: I don’t truly see us as a procedural, I see this as a patrol present as a result of that’s the one factor that we’ve got. It’s not a physique drop, it’s not a case of the week. It’s anytime they get out of their patrol automotive, something can occur. And I really feel like that’s the reason, seven seasons in, we nonetheless might be surprising in our storytelling.

I’m truly happy with the truth that our reveals are very structured, however on the similar time we’ve got had many episodes the place regardless of the A case can be known as is coming out in Act 2. We’ve even ended Act 2 with like, oh, there’s a bomb.

As a result of the precise story is Nathan’s journey, and Nathan’s journey goes to intersect with this case, and this case goes to assist inform his story, however it’s not a plot pushed factor, if that is smart. It permits us to be each episodic and serialized in a method that I believe, it’s not distinctive to us, however it’s completely different than many procedurals. I’ve had storylines the place we didn’t remedy the case on the finish, or the place the unhealthy guys bought away and we didn’t speak about it. And that, to me, appears like actual life however it additionally simply permits us to be surprising and artistic, which I believe is actually arduous to do as of late, with 900 reveals on tv and audiences being actually good.

DEADLINE: The Rookie is filming in LA, which is getting increasingly more uncommon and increasingly more necessary and increasingly more uncommon. Discuss having the ability to nonetheless do a present of this caliber right here in LA and the way you employ town.

HAWLEY: We bought fortunate. Rookie is sufficiently old now that once we launched, it was earlier than they made adjustments to the tax credit score, they modified it to actually make it about bringing productions again to Los Angeles, and so it’s actually tough to launch one thing right here, which is actually unlucky, as a result of why let it get away within the first place?

After I offered the present, we offered it to collection, somewhat than to pilot, and so it allowed us to use for the tax credit score and get it for Season 1. We’ve carried it ever since. It’s a dream to have the ability to shoot in LA, and it was necessary to me to attempt to reset an viewers’s imaginative and prescient of Los Angeles, as a result of so many LA cop issues had been very caught within the 80s and 90s, Crips and Bloods and gangs and simply making LA really feel gritty and soiled in a method that it simply will not be anymore.

Which doesn’t imply we don’t present the ups and downs of town and all that sort of stuff. Nevertheless it simply felt like, we would have liked to replace town of Los Angeles, and we get to shoot throughout, which is nice. We actually do get to point out off the great components and the unhealthy components and all that sort of stuff.

Scores success

DEADLINE: You’ve talked about how CNN’s Jake Tapper reached out in the course of the pandemic to let you know what large followers of The Rookie he and his 12-year son had been. That’s not an remoted incident. Earlier than the pandemic, Nathan Fillion saved joking, “I’m in all probability a extremely large deal to your mother,” and now the present retains rising and getting found by younger folks, it’s a factor on TikTok. How did you handle to make broadcast hip once more?

HAWLEY: I recognize the best way you formatted that. I believe it’s a mix of issues. I do assume that the present is enjoyable to look at, regardless that there are stakes. In a day and age the place it appears like anxiousness and awfulness is round us on a regular basis, it feels somewhat bit like an escape. I do assume that we lend ourselves to the clip era, which is what TikTok and all these issues are. We have now teasers, we’ve got little moments. Once more, anytime they get out of their automotive, one thing humorous can occur.

We do have numerous moments which have managed to go viral. “Daddy Cop” was an enormous a kind of. yeah, all I hear as of late is like, my 13-year-old loves the present, it’s my 11-year outdated’s favourite present. I really feel tremendous fortunate that we’ve gotten to a spot now, as a result of reveals don’t get extra widespread as they get older. And but, beginning in Season 5, our scores actually began to go up and and have continued to and I’m tremendous grateful about that.