7 Reasons ‘The Rookie’ Deserves a Second Season (PHOTOS)
That Cliffhanger
The cops investigate a deadly virus in the Season 1 finale, and while Bradford (Eric Winter) is exposed, he receives an experimental cure. It looks like he’s going to be fine and just needs to be put under observation at the CDC, but then after joking with the others, he collapses.
Is he sick? Is this a reaction to the cure? Is something else going on?
Bishop’s Consequences for Turning in Ruiz
Ruiz (Valerie Cruz) asks Bishop (Afton Williamson) to be her “eyes and ears” (in other words, be a “rat for Internal Affairs”). Rather than spy on her fellow officers, Bishop turns the tables. She turns Ruiz in to her boss for violating the Peace Officers Bill of Rights.
Is that the end of that, or will that be a thread that follows Bishop going forward?
This Rookie Is Very Different from the Others on TV
We’re used to seeing rookies fresh out of the police academy be young and usually inexperienced when it comes to life. Fillion’s John Nolan is neither of those things.
He’s a middle-aged man who has decided to pursue his dream to be a police officer. This isn’t a midlife crisis like some think, and now that he has his first year as a rookie under his belt, the series should explore what comes next as he continues to prove himself in this career.
ABC Needs a Cop Show
While the network has legal and spy dramas, it doesn’t have a cop show. (It did, with the summer series Rookie Blue, from 2010 to 2015.) If there’s one thing that you can count on, it’s that TV viewers are going to eventually check out a procedural drama, even if they don’t watch it on a weekly basis.
Rather than try to introduce another new one to the lineup, why not give The Rookie a chance to become a staple in ABC’s lineup?
Nathan Fillion
Fillion has proven that he has a fan base from his days on Firefly and Castle. He’s already had success at this network with the latter, and ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke has said that he “should be on ABC.”
Fillion plays John well, and there’s no reason this can’t be a role he settles into and makes as well-known as Captain Mal and Richard Castle.
The Rest of the Cast
The series also stars Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Titus Makin, Melissa O’Neil, Williamson, and Winter.
While The Rookie is focused on John, a Season 2 would give these actors further chances to shine in their roles and the series to continue to explore their personal lives.
Its Ratings Have Improved
The Rookie may not be doing as well in ratings as ABC probably hoped it would, but it is going up against the already established NCIS: New Orleans and has shown that it does well in the broadcast live +7 ratings, making the top 10 for total and percentage gain in adults 18-49 and viewers for the week of March 25-31.
[Warning: The gallery above contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 1 finale of The Rookie, “Free Fall.”]
TV fans can never have enough crime procedural dramas.
That’s just a fact. And The Rookie isn’t just a cookie-cutter version of the others dominating the primetime schedule. It introduces heart and comedy to a genre that otherwise can feel quite predictable.
ABC has yet to renew the freshman series starring Nathan Fillion, but it should. Click through the gallery above to see why TV Insider’s hoping to see a Season 2.
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