The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley shared his opinion on Chenford’s emotional break up in Season 6 and what awaits for them in Season 7.
ABC’s drama series The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion, Alyssa Diaz, Melissa O’Neil, Eric Winter, and others, was renewed for a seventh season in January earlier this year. The story follows a man in his 40s who becomes the oldest rookie at the LAPD. Created by Alexi Hawley, The Rookie is based on real-life LAPD officer William Norcross, who joined the department in his mid-40s.
Upon release, the show received a positive response, with praise for Nathan Fillion’s portrayal of John Nolan. Over the years, The Rookie has set up a loyal fan base that likes the fact that the show goes on to showcase the realistic aspects and day-to-day lives of street cops. Some people have mentioned it’s a great escape. The showrunner finally answered the most asked question about a breakup that had its traces from earlier seasons.
The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley talks about the Chenford breakup in season 6
In a conversation with TV Guide, Alexi Hawley was asked about the breakup situation of Melissa O’Neil’s Lucy Chen and Eric Winter’s Tim Bradford in The Rookie Season 6, which also stars Nathan Fillion. The showrunner was asked if O’Neil had previously shared that while they do understand that Chen & Bradford’s breakup comes as a show to viewers, they were prepared.
Explaining the breakup of Chenford, who is regarded as one of the fan-favorite ships on the show, the showrunner said,
We were laying some breadcrumbs as far back as last season, in terms of obstacles [for their relationship]. Tim Bradford’s ex-wife Isabel coming back was a big thing, and him sort of being reintroduced to the trauma that he felt by her undercover work, especially her deep undercover work where she was gone for months, if not a year at a time.
Hawley explained that with Chen willing to become an undercover cop like Isabel, it was a surprise to him, and he wondered if he could live through that again. Hawley noted that all of that felt really important, so they started the season with a potential trouble spot. Upon asking why he felt that the breakup was necessary, he said that he believed that obstacles are drama and also true to real life. He added,
I love our audience because they’ve gone with us on this journey, and I feel like they understand that we never do anything that’s meant to be manipulative. It’s always grounded in organic storytelling.
The showrunner mentioned that they are very appreciative of the fact that the audience has trust in them and believes that it’s important to have an obstacle in a relationship for it to grow. Bradford’s past coming back really opened the door that he had forced closed, and he was punishing himself by breaking up with Chen.
The creator of the show added that they wanted to show how they dealt with the aftermath of it, which is very important in their relationship.
Alexi Hawley teases what’s to come for Chenford in Season 7 of The Rookie
The showrunner was asked during the conversation with TV Guide about where he sees Chenford’s relationship going in season 7 of the show. To which he said that he does not know but added that the writer’s room for the upcoming season has only been going on for a couple of weeks and noted that ‘hope’ is an important word when it comes to Chenford. He added,
I don’t think it’s easy. I think what he broke is not as simple as an ‘I am sorry.’ And if it was, I don’t know that I would respect Lucy as much, given the damage he did.
Hawley goes on to add that one thing that was very important to him was not showcasing Lucy Chen as a victim, and the fact that she reacted to the situation was important to them. However, he did add that he believes that there’s hope for them, which is good.
Mellissa O’Neil, while speaking to TV Guide, shared that Chenford’s storyline is something Eric Winter had been pushing for a minute because he’s interested in building that relationship. She noted that they want to build a story that people can follow and grieve and be joyful with.
The actress admits that they did not know how it was going to unfold in a scene, but they were aware that their characters had this arc, especially because they wished to show a relationship with another color of a relationship.
