Yes, Alexi Hawley can hear #Chenford fans screaming, given how Season 7 of The Rookie ended on Tuesday night.
Much of the season ender involved John and Nyla (played by Nathan Fillion and Mekia Cox) hunting down and capturing season-long fugitive Oscar outside a desert motel, with a major assist from the child of a bad divorce and his drone.
We also spent some time with Sergeant Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) on her first night shift with the “Dream Team,” who she came to learn got their name by sleeping in their cruisers in a parking lot. Sergeant Chen, though, whipped her team into shape when Miles’ (Deric Augustine) first date with a gal from an app turned into him being chased by members of the Eastern Front.
The season ended with a pair of twists: Nolan, Gray, FBI Agent Garza and other LEOs could do nothing but watch as Monica (Bridget Regan) literally walked free, having leveraged the sensitive government intel she acquired during the “Speed”/bus hostages episode into a full pardon.
Less dramatically, Tim (Eric Winter) surprised dead-tired Lucy at her home, with homemade breakfast — and a proposal… that they move in together! Alas, Tim realized that Lucy had conked out on the couch during his speech, and thus didn’t hear his pitch.
Here’s what Hawley told TVLine about the finale’s big moments, and some plans for Season 8 (arriving in the year 2026.
TVLINE | I first wanted to talk to you about the nighttime car chase with Miles and the Eastern Front thugs. Was that one of the bigger undertakings you’ve done on the show?
It was. I mean, sadly, driving and chases are difficult [to pull off] in Los Angeles, with the permitting and the ability to control streets. I directed one in the premiere, if you remember, but yes, we need to be selective about it. That one [in the finale] was probably the most ambitious one we’ve done in a while just because of the nighttime elements, but I think it worked out great. Bill Roe shot the hell out of it.
TVLINE | And where where did you take Nathan and Mekia and Matthew Glave (Oscar) for the desert scenes?
We went out to the same place that I shot the finale of Season 4. We had aspirations of going somewhere that that looked a little more “full desert,” but it’s a whole thing about getting going outside the travel zone with crew hours…. stuff like that. Plus, that place [we used] is very film friendly, so we ended up back out there.
TVLINE | As we speak the finale’s more than a week away. Can you already hear the #Chenford fans screaming at that final scene?
Yeah, I can. Although, I think the reality is that they should be able to appreciate that a corner has been turned. So…. [Chuckles] Yes, the short answer is yes.
TVLINE | Some may be thinking, “Is Tim going to ask her again?” Or, “Will something keep him from that?” But for all we know, when Season 8 opens you might establish that they’ve been living together for two months.
I mean, I don’t know about that; I do think that the conversation should be had, ultimately. I think the audiences expect that and wants that. Much as it made me laugh to have her fall asleep, they’re going to want that conversation. But yes, we’re almost there, let’s say that.
TVLINE | You raise a good point, that Lucy’s immediate answer might not necessarily be, “Great idea!” She might have her own thoughts on it.
Exactly. We worked really hard since the breakup to make sure that she has agency and that she’s fighting for what she wants in whatever this relationship is going to look like. So yeah, we definitely need her side of it.
TVLINE | Having now seen the finale, I see why you chuckled when I told you a few weeks back that Richard T. Jones told me that Monica was going to be in it — because her return was your surprise stinger!
It’s true, it’s true…. But look, Bridget is such a pro and she totally owned that moment of the walkthrough. It was so good.
TVLINE | What do you gain, storytelling-wise, by having Monica free versus simply on the lam? Because either way, she’s still out there.
Yeah, although now she’s out there and we can’t do anything about it in this version. She’s made this immunity deal and we have to sort of eat it, which is obviously really difficult for our cops, to see her get away with it basically. The repercussions of that next season will be interesting.
TVLINE | Ha, are are you saying she might rub their noses a bit?
I mean, it seems like a character trait of hers, yes….
TVLINE | What what episode from Season 7 are you most proud of, the way it came out?
I love the premiere, partly because I got to go direct it and it was a big episode, and it was a bit of a re-pilot and I got to introduce Seth and Miles. So yeah, I was really proud of that. I do think that we had a lot of really powerful episodes and fun episodes this season. Episode 9, after James got shot, was a really, really great episode. I thought The Purge was super fun, the April Fools of it all….
TVLINE | There were also fun little gems along the way, like Nyla and Angela’s moms (Ruth and Rose, played by Margaret Avery and Rose Portillo). Like, that was hysterical.
Oh my God, they were a joy together. That makes me really happy that you liked it. I definitely want to find a way back to that next season. I would watch that spin-off show every day, they were so good.
TVLINE | Just the reaction that Nyla and Angele didn’t even know their moms were in touch!
“But if you called, you would know!” So great,
TVLINE | A reader, Molly, was wondering how you arrived on that specific ending for Seth — which was terribly ironic.
Ultimately Seth is a very polarizing character, and Patrick [Keleher] is such a great actor pull that role off — being sort of a Boy Scout and somebody you love when you first meet him, and then making micro-adjustments as an actor that to make this guy so much of a snake, without losing the humanity of him. I really do believe that Seth showed up at the academy going, “I’m not gonna be that guy anymore.” And he started on the job going, “I’m not gonna be that guy anymore. I’m gonna be better.” But because of his weakness of character, he just couldn’t help himself. He just went back to the lie. So it definitely felt like there needed to be repercussions for him, obviously, in his attempt to get back in. Something shocking deserved to happen, and then we’ll see where it goes.
TVLINE | Was there, is there anybody you wanted to get back for this season that you weren’t able to?
I mean, Pete Davidson. We always try [to get him back as Pete]. We love Pete and I think he really enjoys doing the show, but he is a very busy man, and we were not able to find an episode in which he was free. But I’d definitely love to see him back. I’d love to find a way to get Elijah back into our show, because he (Brandon Jay McLaren) was so good.
TVLINE | Any early thoughts on if Season 8 will open pretty continuous, or “Three Months Later”?
I don’t think it’ll be months later. I think it’ll be fairly continuous — not literally next day, but within a fairly short amount of time. There’s some time-sensitive stuff that we left hanging, that feels like we should [resolve soon] for the audience. I don’t think we should jump forward too far in time.
