John Oliver’s criticism of The Rookie is something that fans of Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan will consider more as a flaw than a major issue.
Nathan Fillion’s The Rookie saw his character, John Nolan, join the LAPD as the oldest rookie. The premise of the show was interesting as it dealt with Nolan’s struggles to get through his training period as a rookie. As the show progressed, he went on to become a respectable police officer in the department. The show is currently on its seventh season and has been renewed for an eighth.
Interestingly, Fillion’s character no longer fits the title, as the show has seen some new rookies over the last few years. Even John Nolan’s first rookie, Celina Juarez, has become a training officer now. This was exactly what John Oliver joked about the show when it was renewed over Doctor Odyssey.
John Oliver’s criticism of Nathan Fillion’s The Rookie is unfortunately true!
Nathan Fillion‘s The Rookie was mentioned in John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight as the host discussed the shows that were renewed by ABC for 2025-26. ABC renewed The Rookie for an eighth season that will premiere in January 2026. Oliver criticized one aspect of the show that even true fans will admit to be true.
John Oliver shared that the renewal of the show for an eighth season was “premise-defying.” Interestingly, the premise of the show was a 46-year-old rookie cop in the LAPD, inspired by officer William Norcross’s real-life story. Fillion’s character, John Nolan, goes through a midlife crisis and figures out that being a cop is his ultimate calling.
However, after eight seasons, that premise is no longer explored in the show. Nolan is just another senior cop in the latest seasons, and the storyline has expanded its focus to other characters. Oliver’s criticism is not a major flaw, but a fact that most fans would ignore about the show. It wasn’t just The Rookie that Oliver went after.
He shared similar comments about another ABC show, Will Trent, which is also popular among viewers. Ramón Rodríguez plays the titular character, who is a special agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Here is Oliver’s comment about both shows on Last Week Tonight:
I shouldn’t complain about the other shows. I shouldn’t care that a show called and about a rookie is returning for its premise-defying eighth season, and I don’t begrudge any audience members for sticking around to find out if their favorite characters will or won’t Trent.
Oliver was really complaining about ABC’s decision not to renew Doctor Odyssey for a second season. He jokingly lashed out at the network on his show:
They still haven’t renewed Doctor Odyssey for Season 2. What the f**k are you doing, ABC? It’s s*xy ER on a boat! It’s The Pitt with sharks! It’s got — and I’m not even going to try and beat their tagline on this — ‘big deck energy.’
John Oliver concluded his rant, exclaiming, “You’re a disgrace, ABC! Your network is a disaster!”. The Rookie aired its Season 7 finale on May 13th, titled The Good, The Bad, and the Oscar. The episode saw the return of recurring villain character Oscar Hutchinson, played by Matthew Glave.
Nathan Fillion received another major criticism from fans for The Rookie
Over seven seasons and 115 episodes of The Rookie, fans have seen Nathan Fillion at his best as the rookie-turned-training officer John Nolan. Fillion showcased both his dramatics and his comedy skills in the role, which felt tailor-made for the actor. It is his second time playing a lead in a police procedural after Castle.
However, one fan on Reddit aired one grievance about Fillion’s character in the recent episodes of Season 7 of the show. The fan shared that the recent episodes sparingly used the titular character and focused more on the other characters. The fan shared that Nolan was brought in to portray his family life with Bailey or to help some other character.
Fillion’s reduced role on the screen in The Rookie could be due to his behind-the-scenes role. He is also an executive producer of the series alongside showrunner Alexi Hawley. He also served the role of exec producer in the spin-off show The Rookie: Feds, which was cancelled after a single season.
The Rookie is now available for streaming on Hulu. (USA)
