Alexi Hawley’s successful police procedural The Rookie will return to the screen in 2025 after ABC renewed the series for Season 7. The show’s six seasons so far have offered audiences healthy doses of drama and an equal measure of fun and laughter through its intricate stories centered around John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), a 40-something novice officer who must prove his worth alongside younger colleagues. Nolan’s character is actually inspired by real-life LAPD cop, William “Bill” Norcross, who is billed as one of the executive producers on the show.
Norcross joined the LAPD at 44, and his personal work-related stories over lunches impressed his college friend Jon Steinberg (another executive producer on the TV series), who adapted them for the show. Throughout the seasons, too, fans have been treated to shocking news of cast members leaving the show, including Tru Valentino in the upcoming Season 7. Some left by design and others by unforeseen circumstances. One of these startling departures was when Afton Williamson, who played Talia Bishop, failed to return for Season 2.
It was revealed in Season 2 that Bishop left the LAPD to take up a role as a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) after revelations about her past, particularly her foster brother’s criminal dealings, threatened to hinder her career progression at the department. For a character that had been introduced on the show with a clear goal and lofty ambitions of climbing the ladder of the LAPD’s Mid-Wilshire Division from the training officer position that she held, to becoming a detective, and going all the way to the chief of police, writing her off the script with this plot twist was shocking to many fans. While the explanation for her absence was effective, it was unremarkable. Bishop was a central character to the story, and her intriguing, contentious partnership with Nolan seemed to provide a cushion for her exit in such an anti-climactic manner. So, why, really, did Bishop leave The Rookie?
