Another season of The Rookie has come and gone, and boy, did a lot happen in that finale. In the Season 7 finale, we saw John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) face off against the deadly Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave), at the same time, Monica (Bridget Regan) returns from her time away and seemingly gets off scot-free by the end of the episode after negotiating her immunity. And, with Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) now officially a sergeant, does this clear the way for her to get back together with Tim Bradford (Eric Winter)? Well, between her exhausting new schedule and working on Night Shift, it seems like there are still some obstacles ahead for her.
We spoke with The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley about these events, particularly about Lucy’s time with night shift, Tim Bradford’s growth and what that means for Chenford, Oscar and Monica as future threats for the show, as well as conflicts in the future with villains like Eastern Front and Zuzu. Teasing what might come in Season 8, Hawley also confirmed that the show was officially kicking off again, with the writer’s room for Season 8 currently working on future episodes. Read our full interview with Hawley below.
Alexi Hawley Discusses Seeing More of the Cast’s Family Members in the Future
“I don’t have a story in my head yet, but I am always looking for something.”
ALEXI HAWLEY: That’s a good question. I mean, we had obviously met Lopez’s mom and family before, but it felt like an opportunity to introduce another side of Harper with her mom this season. I think ultimately we do need to stagger it a bit. We’ve clearly done a big Nolan’s mom story over the years, and Tim’s dad was a big storyline with that abuse and dysfunction there. So, we’ve definitely seen, at this point, a lot of parents.
It just feels like looking for a story to tell with them that feels fresh and interesting. And I really sparked very early on this idea with Harper’s mom, that it flipped it on its head, the idea that her mom was too nice and raised her to see people as good, and Harper’s experience was the opposite. That being the disconnect between them felt like I hadn’t seen that really before. And then I just love the two moms together. I’d watched that show every week. They were great.
Yeah, they seem like a fun duo. And we’ve gotten to meet a few members of these characters’ families. I’ve always been curious about Lucy’s family. I know we got a little bit about it in the past, as a Chinese American I loved hearing Lucy speak Cantonese. Are we ever going to see that? Is that something that is potential for Season 8?
How Long Will Lucy Remain on Night Shift in ‘The Rookie’?
“I do think that we are driving in Season 8 towards trying to get her back in the fold.”
We see Lucy has gotten the position of Sergeant, but we see her interacting with the night shift rather than her normal co-workers. I’m curious what you guys have in mind for the night shift, because she’s got to face off against the Dream Team who kind of redeem themselves in the finale. But will we see still see her in night shift when Season 8 comes around? And how will that sort of develop for her?
HAWLEY: I think the night shift as an obstacle is probably fairly short-lived. I think it was just such a great twist at the end of her getting everything she wanted. And then, of course, be careful what you wish for. It was a fun but frustrating, last sort of gasp of an obstacle for Lucy and Tim. But I do think that we are driving in Season 8 towards trying to get her back in the fold.
Alexi Hawley Teases the Next Steps for Chenford and Tim Bradford’s Growth
“That’s the kind of journey that does make people stronger if they survive it.”
Since you mentioned Tim, we saw him finally open up at the end of this finale episode, but Lucy ended up falling asleep during his speech. Are there more hurdles ahead for them, or are we reaching a place of equilibrium with these two characters? It feels like we were kind of building towards that this entire season.
HAWLEY: I think that’s the right way to look at it. I think, ultimately, a corner has definitely been turned. I think that both the practical obstacles of her now becoming a sergeant, and then the emotional obstacles of him doing the work to figure out why he broke both of their hearts to punish himself, and her having to both forgive him and also figure out how to reprioritize what was important to her career and all that kind of stuff. Those journeys have been taken. So I think they’re due a good conversation. If anything, over seven seasons, we’ve learned that they don’t always talk in the most productive ways. So I would think that that was sort of the last hurdle, which is just to really have that conversation when both of them are awake, and then we’ll see.
And we hear him mention he’s been in therapy. Are we ever going to see that in play out on screen? Because I feel like that would be an exciting conversation to dig into.
He had to put in the work.
HAWLEY: He did. And I think we needed to see her go through both the grieving process of what she went through and also you know, it’s hard to get back together and trust each other when trust has been breached. And so as hard as it’s been this season, it did feel like it was a journey that couldn’t just be like dealt with in three episodes and then happiness. But, ultimately, that’s the kind of journey that does make people stronger if they survive it.
And I’m guessing from this conversation, they will survive it?
HAWLEY: Well, I’m not… I said the corner has been turned, so yeah, we can feel good.
Hawley Breaks Down the Thrilling Face-Off Between Nolan and Oscar in the Season 7 Finale
“Finales are obviously special, and we think a lot about how to make them event-worthy.”
Can you talk about filming that showdown between Nolan and Oscar in this finale with the drone and all the action?
HAWLEY: So finales are obviously special, and we think a lot about how to make them event-worthy. And the road trip of it all came up pretty early on, like a way to make it different and special and but also how isolated [Nolan] was, and Harper’s need to find him in the middle of nowhere. I really liked the way that came together. And the thing with Oscar, which we’re always having to remind ourselves, is that as great of a character as he is and how funny he is, he’s still a psychopath, and he’s still very dangerous.
So, I really love those moments where he tells Nolan that he’s the most stable relationship he’s ever had. But also in that moment where he’s like, the second Nolan closes that box, he’s gonna kill him, and we believe him, like, that’s really great. Yeah, a lot of it was about really trying to deliver. And then Bill Roe directed the finale, and, of course, he did a brilliant job. And we got helicopters, we got gunfire, it’s all great.
It was a very big spectacle, I enjoyed it!
Hawley Talks the Threat of Monica and Oscar in Future Seasons of ‘The Rookie’
“I think there’s some drama to play there, for sure.”
How much of a threat is Oscar going to be moving forward, because he’s always been in the distance, throughout the seasons, and I like that when he comes in little bursts, but it feels like it’s a bit more serious now. Is he more of a present threat, or is the focus more on Monica, now that she’s out?
HAWLEY: I think Oscar and Monica are very different. They have very different motivators. I do think that Oscar, at his heart, is probably the most selfish person you will ever meet. And therefore, there’s no upside to poking the bear, so to speak. So I think as a character, he’s just a little bit more trying to get his and not necessarily needing to interact with us, which makes it, I think, more interesting when he does show up, because he’s always up to something. So, I think Monica has an agenda always, and I think the power she’s going to feel from now having immunity from her sins and being able to exist in the world under our noses is going to be something that she takes pleasure in, and we’ll just have to see where it goes.
But she can get arrested for her crimes.
Is there ever a possibility of her being redeemed? I remember in the beginning, when she was first introduced, she was a past love interest for Wesley. That makes me think there might be something worth saving in there. Or is she too far gone at this point?
HAWLEY: I don’t know, actually. I mean, my instinct is that she’s pretty far gone, given what she’s put us through. But I think it’s easy to tell how much I love our villains and how important it is to me that they are complicated people. Obviously, you can go back to Harold Perrineau’s character in the early days. I think there’s humanity in there, always, and how that manifests is always an interesting question.
Hawley Teases Future Threats of the Eastern Front and Zuzu
“We just need to come up with a unexpected way to reintroduce it, which I don’t have yet.”
In this finale, we see Miles go up against the Eastern Front. How is that going to be addressed as a threat in the coming season?
I’m very curious about Zuzu because I feel like that threat came out of nowhere, and every single time there’s a mystery, I think it’s the AI, but it’s never the AI.
HAWLEY: I was very happy with that. I mean, that storyline was super creepy, and also very grounded, sadly, with these AI chat bots and all that kind of stuff, and the fact that it was tied to a children’s program, I think, is really creepy. And then we went back to it in the documentary episode, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Zuzu. We just need to come up with a unexpected way to reintroduce it, which I don’t have yet. But, I agree, I’m very interested to see where that goes.
You can watch all episodes of The Rookie on Hulu in the U.S.
