Premiering its sixth season earlier this month, the popular ABC drama The Rookie has also celebrated its remarkable 100th episode this week. The milestone episode featured the long-awaited wedding of Nathan Fillion’s LAPD rookie-turned-training officer John Nolan to Jenna Dewan’s firefighter Bailey Nune.
While it has successfully launched its sixth season, the series creator Alexi Hawley has recently opened up about the struggles and uncertainties the show faced leading up to the current season.
Alexi Hawley Was Doubtful About The Rookie Season 6
Starting in 2019, the police procedural crime drama The Rookie has successfully run for four years, concluding its season 5 in May 2023. And the show’s creator Alexi Hawley has credited the show’s star Nathan Fillion’s charismatic presence and the engaging stories for its longevity.
However, despite the positive reception, the creator had doubts surrounding its future, particularly due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes. In a recent interview, Hawley, who had seen the impact of previous Hollywood strikes, was concerned that The Rookie Season 6 might never happen due to the prolonged writers’ and actors’ strikes.
“Of course. There was a lot of uncertainty in the strike. It lasted a very long time,” he said during the interview. However, he was determined to keep the show afloat, as he shared that he was up for action every time there was a conversation, despite not knowing how long the strikes would last.
“Whenever there was a conversation to be had with the studio or network, my position [as a producer] was always, ‘I can get up and shooting in four weeks. We’re professional writers, we can come up with story, I’ve got crews to feed and pay.’”
And they got to work as soon as the strike was over. The Rookie Season 6 premiered earlier this month and picks up right after the cliffhanger ending of Season 5. Every season of the show has had 20-22 episodes, and Season 6 is also expected to have a similar number of episodes.
Nathan Fillion Reflected on The Rookie’s Resilience Amidst Industry Challenges
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nathan Fillion also acknowledged the impact of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes on the show. Reflecting on how The Rookie spin-off series The Rookie: Feds became a casualty to the strikes, the actor said, “I think if anything, it made us all more grateful to see how fragile this industry is.”
Fillion, however, also expressed gratitude, noting that, unlike the ABC TV series, many shows did not survive the challenges posed by the strikes. He also shared that throughout his decades-long career, it has been the best job he has ever had, as he appreciated the cast and crew of the show.
“There’s nothing that I could throw at this cast that they couldn’t handle, and it’s a real privilege to work at a place where I smile when I drive to work every day,” Fillion said, reflecting on his experience working on the beloved ABC drama.
