After six seasons and more than 100 episodes, the extended cast of characters on The Rookie has grown far beyond the trio of just-graduated police officers who anchored the series. Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan may be the central protagonist, but the show has always been an ensemble effort. One of the best newer characters in the series is not a rookie or a cop at all, but car-thief-turned-roommate Tamara Colins. Still, with fewer appearances in the past two seasons, some fans might wonder if something happened to her, or if she left the series.
Of all the characters in The Rookie, Melissa O’Neill’s Lucy Chen is the one with the few non-police connections. Technically, Lucy met Tamara Colins while on duty, but their close relationship developed mostly when she was out of uniform. Now Chen’s roommate, the character played by Dylan Conrique first appeared in the series as a troubled teenager living on the street. As she’s settled into her comfortable life with her new big sister, Tamara doesn’t appear as frequently as she used to. However, just because Tamara happened to start appearing on The Rookie less and less, it doesn’t mean she is in trouble or going anywhere. In truth, her absences after Seasons 3 and 4 may be down to simply budgetary considerations for a show with a very large cast.
Updated August 06, 2024, by Joshua M. Patton: Fans of Dylan Conrique’s character saw her return to The Rookie briefly in Season 6, but only for a handful of scenes. However, those scenes seemingly reinforce that there simply was no longer room for Tamara Colins in the large cast. She eventually tells Lucy her plans for the future, seemingly leaving the series. Still, there is every chance what happened in The Rookie Season 6 could happen in the future, and Tamara could return for a guest spot. This article has been updated to include details from Season 6 and comport to CBR’s current formatting standards.
Who Is Tamara Colins on The Rookie?
Tamara Colins first appeared in Season 3 of The Rookie as one of many new characters meant to shift focus from the police precinct to the community they serve. A high-school student whose parents died when she was very young, she wound up living on the street with nowhere to go. At the time, Lucy drove an old, run-down car with doors that couldn’t even lock. Tamara boosted the car so that she had somewhere to sleep at night. During a patrol with Bradford (who was still her training officer at the time), Lucy spotted the stolen vehicle with Tamara still inside. The young woman tried to flee, but Lucy was quick to handcuff the juvenile car thief.
While Bradford searched her belongings in the car, Chen had a change of heart. When she learned how Tamara’s life changed after her parents died, Lucy declined to press charges for the theft. She went a step further and tried to help Tamara by taking her to a children’s shelter. However, Lucy quickly learned those shelters weren’t safe, and Tamara would rather be on the street than stay there. Lucy ended up giving the car to Tamara, which the teenager promptly sold for $4000 to buy some new clothes and her first-ever computer.
Throughout Season 3, Tamara would frequently appear either with Lucy or at the community center the LAPD established with Arjay Smith’s James Murray. She was often joined by Nik Lopez’s Silas March, a neurodivergent teen who excelled at video production and DJ’ing. In one episode, he playfully argues with Tamara about whether the rules of fictional multiverses would allow the Powerpuff Girls to fight the Avengers. However, after the death of Officer Jackson West, Tamara and Lucy get even closer.
Tamara and Lucy Grew Even Closer When She Moved Into West’s Room
Throughout Season 3, Tamara’s living situation is somewhat vague. She slept at her cousin’s apartment, but she couldn’t even trust her family to not pawn her computer while she rested. When Jackson West is killed, Lucy convinces Tamara to move in with her, taking over his old room. Still, as much as Lucy wanted Tamara to make a home with her, she still wasn’t over the loss of her friend.
Specifically, she wanted Tamara to choose the paint color in her room so that it felt like “hers.” Yet, Chen kept “vetoing” the girl’s choices because of her grief over losing Jackson. Tamara ended up just decorating and painting the room herself. The two women are, effectively, sisters. Chen still tries to help her when she needs it, but with a safe place to stay and a new “found” family, the former car thief doesn’t need all that much help. In later seasons, she’s the one helping Lucy, particularly when it comes to navigating her relationship with Tim Bradford. Tamara acts as a sounding board for Chen’s worries and insecurities, while also being very protective of her roommate and her feelings.
No longer the angry teen with a chip on her shoulder, Tamara is comfortable in her new life until she gets a painful reminder of what and who she left behind. In Season 4’s “Endgame,” Tamara learns that one of her friends from the street killed another, accidentally. It happened because the victim was trying to get her life together. She felt guilty because of how her good fortune with Lucy inadvertently led to the killing and for losing touch with her less fortunate friends. Lucy helped her through that grief and promised her that she’d always be there for her new little sister. In Season 5, Tamara’s plush babysitting job turns into a kidnapping conspiracy when the child’s mother goes missing. Through it all, Lucy has stayed by her side.
Where Has Tamara Been In Season 6 of The Rookie?
After Season 4, Conrique’s appearances have been infrequent. She was in four episodes of The Rookie Season 5, and made her first appearance in the fourth episode of Season 6, “The Vow,” for a single scene. Tamara still lives with Lucy but seems to be fully engrossed in her collegiate life. She will likely appear in future episodes, hopefully outside the apartment she shares with Lucy. While audiences may miss the character and her dynamic with Chen’s police colleagues, her absence is actually good news for her.
More often than not, when Tamara sticks around for an episode, something terrible happens to her. Not being caught up in the high-stakes drama typically on The Rookie means Tamara is having a safe, uneventful life as a college kid with a safe home and bright future. The real-world reason Tamara’s role has been reduced likely has to do with the addition of new cast members to the ensemble series. The show has ten series regulars, including newer characters like Tru Valentino’s Aaron Thorsen and Lisseth Chavez’s Celina Juarez. Additionally, Conrique has a busy life outside The Rookie.
Being on The Rookie has been amazing because I’m learning from the actors on the show, which is really cool, but I’m also just having fun while acting, I love being able to play a different character. It’s easy to snap into it.
“I love hanging out with my friends and try to hang out with them as much as possible,” Conrique said in a Ones to Watch Q&A. “I usually have the weekends off which is really nice and I can just do whatever I need for myself. When I’m acting, it’s full attention to that in that moment, and after, I can go back to singing. Being on The Rookie has been amazing because I’m learning from the actors on the show which is really cool, but I’m also just having fun while acting, I love being able to play a different character. It’s easy to snap into it.”
The series also has new and veteran recurring characters like Angel Parker’s Luna Gray, Bridget Regan as no-nonsense defense attorney Monica Stevens, and other precinct mainstays like Brent Huff’s Officer Smitty. Tamara’s most recent episode featured one of The Rookie’s celebrity cameos. David Dastmalchian was cast as a villainous character from Bradford’s past. While it may seem to audiences who watch week-to-week like something happened to Tamara Colins, she’s still very much a part of The Rookie ensemble, even if she appears less frequently than she did in the past.
Why Tamara Is an Important Character in The Rookie Cast
While she may seem like a character that’s not all that consequential to The Rookie’s drama, Tamara is a vital part of The Rookie’s extended family. Season 3 introduced Tamara and others as a reminder to the audience that the role of the police is about more than just arresting baddies (usually after a gratuitous shootout). In fact, other than Lucy’s parents (with whom she has a complicated relationship), Tamara is Chen’s only non-police connection on the show.
Ensemble series, particularly those involving police, can become very myopic by only focusing on the law enforcement setting. Characters like Tamara or James Murray give the core characters personalities beyond their role as cops. Moments where Tamara helps Lucy work out her relationship issues or, conversely, where Lucy serves as a mentor and role model to Tamara add much-needed depth.
If Chen, or any of The Rookie’s regulars, are only defined by their roles as cops, the show becomes much less interesting and relatable. After all, The Rookie didn’t become a hit for its depiction of traffic stops and booking perpetrators. The authentic, human relationships like the one Lucy has with Tamara keep viewers coming back each week.
Tamara Colins Moved Out of Lucy’s Apartment in Season 6 of The Rookie
Now that production is underway for The Rookie Season 7, it’s worth it to look at what happened to Tamara Colins in Season 6. While she mainly existed on the periphery of the action, that’s a good thing for a young woman in college. While she has been caught up in the police drama in the past, it’s better for the character to avoid that as much as possible. Unfortunately, that means there isn’t much for Conrique to do in a given episode, save to be someone for Lucy to talk to as Tamara comes and goes. Midway through Season 6, however, Tamara “goes” for good.
In Season 6, Episode 6, “Secrets and Lies,” Tamra walks into Lucy Chen’s bedroom, who is still reeling from the “Chenford” breakup. After making sure Lucy was okay, Tamara dropped a less explosive bomb on Lucy’s life, which was (in some ways) good news. Tamara made friends at college and planned to move into a house with them, meaning she’d be leaving Lucy behind. In the next episode, “Crushed,” Lucy offers Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) Tamara’s room. This is a smart storytelling decision, as it will bond those two characters and give Lucy a roommate who gets in on the cop action regularly.
Still, while Tamara and Lucy’s final scene felt like a goodbye, it may not be the end. After joking about how easy she was “to replace,” Lucy reaffirms for her that Tamara is family. Lucy jokes Juarez would be “kicked to the curb so fast” if Tamara ever needed her room back. She also tells the young woman that she will still be there for her, if only a further distance away. This means that Tamara could return in The Rookie Season 7 with something worthwhile to do, such as help with a case or take care of Lucy in some way. Hopefully, this isn’t the end for the character. Tamara told Lucy stealing her car was the best decision she ever made, and it happened to be great for the audience as well.
