“the Rookie” star Nathan Fillion was treated to a special musical performance during the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where he and showrunner Alexi Hawley discussed the series’ broad appeal and upcoming Season 8. Zander Hawley serenaded Fillion on stage in front of a large audience in Ballroom 20.
Fillion shared that “The Rookie” has resonated with multiple generations, even attracting younger viewers. “I have friends who are good actors in their own right. They’re calling me saying, ‘Hey, man, my daughter just turned 11, and she and her friends are all crazy about “The Rookie.” Can I please have a birthday with you?’ I love that,” fillion revealed.
Showrunner Alexi Hawley attributed the show’s success to its role as “comfort food” in the current television landscape. “I think that ultimately television, specifically television with lots of episodes with characters that you can realy invest in, has become comfort food for people,” Hawley stated. “There’s 1,000 shows on the air but it does feel like people sort of grab lots of shows that they look forward to watching. They’re an escape. I take that very seriously. It doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen on our show,that there aren’t stakes,that we don’t go dark sometimes. People really look to us as an critically important storm.”
Looking ahead to Season 8, slated for a 2026 release, Fillion teased an exciting international adventure for his character, John Nolan. A sizzle reel shown during the panel revealed that the LAPD team will travel to Prague in the season premiere. “In the frist episode, we go to Prague and [John] becomes James Bond in the episode. We have a lot of exciting stories for [the cast] this season,” Fillion explained. The reel also offered glimpses of both new and returning cast members, hinting at Nolan’s future storylines.
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