The Rookie is still going strong and is currently on its eighth season. Nathan Fillion, who began as the LAPD’s oldest rookie, is now a training officer. He is joined by LA officers Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), who have been trending online with Chenford. Also part of the team are Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) and Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), detectives with their own families.

There are so many crazy moments in The Rookie, from a gender reveal party glitter explosion to a man moving a coffin with his dead brother inside for drinks at a bar. For the show’s main characters, there are moments when the actors feel like movie action heroes.

“I think when I shot La Fiera,” Diaz recalls of her action hero moment. “There’s a helicopter and the wind. I felt like an action star.”

“Mine, of course, is probably coming out of the water while pregnant, holding a gun on and saying it’s a girl,” Cox said. “Like, yeah, that was probably my superhero moment.”

Nathan Fillion enjoys having fun on the set, but the troublemaker awards would have to go to Winter and O’Neil.

“Oh God, I think it’s Eric and Melissa together,” Diaz replied. “They have so much fun. They’re so playful. They’re like trouble. They’re mischievous little elves.”

“You wouldn’t know that Melissa is involved in it, but she usually is involved,” Cox added.

“When they’re together, ‘Oh my God,'” Diaz exclaimed. “I’m like, ‘Is this what it’s like working with you guys?’ Yeah, it’s really fun. But I feel like they’re mischievous little elves, always up to something, always some sidebar conversation. But right when ‘action’ goes, they just drop it and go, which is amazing.”

With the show having 8 seasons so far, the characters have grown and evolved.

“I think for me it’s just to see how my life has evolved as an actress,” Diaz said. “There are a lot of parallels, more so than any other character I’ve ever played, just probably because I’ve been playing her for so long. Whereas, she gets married. She has two kids. She moves in, and she’s trying to navigate this really intense, high-pressure world. It was kind of similar to what I’m going through, and so I think it just adds different layers, dimensions, and reality. I’m never bored playing my character because I think she’s continually growing. She never stays stagnant, and that’s been a real joy for sure. I feel like I’m starting to take on Angela’s traits as well, the longer I play her. I’m like, ‘Oh my god. Who’s who?'”

About The Rookie

Starting over isn’t easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan, who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of becoming an LAPD officer. As the force’s oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can’t keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he’ll be risking lives — including his own — but if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humor to give him an edge, he may just become successful in this new chapter of his life.