Warning: This article contains spoilers for Sunday’sThe Rookieseason 2 finale, “The Hunt.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The coronavirus pandemic has shaken up season finales for many shows.
ALEXI HAWLEY:We got super-lucky, because our last day of shooting [California Gov.
Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC; Inset: Image Group LA via Getty Images
Gavin] Newsom shut down the state.
So this is exactly what our end goal was.
But we only do 20 [episodes].
I guess the people who did 22 got cut short, but we just got in under the wire.
When you introduced Detective Armstrong this season, he immediately became a fan favorite.
We knew from go.
So I was super-excited to get him for the role.
He’s so great on the show, do we change course?
It’s meant to be provocative and it’s meant to be upsetting.
It’s upsetting to no one more than Nolan because they’re friends.
Armstrong’s a mentor, and that sort of betrayal is powerful.
Can we expect Harold to return next season, at least at the start?
That has always been the plan.
It’s really a three-parter.
Two-part season finale, but the third part is 301.
He would come back to tell the other side of that story, the cliffhanger and everything.
Where do we go from here?
John has the reputation of being a boy scout, but Armstrong has been on the force much longer.
It’s going to put everything to the test.
That’s obviously what we’re going to figure out when we come back.
Armstrong has a lot of credibility and respect inside the department, and Nolan’s just a rookie.
So it’s going to be a big hill to climb for Nolan.
But I think that’s where the excitement is.
That’s where the fun of that story will be on the other side of the season.
John trusted Nick as a mentor, which has been incredibly important to his development on the force.
I do think that it will have an impact, that sort of betrayal, the reality of that.
There’s a lot of discussions about Nolan and not wanting him to be naive.
I do think that he’s a realist.
He’s been through a lot.
That will be challenged here.
That’s going to be his struggle in season 3.
Just how do I retain my values and my worldview when they’ve been shaken to the core?
It seems like Tim and Rachel are going to give long-distance a shot.
What lies ahead for them?
Its been so nice to see Tim romantically happy most of this season.
What he went through with Isabel in season 1 was a life-changing experience and was really difficult for him.
But obviously it’s tricky, long-distance relationships.
How about John and Grace [Ali Larter]?
When we landed on this as a path, I thought it was really organic.
That sort of commitment to your family even being more important than your personal happiness.
It’s going to be a struggle, but Nolan does love her.
But at the same time, if she does come back to him, does he forgive this?
But Ali is great, and they have great chemistry.
I like that their relationship is complicated, and I’m sure it will remain that way.
On a practical level, you’re always challenged in terms of actor availability.
The actor who played Emmett [Jeff Pierre] booked a series.
Jasmine Matthews, who plays Rachel, was just in a big movie withChris Pratt.
Ali’s always busy.
You have to write with that in mind a little bit.
I do think that Emmett is really good for Lucy.
I love Wesley and Lopez; it’s one of my favorite relationships.
The dynamic between them is really great.
We’ll turn up the heat a little bit on the wedding.
Nyla got a big win getting shared custody of her daughter at the end of the season.
Can we expect that to change her job or add new pressures?
The whole season has been about her finding herself, the warriors and guardians of it all.
She needed Nolan to help her get back to who she used to be.
He helped her find her way back because she’d gone to a super-dark place.
Part of the reason that she took patrol work is because the hours were regular.
So there’ll be an adjustment period, but it’s the happiest she’s been in forever.
Getting her daughter back is a profound moment for her.
It’s calledThe Rookieafter all, but many shows have diverged from their initial title.
There’s always change and always movement.
For me,The Rookiehas always meant Nolan as a bit of fish out of water.
Going forward, the show is really designed to keep that in mind.
He’s still going to be the oldest first-year patrol officer.
He’s always going to be the oldest first-year training officer.
If we’re lucky enough to have enough seasons, he’ll be the rookie detective.
There’s a way to keep it alive without it being just a rookie patrol officer.
That’s at the heart of the show.
It’s about Nolan always being other a little bit.
Obviously, the show will grow and evolve as it goes forward.
It’s hard; it’s a show about relationships, and these characters.
I would assume the coronavirus crisis is really changing police work and crime in the city.
Do you intend to write the pandemic in next season?
I don’t know.
I’m still a little on the fence.
This morning I reached out to a post supervisor to change the date on on Armstrong’s phone.
When he looks at it, it said May 1 on there.
I’m changing it to February because it’s a cliffhanger of an ending.
To keep the timeline clear, I am resetting it before all of this.
That will allow us going forward to be before it a little bit.
It’s just so hard to tell.
When are we going to start shooting?
I’m not sure.
When are we going to air?
I’m not sure.
Where’s the country’s going to be?
To try and actually navigate matching the show toward reality, it’s impossible.
There’s so many moving pieces.
