‘The Rookie’ Creator Officially Confirms New Crossover for ABC Series [Exclusive]

There’s a special lightning-in-a-bottle aspect to ABC’s The Rookie. Creator Alexi Hawley credits the ensemble cast, led by star and executive producer Nathan Fillion, and the Mid-Wilshire Police Department’s many unexpected adventures. Now, after Season 8’s explosive finale, Collider’s Steven Weintraub had the chance to sit down with the crew at San Diego Comic-Con to find out what fans can expect in the future.

Don’t miss our full conversation with the team: Melissa O’Neil, Richard T. Jones, Alyssa Diaz, Eric Winter, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, Lisseth Chavez, Deric Augustine, Fillion, and Hawley. Get to know the cast with questions about past roles, curious obsessions, other universes they want to jump into, and more! Plus, they discuss the relationships they personally want to see more of on screen in Season 9, their pitches Hawley’s shot down, the pitches that could still happen, and Hawley teases exciting The Rookie: North crossover episodes in the works!

Get To Know Team Behind 'The Rookie'

Nathan Fillion desperately wants to live in the world of Star Trek.

COLLIDER: Something that I've been doing with everyone who's been coming in is called “Get to Know Your Cast Member.” We’ll start with Alexi. What project scared you the most before saying yes?

ALEXI HAWLEY: That is a good question. I'm trying to think about what it is.

NATHAN FILLION: What scares you about work sometimes?

HAWLEY: It's more about politics, relationships, the sort of business side of it a little bit. I would say becoming the last writer standing on The Exorcist prequel way back when was probably the most challenging job I've done, for sure.

What's something you are embarrassingly bad at?

FILLION: Good luck with this.

MELISSA O’NEIL: Okay, wow. Salsa. There was a salsa night, and I have a funny memory of everyone trying to include me to participate, and I really couldn't catch the beat. I can't do it for my life. But I would like to learn because everyone here is really good at salsa.

FILLION: Did the instructor come and say, “We'd like you to stop trying?”

O’NEIL: [Laughs] All my lovely girlfriends had a really sweet expression, but I could see them being like, “Aw, she's trying.”

RICHARD T. JONES: I think they did say, “Stop trying.”

FILLION: “The band is wincing.”

If you could jump into any fictional universe, what would it be and why?

FILLION: I'm really into the Star Trek universe for the fact that there's no more money. If you need anything, there's a replicator. Everything's free, so you can just kind of pursue interests, and you're always at peace because you're never hungry or want for anything. A replicator: It can be a blanket, and bricks — “I'm going to build a house.” That kind of stuff.

I'm just going to do one follow-up, if you don't mind. Do you have a favorite Star Trek show of all the shows?

FILLION: The original has a very special place in my heart, but I'm a Next Generation guy. I grew up on that one. I grew up with the men and women of the Enterprise.

Jean-Luc Picard.

FILLION: That's the one.

I love seeing movies in movie theaters. Do you have a favorite movie theater?

JONES: Wow. Geez, I've been to so many movie theaters. I would say the IMAX that's at USC.

FILLION: You're wrong. I'm sorry. It was the IPIC Cinema in Pasadena, but it closed down.

O’NEIL: It’s gone! It’s devastating.

JONES: It closed, so why would I pick that one? But I would say, yeah, it was the IMAX at USC. It was the best, actually, experience I had when they first came out.

Have you ever asked for someone's autograph?

ERIC WINTER: Yeah. I actually just did recently. Thibaut Courtois, who’s the goalie for Real Madrid. There's a few autographs I've asked for, but the most recent one was that one. Athletes.

FILLION: And when you first met me.

If you could have a song play when you enter a room, what would it be?

SHAWN ASHMORE: Hmm…

FILLION: Can I throw one at you? “Thunderstruck,” AC/DC.

ALYSSA DIAZ: That’s a great one.

ASHMORE: Thanks, Nathan. Appreciate that. Yeah, I'll go with that because I'm drawing a blank. Thank you, Nathan. I'll go that.

What's the last concert you went to?

JENNA DEWAN: Oh, it was KATSEYE. [Laughs] I have a 13-year-old daughter who is very anime, K-pop. I'm in the K-pop girly world so I was at KATSEYE. I had to fight so hard for the… I don't know if anyone knows this, but the concert tickets for KATSEYE were very hard to get, so it was a big deal. And they were amazing.

So basically you came across as a great mom.

DEWAN: Yes, I was. I got major good mom points that night.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled while preparing for a role?

DERIC AUGUSTINE: “Muhammad Ali's voice.” I play Muhammad Ali on Godfather of Harlem, so his voice.

JONES: That's the weirdest thing?

AUGUSTINE: Yeah. I mean, yeah. [Laughs]

FILLION: Do you ever look up those sayings you have to say on The Rookie?

AUGUSTINE: Oh, that too! I have to say some weird stuff on The Rookie. Some Texas stuff I have to google, like “What do they mean?” I think the recent one was, “I dropped my heart plum through the cloud.” [Laughs]

ASHMORE: What does that mean?

AUGUSTINE: It means that I’m happy. “I’m in a happy place.”

Is there a character you've played that stuck with you longer than expected?

DIAZ: Yes. I would say Angela Lopez. Doing nine years of Angela Lopez, I have to say, our lives are now merging. We have parallel lives. Yeah, that's my answer.

What's a talent you admire in other actors that you wish you had?

MEKIA COX: This one.

LISSETH CHAVEZ: Me? Why?

COX: Yes. Your TikToks are amazing! right. I am not the star that she is. On TikTok, you've done such a wonderful job, and I do not have that.

Do you collect anything?

LISSETH CHAVEZ: Oh my God, well, I kind of go through phases, so it just kind of depends. There was a moment where I used to collect Shamu. I used to be obsessed with Shamu, the whale, after Free Willy. No, I’m serious! I had a fantasy where I wanted to one day be friends with whales. But then that stopped.

The worst part about this is this was a year ago.

CHAVEZ: [Laughs] No, my room used to be covered with just pictures of Shamu, and I would cut pictures of my face and just place them… I swear to God. That was the first thing that came to mind. I used to be obsessed with whales until I started getting nightmares, and then that stopped.

'The Rookie's Eric Winter Once Shut Down a Rowdy Heckler While Filming in Uniform

You don’t have to make all this noise.”

Has anyone ever forgotten they were wearing a police uniform and gone somewhere in public?

CHAVEZ: I did.

COX: I didn't forget I was wearing a police uniform, but people come up to you, and they think you're a cop sometimes.

FILLION: Yes. That happens often.

CHAVEZ: I remember filming the pilot, and I had to use a bathroom, and we were on location, and I'm running. They just see me in the uniform running to go to the bathroom, and I forgot I was wearing the uniform, I guess, and so everyone's like, “What's going on? What’s happening?” I’m like, “I have to use the bathroom.”

O’NEIL: Well, you didn't forget, but one time you just used your uniform, which we're not supposed to do. Do you remember that? We were having a hard time. We were trying to shoot. Tell them that story. That was bad. We didn't find out until later.

WINTER: We were just trying to shoot a scene, and some guy kept making a lot of loud noises on purpose to try to interrupt the scene. So finally, I just walked over to him, fully in uniform, and just asked why he's being such a jerk and had a conversation with him, and he started, “I'm sorry, can I get your name?” “My name’s right here. Bradford.” I had a full conversation with him, and I’m like, “You don’t have to make all this noise.”

FILLION: He's calling to report, “His name is Tim Bradford.”

WINTER: It was a long conversation.

O’NEIL: He didn't forget. He used it.

'The Rookie' Cast Promise a Satisfying Resolution to Season 8's Cliffhanger Ending

"It feels iconic at this point for our show to have those moments."

Season 8 ended with an engagement and an abduction in the same scene…

FILLION: What?! I haven't seen it. Spoiler alert.

That's peak Rookie whiplash. How do you even process getting handed a script like that?

O’NEIL: With a smile. It feels iconic at this point for our show to have those moments. I mean, we just went through that. We rereleased the extended cut of an episode.

HAWLEY: The extended cut of the zombie episode, of 810, we put out recently, and you and I had a conversation about it. And yes, I call it “everyone's having a good time until I’m an asshole.”

FILLION: When you’re writing scenes like that, when you guys are performing scenes like that, are you thinking to yourselves about the screaming teenagers dying during those moments and how incredibly upset they're going to be?

O’NEIL: I felt like that at the end. When we were reading the script, and you see they're finally happy, the sun is setting… Oh, spoiler. Look away. If you haven't seen it, just look away. Look away. But that moment, you don't think there's room for it to go bad, and the fact that it twisted on a dime with five seconds left, it blew me away.

ASHMORE: Alexi will find a way.

O’NEIL: Yes, exactly. He will find a way.

HAWLEY: I will. People did send me watch videos of people watching it and just the joy on their faces during the proposal, and then I'm like, “Wait for it…” And then usually, somebody grabs somebody because something's happening, and you can see the room all start to realize something else is going on, and then they're not happy. But I mean, they're coming back. It's super lean-forward.

The show has been called “comfort food TV” by you. What's the ingredient you think that keeps people coming back season after season?

COX: Love.

HAWLEY: I think people love these characters, played by these actors here, and they know that they're trying to do the right thing. They know there's hope in the show. I think the world is a dark place right now, and I think people really resonate on that these are people who are trying to do the right thing, and succeed more often than they fail, and it makes them look forward to watching it. They get to spend time with them every week.

Nathan, you have a question?

FILLION: I'll agree. I'll take it one step further. I think it's the characters. I think it's the relationship between the characters. I think these are aspirational relationships, people who can rely on each other, who actually like each other. I think this is the epitome of a friendship that people look for. These are the relationships that people want, that they can believe in. I know, like them.

DEWAN: We like you too!

CHAVEZ: You also get a little bit of everything with our show. You get the action, you get the drama, you get the romance, you get the funny, you get the horror. So, there's something for everyone. And it's also unexpected, like the way we mishmash stuff, so I think it keeps the show interesting and engaging. I'm always intrigued when we read new scripts. It's always exciting. The characters are always developing, and I think that's really important.

This is just for me, but I think what you are very good at is keeping the audience off balance, and that's something I think people respond to because you can't predict certain things.

HAWLEY: And it's really baked into the DNA of the show. Anytime they get out of their police cars, anything can happen, in the same way it does for every police officer. We take that to heart in the writers' room. I never want to do what another show has done with a crime story because our point of view is specific and ours, and so I'm always looking to twist it and make it unexpected.

Every police show in history has done a bank robbery. They've done a heist. They've done a hostage situation. Whatever. So, what makes it unique for us is these guys and how they approach it. So yeah, I'm always looking to twist it and be unexpected.

Alexi Hawley Officially Reveals if a 'The Rookie: North' Crossover Is Happening

"There are some thoughts being put to who might go north or come south or both."

A bunch of people on Collider love the show, and I did get some questions. The Rookie: North just got greenlit. Are you already thinking about a crossover?

HAWLEY: I am, I am. There might be one in the works, for sure. We started shooting Season 9 on Tuesday, this last week. We start shooting North in a few weeks, early August, so we're already into scripts on everything, obviously. There are some thoughts being put to who might go north or come south or both.

What was your reaction for that season premiere script? How much have you read?

O’NEIL: First two!

What was your reaction to reading the first two scripts? What do you want to tease?

JONES: Ha. You're not getting me in trouble.

O’NEIL: What are we allowed to say?

HAWLEY: I will tease that it's a two-parter, a two-part season premiere.

ASHMORE: Alexi and I were talking about this last night. I was pleasantly surprised at how we come into the first episode. It was sort of unexpected. Again, it's like what The Rookie does well. It's emotional, it's poignant, it's sweet, and it's unexpected. I really love just that first opening sequence of how we come into the season. I was like, “Wow, that's a really smart, funny, and touching way.”

DEWAN: I totally agree. And the fans are going to lose their minds. That's what I kept thinking.

Nathan Fillion Has a Pitch for a 'The Rookie' Musical Episode

The idea was inspired by 'Widow's Bay.'

What storyline have each of you pitched that Alexi refuses to let you do?

O’NEIL: Oh, Lord.

COX: I would like Crystal to come back.

O’NEIL: Oh, yes! That would be awesome.

HAWLEY: I don't think I've said no to that.

CHAVEZ: No, I think it's the musical. Musical?

HAWLEY: Oh, yeah. That I said no to.

O’NEIL: You guys are guys have been pitching a musical episode of The Rookie? Have you pitched something that he’s said no to?

FILLION: I want to pitch something right now. You know how sometimes when the police are confiscating evidence and whatnot, there's the danger of a substance coming into contact with skin. I want John Nolan to come into contact with something where he becomes high, but we see the world from his eyes where everybody's acting really weird, wearing strange colors, doing funky stuff, and he's going, “Guys, I seriously think something's wrong with you.”

But then we cut back to reality where everything's normal, and he's grasping at… You know? He's not totally there, but in his world, he's the straight guy looking out at the absurdities. So that’s my pitch. It's great B-story stuff.

HAWLEY: I don’t know that I can beat the Widow’s Bay episode that did a version of that.

FILLION: That's what inspired it.

You've built one of television's biggest ensembles. When you are all together, who naturally becomes the leader and who immediately starts causing trouble?

HAWLEY: They're sitting next to each other.

FILLION: Richard’s trouble. I think Melissa's a very quiet, sneaky leader.

00;19;41;12 - 00;19;51;04

Speaker 4

Yeah. You two, I feel like you two together. And these are the troublemakers. Yeah. It's hard to keep us serious. You can't not laugh with the two of you in this scene.

00;19;51;06 - 00;19;55;19

Speaker 1

CHAVEZ: I feel like these are the leaders [Fillion and O’Neil], and these are the troublemakers [Winter and Jones].

DEWAN: It’s hard to keep it serious. You can’t not laugh when it’s the two of you.

ASHMORE: Yeah, trouble’s not bad.

DEWAN: Good trouble!

FILLION: That's probably the greatest challenge we face is not laughing at times. That's probably the hardest part of what we do.

O’NEIL: Wait. That is what we try to pitch all the time that he says no to now. We don't get very many large group scenes anymore because we misbehave!

ASHMORE: Because we can't get through them.

O’NEIL: It takes too long to shoot, so they don’t write us all together anymore. Is that a practical choice?

HAWLEY: That's not true. I actually loved the scene we did last season at Nolan's house when Wesley was losing the DA's race. I thought that was really special. However, roll call scenes are a bit of herding cats, I will say.

O’NEIL: We miss them!

Which two characters who rarely share scenes deserve an entire episode together?

ASHMORE: I think Tim and Wesley need to make up after our little…

O’NEIL: I really want Lucy and Grey to have some scenes together. I think she's missing a paternal figure, and I think that would be really special. I’m pitching it.

FILLION: I say Shawn and Liz.

O’NEIL: Oh, yes!

HAWLEY: That is a good combo.

FILLION: Where Liz has to take Shawn through something dangerous. She’s gotta pull him through, like, “Stick with me.”

DEWAN: I’m always trying to get brought in to the girls a little bit.

O’NEIL: And we’re always a fan of Bropez. That always hits, too.

I'm gonna sneak in one last thing. What fan theory made you guys laugh the hardest?

FILLION: Oh, sometimes we put red herrings in the social media.

O’NEIL: Oh, that was a fun one.

FILLION: I had you guys proposing in the background of a very early tweet. You and I were tweeting something else out, and then in the background, pretending like they were proposing.

O’NEIL: Which was seasons ago too. You teased something very early on. You seeded that fan theory very early.

FILLION: They catch everything.

O’NEIL: Yeah, they catch everything. We have to be very careful.

FILLION: They'll notice a seam on a sleeve and the length of it. They'll notice everything.

O’NEIL: They're very vigilant about people dying. They're very vigilant about people suddenly being killed off because we have done it suddenly on our show. It feels safe, and sometimes it's not. So, I feel like that comes up, and I categorize it as absurd because I also feel that safety. I'm like, “That's not going to happen. That's absurd. What do you mean?”

HAWLEY: That does go back to the unexpected, right? We have had cast members fall by the wayside along the way, and in a way that a lot of shows don't do. Yeah. So, yeah, people still tweet at me all the time, “Don't you kill Lucy Chen. Don't you do it.”

The Rookie Season 8 is available to stream on Hulu.