“You can't ask Nathan [Fillion] why all the stuff he touches is so successful because he is truly Canadian, all the way, and he will not take any credit for it whatsoever,” joked actress Melissa O’Neil during a TCA press conference for the sixth season of ABC’s The Rookie. The large ensemble cast is headlined by Nathan Fillion, whose fan-favorite hits also include Firefly and Castle. The star and executive producer tried to deflect when asked about his central role in making these shows a success, and his costars were not about to let him slide. “He sets the tone, he really does. And there's a reason why the guest stars go away, and they're making Instagram posts. They're like, ‘Wow, Nathan Fillion was so amazing,’ because he's just like that, and he makes everybody feel welcome.”
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“He is a very rare leading man who's willing to fall down, to be seen to fail, to be seen to be the butt of a joke, to basically be human,” added series creator, writer, and executive producer Alexi Hawley about Fillion. “So many leading men on television feel like they need to be perfect or infallible, and I think there's such humanity to Nathan, whether he's the captain of a starship, or whether he's a mystery writer, or whether he's the oldest rookie in the LAPD. And I think that's why people want to watch him because they see that you can fall down and still get back up again.”
While Nathan Fillion is often recognized for his work, he always appreciates when he gets complimented for his role as John Nolan on The Rookie. “I was fortunate enough to fly out of town for a different job,” he shared, recounting the numerous drivers involved in transporting him. “All of the drivers I had said, ‘I got to tell you, I really love The Rookie. I watch it with my kids. We keep arguing about who's the best cop.’” These moments serve as a nice reminder that the hard work and long hours that go into creating a TV series are appreciated. “You can forget that the world is watching sometimes, especially if you're having a great time at work and you're enjoying yourself. The day is very different. We're not watching 44 minutes of it. We're attending 12 hours a day, 8 days per episode. So, it's a little bit of a different experience for us, but I can forget sometimes that what we're doing reaches people out there. And it's a lovely reminder when someone stops to say, ‘You're doing great. We're really enjoying it.’”
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Nathan’s costars also shared how much they’ve loved the ride that The Rookie has taken them on, particularly when life imitates art and vice versa. “It's been really fun to add this layer and to grow with Angela literally, physically, and emotionally, having kids,” revealed Alyssa Diaz, whose real-life pregnancy was worked into her character last season. “To add the motherhood layer to it has been extraordinary.” There’s also a pattern of writing a pregnancy for a character, only for the actress to become pregnant herself. “I called, I said, ‘Hey, I have some news,’” joked Jenna Dewan about telling Alexi Hawley that she was actually pregnant after it had been written that Bailey would become a mother on the show. Hawley hopes that this prophecy works in other ways. “We've decided to write a storyline about a writers' room that wins a billion dollars,” he joked.
“Just shoutout to the writers,” added Mekia Cox, who plays Nyla Harper, and appreciates the way the story team balances the large cast of characters on The Rookie. “Some episodes, my character might have a smaller storyline, but it still feels like you get to understand what's happening with each and every character.” Eric Winter, who plays Tim Bradford, added more praise. “Alexi continues to deliver every season. And having been on other ensembles… the longer you go on a series to keep it interesting, the writers' room has such a task. And I think they continue to elevate every season.”
Season 6 of The Rookie premieres Tuesday, February 20th, at 9/8c on ABC. New episodes stream the next day on Hulu.