There will always be a certain set of challenges for a long-running television drama. Procedurals, like ABC’s <em>The Rookie</em>, need to strike the perfect balance between familiarity and freshness, even when they are many seasons into their run. The Rookie’s longevity has to do with the fact that it’s still such an entertaining show. The series definitely leans more into relying on characters and storylines that we’ve seen before, but manages to be fun to watch because of the fast-paced action included in every episode. At the end of Season 7, we learned that villain Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan) is now working with the LAPD, and the new season continues on with that plot. It just might be better for the show if they decided to move past all of these previously-seen narratives.
Season 8 of ‘The Rookie’ Offers Plenty of Heart-Pumping Action
The Rookie continues to be incredibly adept at bringing adrenaline-inducing action sequences to our screens. Season 8 opens with a twist on our usual fare: several members of the Mid-Wilshire precinct have been tasked with working with Monica overseas to track down and nab a high-profile weapons trafficker. Monica is pretending to broker a deal with him in a sting operation. Of course, there are plenty of fight scenes and chases in their quest for justice, and that seems to be the new standard for Season 8. Even when they’re back on their home turf, our favorite cops always have a surplus of bad guys to catch, with Episode 3 offering one of the creepiest criminals The Rookie has featured so far with Ezra Kaine (David Krumholtz). This new villain proves that the series knows how to create antagonists that make the show totally addictive to watch. But the show is far from perfect, and after so many seasons, some of the cracks are beginning to show in The Rookie.
First ‘The Rookie’ Season 8 Trailer Sends Nathan Fillion on an International Manhunt
Can he really be called “The Rookie” after 8 Seasons?
‘The Rookie’ Is Struggling To Move Past Stale Storylines
It can be fun to see familiar faces returning to The Rookie; for example, Skip Tracer Randy (Flula Borg) always guarantees an episode that will be filled with laughs. But at some point, there has to be a time when the good guys win out, and the bad guys go to prison. Monica was initially a very exciting new character, with her glamorous pantsuits and snarky attitude, but she’s beginning to feel a tad too predictable. The Season 8 premiere centers around what feels like a retread of past storylines, even if they did set it in Prague to try and switch things up. It’s also been confirmed that Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave) will be returning later in the season, a character who has long overstayed his welcome. Having arch enemies can be exciting for a long-running show, but this works when the practice is used in moderation, not for every character to ever grace the screen. That doesn’t mean it’s all familiar faces though. The series is still introducing new characters, but it feels like we don’t get a lot of time to explore these storylines before they’re wrapped up.
However, it’s not like The Rookie writers are dedicated to keeping things the same in all respects. The best thing about Season 8 is that The Rookie writers have heard the pleas to just get Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) back together again. We finally get some meaningful forward movement with the Chenford storyline this season, and this helps the series move past that stagnation these two characters have had in the past few seasons. If the writers take a note of this plot, they’ll notice how much better the overall narrative flows with this kind of momentum. The series needs authentic changes to the characters (with the inclusion of new characters) to continue evolving, and sticking to the same tired storylines will get them nowhere.
Season 8 of ‘The Rookie’ Leans Into the Unrealistic Plots to Its Detriment
There are aspects of The Rookie that feel realistic — the pressure of a life in law enforcement, the complexities of married life, etc — but then there are the dramatic aspects that make no sense. Season 8 starts off with one of the most illogical storylines on the show so far. The fact that the LAPD would be tasked with going undercover to facilitate an international sting operation makes zero sense. But what’s even more frustrating is the fact that Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) is traveling with John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) to help out with the investigation. Unless Bailey somehow joined the police force without us knowing about it, why on earth would they have a firefighter/EMT working with the cops? There’s also a major shake-up with leadership within the Mid-Wilshire precinct at the beginning of the season, which doesn’t seem all that clear as the episodes play out. This might make more sense further on in the storytelling, but it makes the division of labor at the beginning of the season feel overly complicated.
These kinds of unrealistic details push the viewer out of the story and bring the show closer to jump-the-shark territory. Of course, there have always been elements of the show that don’t fit with reality. An average LAPD police unit doesn’t see a shoot-out every single day of their career, but pretty much every episode contains at least one. By introducing more hard-to-believe storylines, it makes the show feel inauthentic and runs the risk of some viewers tuning out of future episodes.
That being said, there are still plenty of enjoyable aspects to The Rookie Season 8 that remain true to form. The friendships between the crew are even more fun to watch as they develop this season, especially new partnerships forming between Miles Penn (Deric Augustine) and Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) and Miles and Nolan. The series is also offering more buddy-cop scenes with Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox), which helps meet the sassy quotient of the show. These relationships are still the backbone of The Rookie. Eight seasons in, and the show would be wise to continue leaning into these connections rather than bringing back supporting side characters who have overstayed their welcome.
New episodes of The Rookie air on Tuesday nights on ABC, with episodes available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
