Series lead Nathan Fillion stated during an interview that the drama was inspired by a true story as the LAPD is one of just two agencies that accepts new officers over the age of 37. The series follows John Nolan, a 45-year-old newly divorced man from Pennsylvania, who, nine months after helping police officers during a bank robbery in his hometown of Foxburg, moves to Los Angeles to pursue a new career as a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Production on the pilot began on March 7, 2018, [45] with filming taking place in Los Angeles, Oxnard, Burbank and New York City. Following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on October 21, 2021, on the set of the film Rust, live weapons were banned from The Rookie while filming.

More Officer John Nolan and Aaron follow increasingly large leads after they discover criminals hiding at the station. John and Jessica's relationship gets a lot more complicated after she delivers some surprising news; Officer Bradford and Officer West are assigned a community policing project helping out the Watts Rams as volunteer coaches. Williamson claimed that she had gone to the showrunners multiple times with these allegations, but was ignored.Fillion and Hawley serve as executive producers, along with Mark Gordon, Nicholas Pepper, Michelle Chapman, and Jon Steinberg. The Rookie EP Bans 'Live' Weapons From Set in Wake of Halyna Hutchins Tragedy: 'Any Risk Is Too Much Risk' ". Ali Larter as Grace Sawyer (season 2): A doctor at Shaw Memorial Hospital and Nolan's ex-girlfriend with whom he rekindles briefly. Michael Trucco as Sean Del Monte: An assistant district attorney who assigns Nolan and Bradford to a protective detail in "The Shake Up".

Meanwhile, each unit is tasked with following up on dormant cases in the hopes they can uncover new leads.Elsewhere, Wesley suspects that a judge is taking bribes after he excludes valuable eyewitness testimony from a case. While the outlet initially claimed that the split was amicable, Williamson, in a lengthy Instagram post, stated that she left the series due to having "experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department. as Jackson West (seasons 1–3, guest season 4): [4] [5] An eager, if somewhat naive, rookie and the son of Commander West, head of the LAPD's Internal Affairs Division. The series is set in Los Angeles, California and throughout the series when police and emergency vehicles have their emergency lights on, they are missing a solid red light.