The Rookie season 7 is welcoming back a familiar face, as showrunner Alexi Hawley offers a reassuring update about returning cast members. The Rookie season 8 was among five renewal decisions that ABC announced recently, along with veteran dramas like Grey’s Anatomy and 9-1-1, and relatively newer series such as Will Trent and Shifting Gears. But before the long-running procedural heads for its summer hiatus, Hawley is ready to welcome back a returning character.
TVLine revealed whether the upcoming contract negotiations with The Rookie cast could impact the procedural’s ongoing stories, with Hawley offering a reassuring response. The showrunner, who also created the series and serves as executive producer, replied: “We’re all good here.”
It was also revealed that Flula Borg will reprise his role as Skip Tracer Randy, appearing in The Rookie season 7, episode 17, for what Hawley describes as a “really fun storyline.” Borg has played Randy in five episodes overall, making his first appearance in The Rookie season 4 and last appearing in season 6.
The return of Borg is a welcome sign since the bounty-hunting Randy adds a bit of something extra to The Rookie, having also worked with lead star Nathan Fillion on James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. But it is also a relief to learn that, as it seems, contract negotiations for the cast will not disrupt the series. That hasn’t been true on other procedurals, with the One Chicago franchise losing some cast members as a way of dealing with budget cuts.
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The Rookie season 7 cast is fairly large, with the main actors including Shawn Ashmore, Lisseth Chavez, Mekia Cox, Jenna Dewan, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O’Neil, and Eric Winter, in addition to Fillion. The fact that, based on Hawley’s remarks, they are cleared for return is a welcome bit of stability at a time when long-running network dramas have faced changes.
ABC prioritizes the specific dynamics that the characters have. That makes the actors harder to replace. But also, with enough time, it builds up loyalty and investment that pays off with long-running dramas that maintain their strong viewership. This holds true for The Rookie, heading into season 8 with confidence and the ability to tell the stories that it wants to with characters that the audience has grown to care for. It’s an overall winning formula.
