The Rookie has tons of fun-filled cold opens. The show prides itself on adding a bit of fun to the seriousness of cop shows. Even cops are people, and life is full of surprises and twists. Following the life of John Nolan, a middle-aged construction worker turned officer, The Rookie explores what it’s like to be a new officer on duty at the Los Angeles Police Department, but not without adding a special spin.
While a few episodes have made an exception by picking up the story from previous episodes, most cold opens in the show incorporate hilarious incidents and clever twists that are meant to put a smile on viewers’ faces. In fact, some of these cold opens are frequently visited by The Rookie fans. From the most famous garage band song in “Daddy Cop” to the one where Nolan and Harper get glitter bombed at a gender reveal party, these classic cold opens from The Rookie left a mark on viewers’ hearts.
10The Rookie Pilot Has One of the Best Chen Moments
Lucy Chen is nearly robbed on her first day of work. Blaze chose the wrong woman to mess with on that day. Despite looking like a celebrity and driving a nice car, Chen turns out to be a new officer. She enters the police department by taking her suspect along with her. The pilot opens with one of the best Chen moments in the show. Her “report to duty” is undoubtedly one of the most impressive entries among the new officers.
Season 1, Episode 1’s cold open also utilizes its opportunity to tell everything viewers need to know about John Nolan. Unlike Chen, he is immediately mistaken as a joke due to his age, work history and qualifications. Despite having a pre-law degree, Nolan worked 20 years in construction. It makes him look “suspicious” in the eyes of Captain Zoe Andersen, who has taken a special interest in the oldest new officer.
9Season 1, Episode 8 Features a Surprising Twist
The cold open in Season 1, Episode 8 certainly surprised fans with a clever and fun-filled plot twist. The cold open first follows Nolan and Bishop as they chase a suspect around the building. The game of cat and mouse is intense. With the change between colored and black-and-white frames and the fact that they are losing contact with the outside world, the cold open builds up tension. However, things take a sudden change in direction.
The suspect runs down to the first floor, and the officers chase him into a strange room. As they book the suspect, the door is closed, and it turns out that Nolan and Bishop are trapped in an escape room with their suspect. With no signal, they have to play in the escape room in order to get out of the building. Despite the initial reluctance, Bishop is very quickly drawn into the game. Even the suspect contributes his knowledge of Latin to solving the puzzle. By the end of the game, the three have become a team. Nolan even gives the suspect a high five, but of course, Bishop reminds the two that the suspect is still under arrest.
8Nolan and Bishop Meet Will.I.Am in Season 1, Episode 19
The best cold opens in The Rookie all feature a surprise, and in this case, Season 1, Episode 19 has a Will.I.Am-sized surprise for fans. Nolan and Bishop receive a call from a silent alarm. They trace it to a property that belongs to a holding company and discover a guy hanging from a tree with his parachute. While the guy sounds innocent, soon, Will.I.Am appears to uncover how the guy truly ended up in a tree.
It turns out the guy thought Selena Gomez lived in this property, and he was planning on parachuting himself there to “surprise” her. However, Will.I.Am turns out to be the true resident of the property. The rapper/producer gives the guy a lecture and reveals that even though he knows where Selena Gomez lives, he’s going to protect her privacy. Nolan and Bishop act very cool and professional, but as soon as Will.I.Am turns around, the two react just like any fan, whispering “That’s Will.I.Am” in each other’s ears. The music giant also decides not to press charges against Gomez’s stalker.
7Bradford Gets Overtime in the Middle of Football Game in Season 2, Episode 7
Season 2, Episode 7 is about timing. Police officer Tim Bradford is cheering for the Rams in a Bears vs. Rams game. However, the television cuts to a high-speed chase in his neighborhood. Bradford’s initial reaction to being interrupted during the game is definitely frustration. As he watches the news, his facial expression becomes more and more serious. The officer decides to report to duty and join in on the chase.
What’s funny is that Bradford keeps a strict face the entire time while wearing a sports shirt of his favorite team. He definitely tricked fans, who assumed he was going to abandon the game and report to duty. However, it turned out that all he had to do was log in overtime and back his car out from the driveway. He pulls out his gun right when the car in question is about to pass his house, putting this high-speed chase to an end. Once his fellow officers book the guy, Bradford drives back into his driveway just in time to finish the game.
6Lucy Chen Accidentally Auditions for American Idol in Season 2, Episode 16
Lucy Chen is full of surprises. The very talented officer shows off her singing skills in the cold open of Season 2, Episode 16. It might sound strange that Chen could “accidentally” audition for American Idol, but the episode provides the perfect explanation. Nolan and Chen are booking a guy for possession of illegal drugs during the American Idol auditions. While they are exiting the building, Chen gets lost and is mistaken for a contestant. Before she can explain anything, they put a sticker on her and place her in the audition room, where she meets the judge panel that consists of Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richi.
The celebrity judges are awfully nervous in the presence of an officer. Lucy Chen gets nervous, too. Not wanting to cause panic, she decides to go through with the audition. Chen ends up surprising fans by singing an A Cappella version of “I Never Loved a Man” by Aretha Franklin before fleeing from the audition room. It’s hinted that Chen is going to receive a golden ticket from the judges, but before the judges give it to her, Nolan finds her.
5Nolan and Bishop Stop the Beekeeper’s Van in Season 2, Episode 3
The cold open of Season 2, Episode 3 is simply hilarious. Nolan and Bishop stopped a van because it was going way too fast in a school zone. Upon request to open the door, the beekeeper warns the two that he won’t be able to control his bees if the officers give him a ticket. Bishop immediately took it as a threat. However, in retrospect, the beekeeper might have been telling the truth.
Nolan demands that the person in question hand over the necessary documents. The beekeeper opens the door and releases the bees. Under the bees’ attack, Nolan and Bishop run in opposite directions. While they try to fend off the bees, the beekeeper drives off. Nolan notifies fellow officers about the blue van, but the bees come back to attack him before he can finish the sentence.
4Nolan and Bishop Stop a Car Full of Teddy Bears in Season 2, Episode 12
The cold open in The Rookie‘s Season 2, Episode 12 is a case of mystery. Nolan and Bishop pull over behind a car full of teddy bears. Once they do, those inside the car panic, open the door and start running. The entire scene has more people constantly coming out of the car. Many viewers lose count of the number of people hiding in a four-seater — it takes a while for everyone to come out.
Once the two officers are off chasing suspects, the trunk of the car opens. A woman holding a ukulele climbs out. Thinking that she has managed to outsmart the officers, she starts playing her ukulele while singing a song. She’s certainly unaware of the camera on the police car that has perfectly captured her face along with her singing. The cold open ends with her wandering off leisurely.
3Nolan Removes a Guy’s Piercings in Season 2, Episode 6
Talking about a pat-down that gets awfully intimate, Nolan has to remove all the piercings from a guy during inspection. The metal detector first picks up the guy’s tongue piercing. With his hands cuffed, the guy sticks his tongue out, and Nolan removes the piercing. Heading down, the metal detector goes off again around the guy’s waist. Of course, Nolan would have to remove the guy’s belly button ring. As he proceeds with the metal detector again, something around the same area sets it off again.
It turns out that the guy has a piercing in his private area, and since he’s hand-cuffed, poor Nolan would have to take off the guy’s pants and remove them himself. While this takes place off-screen, fans could certainly muse about what happens next. Would Nolan remove the piercing himself? Or would he uncuff the guy and give him some privacy?
2Nolan and Harper Get Glitter Bombed in Season 2, Episode 14
Having a tense situation turn out tragically funny is one of the many great things about The Rookie. Season 2, Episode 14 again opens with a distressful call from a neighbor, whose dog is a retired bomb dog from the TSA. The dog owner claims that his dog has smelled explosives. Nolan and Harper walk up into the house, and the bomb sets off. Two seconds later, guests escape from the house covered in glitter.
It turns out that it was a gender reveal party that used C-4 to create the surprise. Seven guests suffered from “glitter-related” injuries. However, this isn’t the end of the story. There was a second bomb. As it turned out, the blessed couple is having twins. The frustration and seriousness on Nolan’s face while he’s covered in blue glitter is priceless.
1Band Dedicates a Song to Nolan in Season 5, Episode 13
In Season 5, Episode 13, the lead singer of the garage band in the background completely romanticized the situation when Nolan and Celina stopped a car for speeding. The band quickly dedicates a song to the officers, with Nolan being the main target. Their lyrics are flirtatious and hilarious. Some of the great lines include:
Cop cuties, cute and on duty. Navy blue booties, go ahead and lock me up.
Nolan starts coming at them, and the band stops the music, but only for a brief second.
When the band picks up again, the lyrics are bolder, with lines like “Sell me some meth please, so I can get arrested by this daddy of a cop, with daddy cop walk, and his daddy cop arms and daddy cop butt.” The officers come up to the garage, and dramatically, the band drops the garage door slowly. In the end, Celina is singing along to the song’s hook because it’s so catchy.
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