At the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con panel for The Rookie, fans were not the only ones in attendance with questions, as ScreenRant’s own Rachel Foertsch can attest. Star Nathan Fillion asked showrunner Alexi Hawley about the possibility of a familiar face guest-starring again.
Like most police procedurals, the series utilizes new guest stars each week for their cases of the week while the main ensemble appears throughout the season. There are a handful of guest stars who have had longer arcs in the series, like Bridget Regan as the villain Monica in season 7.
The guest star whom Nathan Fillion hopes will return to The Rookie, however, is someone he has worked with in the past.
Nathan Fillion Desperately Wants Alan Tudyk To Return In The Rookie Season 8
Fillion And Tudyk First Worked Together In Firefly
Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk have a friendship and professional working relationship that began when they both landed starring roles in Joss Whedon’s ill-fated Firefly series. They also both reprised their roles for the sequel movie Serenity.
Since then, the duo, as well as several of their Firefly costars, have worked together in other projects. Fillion even voices Octopus in Tudyk’s series, Resident Alien. Fillion is eager to bring Tudyk back to The Rookie after his appearances in seasons 2 and 4.
Tudyk has not been on The Rookie since season 4.
Tudyk appeared in the series as Ellroy Basso, who met Fillion’s John Nolan while working as a crime scene cleaner. When Fillion asked Hawley at the SDCC panel about the possibility of Tudyk appearing again, Hawley confirmed they are desperate to have him back on the show.
ScreenRant actually asked Tudyk about the possibility of returning to The Rookie at the Resident Alien season 4 premiere. Tudyk confirmed he would like to return to The Rookie as well, saying, “If they come up with an idea, I’ll be there.” Tudyk has not been on The Rookie since season 4.
It sounds as though everyone involved would be eager for Tudyk to appear onscreen as Ellroy Basso again. It’s just a matter of when it can happen.
How The Rookie Season 8 Can Bring Back Tudyk’s Ellroy
Ellroy Is Connected To The Police Department
Tudyk’s Ellroy already has a few connections to the main characters in the police department for The Rookie. In addition to being a crime scene cleaner, Ellroy befriended Nolan and started dating dispatcher Nell Forester (Sara Rue). Any one of those connections could allow him to appear again.
The Rookie season 8 will premiere on ABC in early 2026.
ScreenRant, however, has already come up with a more interesting approach to seeing Ellroy return than simply cleaning up another crime scene. In Tudyk’s last appearance in The Rookie season 4, the character demonstrated his new skills.
Ellroy began learning tai chi after his season 2 appearance in the show involved him being attacked by criminals. He has become a capable fighter as a result, which was seen when he teamed up with Nolan in season 4.
With those new fighting skills, we believe Tudyk’s Ellroy could return to The Rookie as a civilian consultant. He could appear in the series as a way to teach the new batch of rookies some self-defense moves they might not learn at the police academy.
Ultimately, Alan Tudyk appearing in The Rookie season 8 could be up to his schedule. Tudyk has been very busy between movies and television thanks to his voice artist work in addition to starring in his own series.
