Alleged racism and 'hidden' pregnancies: Behind the scenes of The Rookie.

If you've been looking for your next must-watch show on Netflix, you might have stumbled across The Rookie.

It's the wildly popular six-season police procedural drama that follows the adventures of John Nolan (played by Nathan Fillion). Season six just kicked off airing on Channel 7 and 7Plus, while seasons one to five are available on Netflix.

Nolan is a 40-year-old man who pursues his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer after a life-altering incident. He leaves his comfortable small-town life behind and moves to Los Angeles to join the LAPD as their oldest rookie.

In its first season, the crime series quickly developed into a solid ensemble drama akin to shows like Grey's Anatomy and Chicago Fire. And the fans can’t get enough, with season seven already in production.

One of the reasons The Rookie has become a fan-favourite is its perfect balance of dramatic moments and humorous banter between the officers. 

But behind the scenes, the show has faced similar ups and downs to the early days of Grey's Anatomy, with reports of inappropriate behaviour on set from some of the show's stars, contrasting with "light and breezy" on-set secrets from others.

Here's everything you need to know about life behind the scenes of The Rookie. 

The Rookie has just landed on Netflix. Image: Instagram/@jennadewan.

Surprise cameos.

While the show has featured celebrity cameos from stars including Kelly Clarkson, Pete Davidson and Emily Deschanel, there was one cameo that fans might have missed. 

Eric Winter (who plays Tim Bradford) took "bring your wife to work day" literally. 

In season two, the actor appeared in scenes with his wife of 15 years, actress Roselyn Sánchez. In Episode 16, she played Valerie Castillo, a reporter with murky motives.

Tim Winter's real-life wife, Rosalia Sanchez, made a cameo on The Rookie. Image: ABC.

The Rookie baby boom.

On more than one occasion, the showrunners have change the script to match real-life pregnancies. Unlike many sitcoms and dramas, which opt to have characters sitting for entire seasons, hiding behind pot plants, or carrying obscenely giant handbags to cover their bellies, The Rookie has a habit of working pregnancy into the storyline for their leading characters.

When lead actress Alyssa Diaz was expecting her child in real life, the writer's worked the pregnancy into her character Angela’s story arc. In season three, her character learned that she was pregnant with her fiance Wesley's (Shawn Ashmore) child.

Mekia Cox, who plays Nyla Harper, was another star whose pregnancy was woven into the storyline. In 2022, she announced she was expecting her second child, and thanked showrunner Alexi Hawley for writing her pregnancy into the script.

"Much love to Alexi Hawley and the rest of The Rookie writing team for writing my pregnancy into the show. Happy to be on a show where pregnancy is acknowledged and celebrated," the actress wrote.

Alyssa and Meika weren't the only actresses to bring their pregnancies to the screen, but this year the writers took a different approach when another star fell pregnant.

Alyssa Diaz as Angela on The Rookie. Image: ABC.

Jenna Dewan announced she was expecting her third baby this year, but a baby wasn't on the horizon for her character Bailey. In fact, the dilemma over whether or not Bailey would have children was a big part of her already-completed storyline for the season. So they went with a different approach.

"We've had a lot of [real-life] pregnancies on the show over the years; this is going to be the first one that we don’t feature in the character," showrunner Alexi Hawley said in an interview with TV Line.

"This was the first time that I got an 'I am pregnant' phone call from an actress where I didn’t step into the writers room and go, 'Okay, this is what we’re doing this year…' because we already had a story that we really liked that was about the conversations. So, yeah, we're hiding it."

In an Instagram video, Dewan later revealed how the costume department played a part in hiding her pregnancy on screen. 

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The departure of Titus Makin Jr.

Titus Makin Jr. rose to fame after portraying Jackson West on The Rookie, but he reevaluated his role in 2020 and ultimately chose to leave the show in 2021.

His character was taken hostage at the end of the third season, with his tragic death confirmed in the first episode of season four.

Showrunner Alexi Hawley said they chose to end Jackson's storyline in a way that honoured the character and actor, after Titus decided not to return.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Titus had previously revealed he had considered leaving the show after learning about the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020. 

"A lot of people are finding a voice, and I found that for myself, where I was like, 'Oh wow, I've been complacent.' I woke up one morning and I was watching the news, and I was like, 'I can't do this. I can't go play a cop on a show and not talk about the fact that I'm a Black cop.' My character hadn't addressed any of that,” he told the publication.

"I had that conversation with Alexi [Hawley], our showrunner, and he was extremely gracious and he totally understood everything I was saying. I did come to that point where I was like, 'If you want to write me out, I politely receive that. I would rather be written out than ignore the reality and not be able to tell the story.'"

Titus Makin Jr chose not to return to The Rookie. Image: ABC.

Racism and Sexual Harassment Claims by Afton Williamson.

While there have been lighter behind-the-scenes moments and fun facts to emerge from The Rookie, the show has also been marred by reports of misconduct from the early days.

In 2019, actress Afton Williamson said on Instagram that she had quit the show after the first season due to incidents of alleged sexual harassment and racial discrimination.

"Throughout the filming of the pilot, I experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department and bullying from Executive Producers," she wrote on Instagram.

The Rookie production company eOne released a statement six weeks later. 

"As a result of the independent investigation, we have concluded that those identified in Ms. Williamson’s allegations did not conduct themselves in an unlawful manner or demonstrate behaviour inappropriate for the workplace," eOne said in a statement. 

"It was also concluded that the executive producers, including showrunner Alexi Hawley, addressed matters of which they were made aware promptly and in a fair and reasonable manner," the studio added.

"We recognise and respect that as individuals, the lens through which we view situations, interactions and comments, can differ based on our experiences and perspectives," eOne noted in its conclusions of the probe by law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP and investigators EXTTI. 

"As such, we regret that Ms. Williamson's time on the series was not a positive one for her, and we respect her decision to move on to other projects."

Afton Williamson quit The Rookie, alleging misconduct. Image: ABC.

Williamson shared one final statement in 2019, before she stopped posting on Instagram for good. 

"What saddens me the most is that the lengths that were taken to deceive, lie, and cover up the truth, were far greater than those made to protect and maintain a safe working environment for employees," she wrote on Instagram. 

"In order to be the change, I want to see, I will continue to work so that casts and crews alike finally see words align with action. We’ve got to do better as an industry. It's just talk until you actually do something."

Feature Image: Instagram/@jennadewan.

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