The Rookie Season 8 Makes Network TV History With Overseas Expansion & Is Eyeing More

by

Alexi Hawley is making television history by filming season 8 of The Rookie on location internationally, hinting at even larger plans for the show’s future. For years, the ABC series has been primarily set in Los Angeles, following Nathan Fillion’s character John Nolan as he evolves from the LAPD’s oldest rookie to a seasoned officer, with support from his colleagues, supervisors, and family.

Season 8 of The Rookie is taking the action overseas! While the show sometimes films near Los Angeles and New York City, the two-part season premiere will send Nolan and some colleagues to Prague. There, the LAPD will team up with the FBI, Interpol, and Monica Stevens – who appears to have turned her life around – to track down and arrest dangerous terrorists.

Before the premiere of its eighth season, ScreenRant’s Tatiana Hullender spoke with Alexi Hawley, the showrunner of The Rookie, about the upcoming episodes. When asked why the show was expanding to international locations—a first for a network TV procedural filmed entirely domestically—Hawley explained that his experience filming season 2 of The Recruit on Netflix, which included a month in Korea, had inspired him.

Alexi Hawley loved the experience of filming in a different country with a new team. He immediately wondered if they could do the same for ‘The Rookie,’ starting with deciding where to film and then figuring out the logistics.

Hawley noted that many things influence the decision to film a show abroad. Primarily, it comes down to finding countries with tax incentives to make production affordable, as the dollar’s value plays a role. However, he also emphasized the desire for visually striking locations, hoping to utilize local architecture to justify the cost of filming on location and enhance the show’s overall production quality.

The team quickly decided on Prague as the ideal location, calling the city uniquely charming and describing the shoot as a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Hawley felt it was almost surreal to bring the Los Angeles-based series to Prague, and he was especially impressed with how seamlessly the actors adapted to the new setting. He’s already brainstorming potential international locations for future installments of the show.

Nathan Fillion looks fantastic in a suit – he really embodies James Bond! It feels completely natural seeing him in that role, and that’s just a testament to who John Nolan is as a character. Honestly, I’m already excited and thinking about where we should have the premiere next year!

Season 8’s Chenford Evolution Will Require Some Patience

The season 7 finale hinted that Tim and Lucy might move in together after starting to reconcile – a significant development for their relationship. What can fans who are rooting for Tim and Lucy (known as ‘Chenford’ fans) expect this season, and what should they brace themselves for?

We really tested the relationship between Chen and Ford last season, so things will definitely be looking up this season. It was crucial that Tim worked on himself after hurting Lucy so deeply and unexpectedly. The events of the finale still need to be addressed, and we didn’t want to rush to a simple resolution. We want to honor the breakup and its impact on the characters, but also explore what comes next for them. It’s about finding a balance between acknowledging the past and moving forward.

ScreenRant asked about the ending of The Rookie‘s seventh season, where Monica and Oscar either escaped or went into hiding. They wanted to know how the show plans to juggle continuing storylines with past villains and introduce new ones this season.

We definitely explore both ongoing and new storylines this season. As you saw at the end of last season, Monica managed to secure an immunity deal and she’s using that to her advantage, returning as a powerful player. This leads to a situation where we’re essentially working with her – she’s helping us take down major criminals as part of her deal, which is something we haven’t really done before. Oscar will reappear, though he’s a bit more elusive. And, as always, we’re introducing new villains. That’s one of the best parts of doing a network show with a longer season – we get to bring in lots of fresh faces and characters to play with, and we have some really good ones this year.

A key part of the show has been Nolan’s job as a training officer, but the last season ended without him being assigned a new rookie. This season, fans are wondering if his daily routine will change, or if we’ll see new rookies join the show.

Without giving anything away, it looks like Nolan won’t be leaving the show. He’ll be working with a new rookie officer this season, which always presents a challenge – balancing the rookie’s development as a character with their need to learn from their training officer. And yes, Nolan will definitely be taking on a training role this season.

ScreenRant enjoyed Monica’s interactions with Nolan and Bailey in the show’s premiere and believes she’d be a great addition to the team’s adventures. They’re curious to see how much of her story will be explored and whether the team can truly trust her, or if a betrayal is always on the horizon.

Let me tell you, Monica is always keeping everyone guessing, and honestly, no one really trusts her – but that’s entirely thanks to Bridget Regan’s incredible performance. She’s just a joy to watch; she manages to make Monica both deliciously villainous and surprisingly human. The dedication she showed during filming was remarkable too. We were shooting in Prague, and the night before a heavily-Monica-focused shoot day, she got really sick with food poisoning. Seriously sick! But you’d never know it while watching the episode. She was a total pro, completely powered through it, and delivered everything she had. Bridget is truly something special.

Be sure to dive into some of our other Rookie season 8 coverage with:

  • Alexi Hawley teasing a potential return for Elijah in the future
  • Hawley on how The Rookie‘s next spinoff will be different from the mainline series
  • Hawley on why Wopez fans will be even happier with season 8

Read More

2026-01-06 23:50