On the bubble: 5 reasons The Rookie deserves a second season

With The Rookie’s first season wrapped, fans are waiting to see if the show will be renewed. Here are 5 reasons why it should.

The Rookie’s season finale aired recently and yet we haven’t received any word on the show’s future. Is it cancelled? Is it renewed? Most likely we aren’t going to get an answer until the ABC upfronts but it doesn’t mean we can’t start the fan campaigning to ensure The Rookie gets a second season!

The good news is, the show was picked up for a full season. The bad news is, The Rookie was never a huge ratings magnet. But there’s still hope it could score a renewal. Here’s why I think it deserves one!

5. It’s funny and comforting

Sometimes cop and crime shows can get awfully heavy. We know the world is a terrible place, people are awful to each other, etc. The Rookie doesn’t typically wallow in the bleak stuff. There are, on occasion, dark and dramatic storylines, but they’re almost always punctuated with some levity. The writing strengthened substantially in the back half of the season as the show began to find its legs and understand its comedic strengths.

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Much of the cast has excellent comedic timing and when they get the chance to shine together, whether it be through squad pranks or teasing, it always puts a smile on my face. I looked forward to having a new episode to watch every Tuesday night because it’s simply the type of show that cheers you up and I found it super comforting.

4. The rookies

What’s the main reason to watch The Rookie in the first place? Duh, the rookies. I mean obviously I’ve grown fond of the training officers as well but we deserve to see the rookies move forward in their careers! Plus Jackson, John, and Lucy are all super lovable. Lucy is my favorite but I’ve grown fond of John too. Fillion and Castle fans will surely want to follow his path as the oldest rookie on the block!

Jackson is great too, especially now that we know he’s part of the LGBTQ+ community and beginning to see his struggles with his father. Now that I’ve grown attached to these three, I’d hate to have them taken away from me so soon!

3. There’s way more story left to tell

Speaking of “following their careers”, we haven’t even seen the rookies take their exams yet. A biological terror attack got them postponed so now we don’t even know if all of them will make it to the next round. The Rookie actually reminds me a little bit off the early days of Grey’s Anatomy in tone. Fans want to follow the main trio through a long, lustrous career path in the LAPD.

There are so many potential plots still possible and it’s not like the show will ever run out of criminal story ideas. There’s a reason crime shows are so popular, people are screwed up dude. Plus, a new season could introduce new characters like potentially a few more rookies to shake things up in the precinct. Someone could fail (though I hope not) and we could see how they deal with the setback. Now that The Rookie has finally found it’s groove, I’d hate to see it get axed before it reaches its prime.

2. The show relationships

Lucy/Tim, John/Talia, Jackson/Lucy/John, John/Lucy, John/Ben, Lucy/Zoe (RIP), Grey/John, Grey/Talia, Talia/Angela, Angela/Wes, Angela/Jackson, Jackson/Gino, Tim/Nell, Tim/Angela/Talia, John/Jessica… Need I go on? There are so many fantastic relationships on this show – and I don’t mean all of these in a romantic sense either (though some certainly are, or could be) simply that The Rookie makes you attached to these characters and their friendships with other people.

I love watching the rookies with their T.O.’s. Now that everyone has had the chance to bond and evolve together, I’d be super sad to known I was never going to see a storyline with Talia and John again or flirty banter between Angela and Wesley. In fact, I’ve grown to love all of the main characters so much I can’t think of a single pairing I don’t enjoy seeing interact. I’d love to see more unlikely duos partner up going into the second season.

1. We need to know what happens to Tim

Okay let’s get down to the biggest reason we need a season two. The season one finale ended with a major cliffhanger about Tim Bradford. He had just been given the experimental vaccination due to his potential exposure to the virus. In the final moments of the episode, Tim passes out.

Could he actually be infected? Odds are the fainting spell was brought on as a side effect of the vaccine and Tim isn’t actually sick. I don’t think The Rookie would kill off a main character so soon after they already knocked off the Captain. But still, he’s one of my favorite characters and I need to know for sure!

If you haven’t had the chance to watch The Rookie yet, you can currently stream the entire season on Hulu!