The Rookie

As an active police officer of 25 years, I'm currently 54, it was like watching my own body cam footage from the last few months! I am hooked on this show! P. Ball

I loved watching the first two seasons. The acting and storytelling was perfect but then we have season 3. As of writing this, I have watched 6 or 7 episodes of season 3 and it just keeps getting worse. I believe that racism is a problem but the character portrayed by Brandon Routh is a one dimensional caricature of a stereotypical white male racist cop. Whoever decided that Brandon Routh should play this caricature should have been fired on the spot. The only constantly good thing is Nathan Fillion's character, John Nolan and he is the only reason I'll keep watching this show. Currently there are only 4 seasons available on Netflix in my country and reading some of the other reviews on here. I think I'm gonna need a bottle or two of hard liquor to help me finish watching the show. It's sad that they ruined such an amazing show.

I have to say I've really enjoyed The Rookie even more than I though I would. I've been a Nathan Fillan fan since Castle and he really shines here. He stars as John Nolan, a 40-something year rookie for the LAPD. After a life altering incident he chooses to pursue his dream of becoming a police officer. As the oldest rookie he has to persuade skeptics that he's cut out for the job and that this isn't some mid life crisis. These are several supporting characters in this and they all bring a sense of entertainment to the show. It's a really easy show to sit back and watch and even have on as background viewing. It's one of the better cop shows of the last few years.

Seasons 1 and 2 were interesting and fun. I'm sure this isn't real life for LA Police but the stories were good and you cared about the characters. Some of it was a bit far fetched but it was entertaining and believable (mostly). My rating is for season 1 and 2.

I'm assuming at the end of season 2 either all the writers and senior staff were changed or they all had a stroke or head injuries because this show starts spiralling downhill fast in season 3. By the start of season 4 the story is absolutely ridiculous and the rookies have become Seal Team 6 (sorry guys probably quite insulting to you).

So .. worth watching seasons 1 and 2 and then pretend that's where it finished.

At first I thought "no please, not another cop show" and I wasn't sure about Nathan Fillion as a cop. But I must say, the directing is spot on, and the writing is refreshing - especially the relationships of the rookies and their T.O's, their relationship with each other, the conflicts they have to deal with, and the use/views of the body cams. Also surprisingly, Fillion is perfect for this part and nails his role, and all other actors were perfectly cast and also are great in their roles. I especially appreciate seeing the various parts of L.A. and the different people/conflicts the LAPD has to deal with - outside and within the force. So far so good, let's hope the writing progresses as good at the pilot was throughout the season. A well deserved 8/10 from me.

EDIT: 4/2019 - upped my score from 8 to 9/10... the writing has vastly improved; more realistic (and original) drama, and much less cliched cheese. Keep it up guys!