Nathan Fillion is grateful for the success of The Rookie, but it hasn't come without its fair share of challenges.
The beloved ABC procedural is in the process of filming its eight season, which will premiere early next year.
For part of it, the cast and crew switched gears and filmed rather than in Los Angeles, in none other than Prague, and the Superman actor has given insight into the decision.
Per People, showrunner Alexi Hawley, speaking alongside Nathan at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 over the weekend, shared: "When I first said, hey, I want to go to Prague for season 8, I got some looks, because that's not a normal network television thing to do," before noting: "But I'm like we can absorb it, because we've gotten really good at making the show."
"I've said this, it felt like we were making Casino Royale," Nathan added, referring to the 2006 James Bond film with Daniel Craig.
Nathan went on to explain how it has become a "double-edged sword" to film in Los Angeles, mainly out in public, due to the popularity of the show.
© Getty Images"It is an added extra challenge that people driving by in a car will scream, 'We love The Rookie,' and [then we have] cut, go back to the beginning," he said, though emphasized: "I'll take it, though," he said.
Nathan also opened up about how his family members have become just as big fans of the show. "When I first started doing The Rookie, and The Rookie started airing, my youngest niece Jordan said to me, 'Nathan, you're finally on a show I like!' I said, 'I've actually been on TV since before you were born.' She said, 'I know.'"
© DisneyAlexi also recently gave some insight into the storylines fans will get to see from The Rookie season 8 — and which they won't. Among them were Nathan and Jenna Dewan's characters' John Nolan and Bailey Nune's journey to expanding their family, which he says has in fact come to an end. He first confirmed to ScreenRant that after their adoption application was denied due to the amount of danger in their lives as police officers, the couple will come to terms with not having a child of their own, in an effort to address the reality of their unique situation and the extreme danger they face.
Asked whether the storyline has come to an end, he further said: "I think it has. I think that's a road, sadly, with a lot of low points for them," and noted: "But I think that's also a reality for lots of people. The part, [especially], where they couldn't have a kid biologically was very recognizable."
© Disney/Raymond LiuHe further shared that "at the end of the day, just the sheer volume of near-death experiences that they both have on the daily" contributed to the decision to have their storyline play out the way it did, though maintained: "Obviously, first responders can adopt, so we're not saying that, but [it's] the reality of their unique situation."
"I think they've come through it and, for now at least, have made their peace with [the fact] that it's just the two of them," he added of the characters. Plus, he noted that it's the fact that they are such "danger magnets" that makes the show work. "If they were less danger magnets, the show wouldn't be as fun."
