Warning: This article contains mild spoilers for theRookieseason 6 finale.
Summary
The showrunner ofThe Rookiehas explained the absence of one notableFedscharacter in their recent season finale.Fedswas a spinoff of the flagship show following the oldest rookie to ever join the FBI Academy and featuring a cast that included Niecy Nash-Betts, Frankie Faison, James Lesure, Britt Robertson, Felix Solis, and Kevin Zegers. The spinoff show only ran for one season before being cancelled by ABC. Ahead of the already renewedThe Rookieseason 7, the recent season 6 finale featured cameos from severalFedscharacters, though former lead character Simone Clark (Niecy Nash-Betts) was notably absent.
TV Insiderrecently sat down with showrunner and executive producer Alexi Hawley to discuss theRookieseason 6 finale. When discussing theFedscameos, he shared that “I want to keep them in our world” and has hopes of including further intersections between the casts of the two shows. He explained Nash-Betts' absence by saying that her current career trajectory is “a different category” considering her recent high-profile projects, reflecting that"I don’t necessarily know that I’ll be able to get her back.“Read his full quote below:
I definitely wanted to bring them in. There was a conversation with ABC after the sad cancellation of Feds about whether I could keep them in our universe. They’re phenomenal and if those actors are available—and there’s going to come a time where they’re not, they’re so good—I want to keep them in our world. Obviously Niecy [Nash-Betts] falls into a different category. She’s already off doing a bunch of high profile stuff, and I don’t necessarily know that I’ll be able to get her back. But yeah, I just wanted to see them again, and they’re so good. Luckily, they were kind enough to come play, and they loved their characters and obviously were really sad about the cancellation. I definitely knew coming into the season I couldn’t do it early. I wanted to let that sort of breathe a bit, but then it’s about what’s a story worthy of seeing them again. It’s amazing how much of showrunning is about juggling because you only own the series regulars, right? Anybody else, if Matthew Glave gets a show, if Bridget Regan gets another show, they don’t become available. So yes, there’s a lot of my job that’s about making phone calls, “Hey, I’m thinking about using them in [Episodes] 5 and 6, are they have available?” and then that could change or then dates shift. I definitely want to use them where it’s most impactful story-wise. I don’t want to waste their time and have them show up for one scene. But yeah, I’d love to use them for the rest of our life as Rookie.
Everything Niecy Nash-Betts Has Done Since The Rookie: Feds
The Reno 911! Actor Remains In Demand
Nash-Betts' absence fromtheRookieseason 6 finalemakes sense, as the actor - who first rose to prominence as part of the cast of the comedy seriesReno 911!- hashad a consistent string of long-running or high-profile projectseven before taking on the lead role inFeds. For instance, shortly before the spinoff premiered, her TNT dramedyClawshad ended after four seasons. Additionally, just months beforeFedshit the air, she had held a major role in the Netflix serial killer dramaDahmer, for which she won an Emmy.
WhileDahmergave Nash-Betts her first Emmy win, she was nominated four previous times, twice forGetting Onand once each forWhen They See UsandReno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon.
Nash-Betts has continued her run of major projects since the end ofThe Rookie: Fedsin 2023. In addition to reprising her role as Dr. Jamie Ryan inNever Have I Everseason 4 on Netflix, she also voiced Hope on the streaming service’s animated spinoffHuman Resources. She followed that with a role opposite Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor in Ava DuVernay’sOriginand an appearance in the Meghan Trainor music video “To the Moon” as well as anupcoming major role in the FX horror showGrotesquerie, which will reunite her withDahmerco-creator Ryan Murphy.
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It remains to be seen if Nash-Betts ever has a clear enough schedule to return for a cameo in a future season ofThe Rookie. It is possible that the show could run for long enough that her schedule aligns properly with their production at some point and she is able to appear on an episode. However, given the amount of projects she has taken on in just a single year, itseems somewhat unlikely that she will be able to appear, even if Hawley follows through on his intention to keep foldingFedscharacters into the flagship show.
The Rest Of The Rookie: Feds Cast Could Follow Niecy Nash-Betts' Lead
Future The Rookie Cameos Could Be In Jeopardy
Although Nash-Betts had something of a head start, it is looking like the rest of herFedsco-stars may find it increasingly difficult to return totheRookiecastin the coming years. Several members of the main casthave already signed on for upcoming high-profile projects. Indeed, their ability to appear in the season 6 finale in the first place was likely a result of the episodes being produced in the immediate wake of the end of the Screen Actors Guild strike in 2023. Below, see a breakdown of the longest-running cast members of the short-lived show:
22 episodes
Christopher Clark
17 episodes
The only members of the cast who don’t already have upcoming projects officially announced are Zegers and Lesure. However, everyone else has titles lined up that could lead to further projects that keep them busy and prevent them from returning. This includes Robertson, who has signed on to star opposite Chad Michael Murray in the Netflix holiday romantic comedyThe Merry Gentlemen. Solis also has a Netflix project lined up. After having appeared in Jerry Seinfeld’sUnfrostedearlier in 2024, he will return to the platform for arole in the upcoming season of the Noah Centineo action-comedyThe Recruit.
Chad Michael Murray is fresh off a performance opposite Brooke Shields in another Netflix movie, the hit rom-comMother of the Bride.
Faison, who is a long-established actor just like Nash-Betts and is known forclassics includingComing to AmericaandDo the Right Thing, has several projects lined up as well. These include the addiction thrillerBeyond the Rushand the historical dramaKilling Castro, which is also set to star Al Pacino, Alexander Ludwig, Diego Boneta, Xola Maridueña, Diego Calva, and more. Overall, with such major projects on the horizon, it remains to be seen if any otherThe Rookiecameos are in the cards down the line.
The Rookie
Cast
The Rookie follows John Nolan, a small-town man who embarks on a new career as an LAPD officer after a life-changing event. As the force’s oldest rookie, Nolan faces skepticism from superiors who view his pursuit as a midlife crisis.
