THE ROOKIE: Sarah Shahi and Alexi Hawley Preview the Addition of Jessica Russo—and Sparks with Nolan

On the Tuesday, March 5 episode of THE ROOKIE, Nolan (Nathan Fillion) meets his match in Jessica Russo (Sarah Shahi).

“Her character is a former FBI badass hostage negotiator who comes in to do some hostage negotiation training at the station,” THE ROOKIE creator Alexi Hawley teased. “They have some sparks.”

Shahi, who is also on Showtime’s upcoming drama CITY ON A HILL and will be a part of the upcoming L WORD reboot, told reporters she’ll be a part of the show for three episodes. “It’s a great cast, it’s great to work with [Fillion],” she said. “I don’t know too much about the show, outside of he’s gone through a few love interests on the show. We’ll see if mine is the one that sticks around for him or not.”

“[Jessica’s] written books, she gives pep talks on it,” she continued. “She does simulations for the rookies to see what it’s like to have a hostage. She’s cool; she’s very cool. [Nolan] captures her eye, and the two of them start hanging out. And she helps advance his career as well.”

The duo’s very different places in life could be a sticking point in any future romance, however. “What’s really interesting to me about Nathan’s character is he is this man who lives between two worlds,” Hawley said. “He’s a 45-year-old guy who is five months into being a cop. When he starts a relationship with Sarah[’s character], she’s a very accomplished law enforcement agent, and he’s just at the beginning of his career. It’s interesting to see how that impacts him and how that relationship will play out—whether there’s some insecurity about that.”

THE ROOKIE, Tuesdays, 10/9c, ABC

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