Rookie The boss warned fans that season 7 will put two couples to the test – Chenford aka Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen, and John Nolan and his wife, Bailey Nune. In other words, we were warned.
During season 6, Tim (Eric Winter) broke up with Lucy (Melissa O’Neill) as a form of self-punishment for crossing the line during an operation and putting Lucy’s career in jeopardy.
According to the season 7 trailer, which Us Weekly Released exclusively on Thursday, January 2, the bond between the pair has not gone away. But while they share a quiet moment together – a shirtless Tim is involved – the presenter said TVLine in an interview published Thursday that Tim isn’t done working through his inner demons.
“At one point we have a scene where he’s in a veterans support group, so he’s still trying to make things work for himself.” Alex Hawley said of Tim while speaking to the media.
Hawley noted that the “good news” is that Tim “understands what he did wrong,” he’s just “trying to figure out” “why.”
“The worst thing he could think of doing to himself was breaking up with Lucy, and he’s going to fully understand that and then deal with the consequences of that,” the showrunner explained.
Fans had previously seen Tim and Lucy’s undeniable love for each other when she saved his life during the Season 6 finale. That connection will continue to grow, according to Hawley.
“We really wanted to go into this season with positivity for Tim and Lucy. Obviously, they put in a lot of work, especially Tim, at the end of last season,” he said. “It felt like they were coming back together in a way that was at least positive.”
Looking ahead, Hawley says Chenford will have to ask himself, “OK, we’re in the next chapter — what does that look like?”
The TV writer added that their new normal will include a bet on training new LAPD recruits.
That bet allows Rookie team to “play off” the “jokes” and “chemistry,” Hawley explained, adding that it “allows us to lean into the competition between them that’s been baked into them from the beginning, even when he was her boss, basically. .”
Tim hopes that winning Lucy back is just one big romance to keep an eye on in the new season. Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and wife Bailey (Jenna Dewan) received shocking news at the end of Season 6: Bailey’s ex-husband Jason Wyler (Steve Kazee), got out of prison together with Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Head).
“Jason will ultimately be the biggest threat in the first half of the season,” Hawley told the media. “He’s kind of an existential threat because he’s a threat to the family, especially Bailey.”
As the first half of the season unfolds, viewers will learn more about “the trauma of Bailey’s relationship with Jason that maybe she hasn’t dealt with yet, the abusive relationship she had with this guy,” he continued.
Hawley added: “It permeates the fear of the reunion, because part of the drama of the first half of the season is, ‘When is he going to show up?’ And that sense of always being afraid is not healthy, obviously.”
Nolan and Bailey’s past conversations about potentially expanding their family through adoption will also be “recovered,” according to the showrunner. “Without spoiling anything, I don’t know what else to say,” Hawley concluded.
Season 7 of Rookie premieres on ABC on Tuesday, January 7 at 10:00 PM ET.
