#The Rookie Boss Responds to That Huge Nolan Twist

The Rookie finally returned to the air Sunday night, with a truly shocking premiere.

The series returned with Nathan Fillion’s officer Nolan being arrested after Armstrong (Harold Perrineau) planted evidence inside Nolan’s bedroom wall.

In true Nolan fashion, he opted to get close to crime boss Ruben Darien, promising to become his inside man.

But the plan hit a major snag when Nolan arrived at a meeting with the crime lord, and Armstrong showed up.

Luck was on Nolan’s side and he managed to take down a lot of the criminals before calling the police.

Nolan was in trouble in the immediate aftermath, however, and his career was put on the line.

“He got as close to getting fired as he could,” showrunner Alexi Hawley told TV Line following the premiere on Sunday night.

“I do think that it’s very important that actions have repercussions, and noble cause corruption is a huge thing,” he continued.

“It is a big problem of policing, but it’ll also open up other opportunities for him, and it’ll give him something to try and overcome, which is ultimately more dramatic than him just getting an easy pass.”

The showrunners notes that the show needs to “set up situations that we honor.”

“On most cop shows, cops kill people and they end up back on the street after the commercial break,” he said.

“We can’t. That’s not what we do. And it definitely affects our storytelling, I think, in a good way. In the same sense, we need to honour this punishment, but it’ll open up other doorways for stories for us.”

The Rookie 3 launched later than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that production was unable to begin as planned earlier this year.

Fans waited almost eight months to find out what became of Officer Nolan, and it sure seems like he’s going to be facing an uphill battle.

What are your thoughts on the way the premiere was handled?

Hit the comments.

Remember you can watch The Rookie online right here via TV Fanatic.

Catch new episodes Sundays at 10/9c.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.