A binge watch review of The Rookie

I love binge-watching series as opposed to watching them as they come on each week. I've never cared for cliffhangers, and this eliminates that issue for me.

I was hesitant about watching The Rookie because I'd loved Nathan Fillion so much in Castle that I couldn't imagine him in anything else. I especially had a hard time with him not being the center of the show. Though Castle included other stars, Fillion was in a large part of the scenes on each episode. Rarely did an episode end on anyone else but him, his co-star, Stana Katic, or the two of them together.

The Rookie is so much different. I love cop dramas so that wasn't the issue for me. I just knew Fillion wasn't going to be the sole star of the show, that this was going to be an ensemble cast where they all had major storylines. So it took me until April of this year to finally watch an episode, and that was only because I was at a friend's house, and she had it on. But the few scenes I watched were enough to stir my interest. I returned home and began my binge-watch. And I'm so glad I did.

As of season seven, The Rookie's amazing cast includes Richard T. Jones, Melissa O'Neil, Eric Winter, Mekia Cox, Alyssa Diaz, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, and Lisseth Chavez. Other stars have come and gone since the series began, and while they all brought something to the show, I think these main characters have really tied the series together.

The pros are easy for me. There's plenty of humor, action, romance, danger, suspense, and drama. This show ranks right up there with Castle for all of those, and Fillion gets in on more of the action than he did when he portrayed a writer.

Though his character, John Nolan, starts out as the oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department's Mid-Wilshire Division, there are other rookies that begin with him so the entire focus isn't on the mistakes he's making. And over the course of the seasons, more rookies come and go, and Nolan becomes a training officer himself, which is a nice turn.

Fillion brings back some of his castmates from Castle as guest stars, and it's a nice wink to the series. One in particular was the late Anne Wersching as serial killer Rosalind Dyer. Her episodes were some of the creepiest and was edge-of-your-seat watching.

The cons to me are, of course, just my opinion, but they really stand out to me. The first being the romance and marriage between Fillion's character and Jenna Dewan, who portrays Bailey Nune. Their relationship happened very quickly, and the chemistry is lacking. It's hard to go from the chemistry Fillion had with Katic and be satisfied with this romance.

On the subject of romance, practically everyone is coupled up now, and the only slow burn romance is Winter's Sgt. Tim Bradford and O'Neil's Sgt. Lucy Chen. The other romances were quick, one going from dating to pregnancy to marriage in the course of several episodes not seasons, which was disappointing.

The only other con for me are the mistakes that aren't caught before airing. For instance, someone rolls up to a scene where a woman is lying on the ground. The police officer, without checking her identification, immediately relays her age along with her medical issue to emergency services. The officer would have no way of knowing how old the woman was. This happens several times, and while it might just be a pet peeve, it's noticeable to me.

And finally, this might be considered a con or simply something I've noticed. I think Richard T. Jones is criminally underused. I get that he's the Watch Commander and has to keep everyone in line, but when the series allows him to stand out, he does. I hope we can see more Lt. Wade Grey episodes in season eight and beyond.

If you're looking for a fun, action-packed cop-drama, you can find it in all seven seasons of The Rookie. It's available to stream on Hulu.