By India McCarty
THE ROOKIE fans, get ready to make a major scheduling change!
“Coming off its biggest streaming season premiere, ABC veteran THE ROOKIE is on the move,” Deadline reported. “After three episodes in its current Tuesday 10 p.m. slot, the cop series starring Nathan Fillion will relocate to Mondays 10 p.m. starting Jan. 26, following the season premiere of AMERICAN IDOL.”
THE ROOKIE has enjoyed a major ratings boost from streaming. Deadline reported that its Season 8 premiere “drew 7.88 million total viewers after 3 days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.”
The premiere was also “THE ROOKIE’s biggest premiere on streaming and it ranks in the Top 5 ABC premieres of all time.”
“Beyond streaming, with 475.6K social interactions, THE ROOKIE’s Season 8 opener is currently the No. 1 most social episode of any drama series on broadcast or cable season to date,” the outlet added.
Related: THE ROOKIE Makes a Major Splash on Netflix as Fans Eagerly Await Season 8
THE ROOKIE’s new night isn’t the only big change in the show; production on Season 8 went international for the first time ever.
Showrunner Alexi Hawley spoke to ScreenRant about shooting in Prague, pointing to his time working on Netflix’s THE RECRUIT as inspiration to go overseas with THE ROOKIE.
“The expanded possibilities and the joy of going to another country and working with other crew and cast was really special,” Hawley explained. “So, I came in going, ‘Why can’t we do that for THE ROOKIE?’ First, it started off with, ‘I want to go somewhere,’ and then it came down to, ‘Where should we go?’”
He acknowledged there “are lots of factors” when it comes to deciding where to film internationally, saying they had to find a country that has “tax breaks” that will encourage studios to sign off on international productions.
The team landed on the Czech Republic’s capital “really quickly,” with Hawley calling the city “really special” and saying shooting there was “a joy” and “a little bit of a dream.”
In an interview with Deadline, Hawley teased that fans can expect a “relationship-forward” season.
“At the same time, I think it might be our biggest season ever, just in terms of set pieces and action and stuff and even scary, like Episode 3 is very intense,” he continued. “There’s another episode or two down the road that are more horror movie than maybe we’ve done before. I just love that the show can sustain all that.”
Catch THE ROOKIE on ABC in its regular Tuesday slot one more time before it permanently relocates to Mondays at 10 p.m., starting Jan. 26.
Read Next: Is THE ROOKIE Getting A Spin-Off?
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