Hulu’s Most Popular Show Features a Favorite Sci-Fi Star

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 8 hours ago

The television landscape has changed thanks to the rise of streaming, but one thing remains the same: people love procedurals, whether medical, legal, police, or mystery, watching comfort food isn’t going anywhere . Okay, make that two things because people also love Nathan Fillion, which explains why Castle it was a huge hit. Lightning struck twice, as now, The RookieFillion’s latest police procedural, is Hulu’s number one show again.

Nathan Fillion’s Latest Hit

The Rookie which stars Nathan Fillion, who is still best known sci-fi fans like Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Fireflyas John Norris, a 45-year-old man living his dream of becoming a police officer in Los Angeles. After Norris helps stop a bank robbery in his hometown, he joins the LAPD in what sounds like an absurd plot, but is based on the true story of William Norcross, who serves as producer active on the series, and also an LAPD Officer to this day. Fillion, as he always is, can take any concept and make it must-see TV with the power of his deceptive charm.

In the hands of any other star, The Rookie it may not have made it seven seasons and counting, but as well as Million, part of the appeal is that the characters have been allowed to change and grow, which is big news for a procedural. Beginning in Season 5, Norris is no longer a “rookie” and is, instead, a training officer overseeing a new class of rookies. It doesn’t sound like much, but consider that the general concept of NCIS He hasn’t moved in 20 years, even though McGee is no longer a “probie,” he does the same thing week after week.

Nathan Fillion is the biggest name in the cast of The Rookiebut sci-fi fans will also recognize Melissa O’Neal from Dark Matter as Lucy Chen, a fellow rookie officer, and Shawn Ashmore from Fox’s X-Men as Defense Attorney Wesley Evers. The list of guest stars includes more notable sci-fi favourites, including Felicia Day, Stephen Lang, David Dastmachlain, and The X-Files Mitch Pileggi, among many others. Sean Maher, Simon of Firefly a Serenityeven appearing in one episode as a different type of escaped convict.

Procedurals Still the Backbone of Television

Despite all the talk about streaming original shows of Shogun i Stranger Thingsthe backbone of each service is classic sitcoms and procedurals that can be watched and re-watched again and again, often with dozens of seasons and hundreds of episodes. That’s why NCIS dominates Paramount+ between seasons of Yellowstone, Max was built on The Big Bang Theoryand why it’s a huge deal when the rights to Friends change hands. The Rookie it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and it contains every procedural trope you can think of, but that’s not a bad thing.

Procedurals are comfort food because they are so predictable, with just enough twists, and colorful characters to keep audiences coming back week after week to spend another hour living in his world. Nathan Fillion has had back to back success with Castle and now The Rookiewhich proved so popular that it spawned a spin-off, The Rookie: Fedswhich is exactly what it sounds like, and that’s still not a bad thing. It’s ironic that Fillion’s most beloved series was also the least successful, but at least millions of people can now appreciate Captain Malcolm Reynolds’ unbeatable charm and bubbly.

The Rookie is streaming on Hulu.