‘The Rookie’ Boss Teases Bailey’s Move to D.C. ‘Takes a Dark Turn’

Earlier this season, Nathan Fillion told us that he likes that Nolan and Bailey’s (Jenna Dewan) are a stable couple on The Rookie. Well, that’s certainly been tested as of late, with the two seeing how they can manage a long-distance relationship. She was offered a job with a think tank at the Pentagon, but he didn’t want to move to D.C. Though originally she had said it had to be a unanimous decision, she ultimately ended up making the move across the U.S. on her own.

When TV Insider recently spoke to showrunner Alexi Hawley, we had to find out what was behind the decision for that storyline as well as what’s coming up there. It didn’t have to do with Dewan’s schedule. Rather, “It was something that I wanted to do. Part of the storytelling we’ve been doing with Bailey since the beginning is this sort of, as Nolan called it, pathological need to move and to keep reinventing herself and to keep challenging herself, which is based in the trauma of her marriage to Jason and everything like that and the effects that it’s had on the relationship,” he explained. “And so ultimately I thought it was important — Nolan has always been so supportive, even when she’s made it really hard, but just to put their relationship in a place where he’s got to put his foot down a little bit and then ultimately they love each other enough for him to go, look, I want you to be happy.”

It did lead to some conflict between the spouses, around Valentine’s Day even, which was when she first said she wouldn’t go to D.C. given what they’d settled on when the job opportunity first arose. “You are the love of my life, John. I don’t want to be anywhere you’re not,” she said at the time. But after an explosion at the station, which gave the couple newfound respect for each other, he told her to go to D.C. and they were strong enough to handle the separation. She thought he figured she’d get bored in a year and return home. They’ve since been balancing FaceTime calls and short visits.

Looking ahead, Hawley teased that there’s much more to this than just her exploring something new.

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“Let’s just say things take a dark turn and we get a little bit into some conspiracy world, which I think is kind of fun to do,” he revealed. “We will come to a pretty big head in Episode 12.”

As for who will be joining her in D.C. for this think tank, don’t expect to be meeting a bunch of new characters that you’ll get to know. However, one that we’ve heard before will be back in Episode 11 tied to it.

“You remember Zuzu, our homicidal AI chatbot? He comes back to sort of warn Nolan that people are investigating Bailey, nefarious people,” says Hawley. “It’s a fun little callback, and I love that character. I thought it was so, and sadly so, prescient.”

What do you think of Bailey’s storyline in Season 8? What are you hoping to see? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Rookie, Mondays, 10/9c, ABC

—Reporting by Damian Holbrook