‘The Rookie’ stars Nathan Fillion, Niecy Nash-Betts phone it in to Comic-Con

ABC/Raymond Liu

While fans were disappointed they didn’t get to see the stars in person, those who attended a San Diego Comic-Con panel featuring Nathan Fillion and Niecy Nash-Betts via video got some tidbits about The Rookie and its spin-off, The Rookie: Feds.

The latter show was introduced in an episode of The Rookie — in industry terms, a “backdoor pilot” — but the new series delves deeper into Nash-Betts’ character, Special Agent Simone Clark. “She’s going to do it her way,” Nash-Betts told the crowd, according to Deadline.

“She doesn’t take no for an answer. She’s a lover, she’s a flirt. We’ve got a lot in common.”

Being that the show centers on her FBI Academy greenhorn, the comedy-drama will leave The Rookie‘s L.A. roots both nationally and possibly internationally, something producer Terence Paul Winter teased “opens up the show in a really exciting way.”

For Fillion, his former LAPD rookie John Nolan now finds himself a more senior officer, in charge of a newly minted LAPD officer who makes “all the same mistakes” his character did at the start of his policing career.

Fillion, a veteran of the beloved sci-fi show Firefly, said of his ABC police show, “This is an incredible experience, and I am every day really excited about where I am in life right now.”

The Rookie returns to ABC on September 25, while The Rookie: Feds starts September 27.

When moderator Karl Jacobs said his notes indicate that that Grant has always been a big “D&D” fan, Rodriguez quipped, “I think you mixed it up with S&M.” “She’s not wrong,” Hugh responded. “I’ve been an enthusiastic dungeon master for years. That’s a British pastime. National sport, almost. I believe that’s why the Jonathans thought of me for this.” Grant will play antagonist Forge Fletcher.

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