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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Rookie season 8, episode 1!The Rookie season 8 sees Lieutenant Wade Grey go through a job change, with showrunner Alexi Hawley explaining what it means for the show and Chenford. The Rookie season 8 shows Grey accepting a position as a senior liaison for the FBI from agent Matthew Garza. This comes as he's been having marital trouble at home due to his career.
In an interview with ScreenRant's Tatiana Hullender for The Rookie season 8 premiere, Hawley explained how Grey and Garza's team-up will have a major impact on the story moving forward. The pair will be working with Monica to catch "several high-profile villains" with her information, something that offers a new approach for the series' primary cases:
ScreenRant: And now for season 8 premiere spoilers: Wade's marital troubles to lead to him accepting a new position. What does that mean for Richard T. Jones on the show? Is he the entry point for a storyline and location expansion on the series?
Alexi Hawley: Yeah, it will definitely expand the story. It needed to happen given the sort of Blacklist scenario that we're going through with Monica. We're targeting several high-profile villains that Monica's going to help catch.
Richard and Felix Solis, who plays Garza, make me happy every time I see the two of them together. I think Grey and Garza make a really good pairing as these two senior officers or agents. It's season 8, so it's time to shake things up.
We come into every season going, "What can we do?", so we're not just resting on what we've done before. This plot brings new challenges, new opportunities, and ultimately, I think it's just another layer of dynamic storytelling we can use.
Hawley also addressed how Grey's promotion means the job of Lieutenant will be up for grabs, with Tim Bradford being a primary candidate. The showrunner addressed how this would play into his relationship with Lucy Chen, especially in relation to a new power dynamic the couple could face. Season 8, episode 2, in particular, holds an important element of this approach:
ScreenRant: Of course, that means someone needs to fill his spot at home base, and the very next scene was of Tim and Lucy. What can we expect there? Will there be a power differential brought up again?
Alexi Hawley: It will have to be navigated. I think they're both very conscious of that, and they have been ever since the beginning of the show. Obviously, way back when Tim was Lucy's training officer, he never would've crossed that line with her - which is why it took as many seasons as it did to get to where they got.
But Tim stepping up into that position will again shake things up, and he'll have to navigate what it's like to go from being a veteran patrol officer to somebody's boss a bit, and it's just the different dynamic of what that job does.
In episode 2, Lucy has a very funny way of trying to navigate the personal versus professional. But again, it's just a new twist on how we tell their story.
Grey has been a Lieutenant in the cast of The Rookie since his promotion from Sergeant II in season 7. While his rise up the ranks had been slow, season 8 is offering him the biggest promotion of his life. However, it also means his storyline won't be the same as everyone else's, while also leaving a hole in the team that needs filling.
ABC via MovieStillsDBThis is where Tim comes in. As the current Sergeant II at the station, it makes the most sense for him to take over as Lieutenant. This will put an even bigger power gap between him and Lucy, who is currently a Sergeant I. At the same time, it could also mean a promotion for her, but one that still puts a distance between the pair's jobs and expectations.
While The Rookie season 8 premiere didn't outright confirm Tim is going to become the next Lieutenant, Hawley's statement indicates that's what will happen. Episode 2 sounds like it'll deal with the impact of Grey's promotion more directly, emphasizing how it changes team dynamics and the potential for Tim to be put in an even higher position.
How this could impact him and Lucy's recently rekindled relationship remains unclear. But, as Hawley says, The Rookie season 8, episode 2 will creatively, humorously identify how the pair will be impacted. For now, though, it seems everyone has some adjusting to do as the team dynamics drastically alter.
New episodes of The Rookie season 8 air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and stream next day on Hulu.
Release Date October 16, 2018
Showrunner Alexi Hawley
Directors Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro
Writers Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
English (US) ·