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Therese Lacson is a Senior TV Editor who has been with Collider since 2021. She got started in this business over ten years ago working primarily as an interviewer and critic. At Collider, she works closely with the features team to support the writers and also ideates and develops content daily. She has covered major industry events including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Toronto International Film Festival, and San Diego Comic-Con. Although she reviews and covers both film and television, her focus is in television and her expertise is in fantasy and sci-fi genre shows. Her favorite shows to cover include House of the Dragon, Bridgerton, Fallout, 9-1-1, and Rivals.
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It's premiere day for The Rookie Season 8, and this season promises to be even bigger than before. Not only does some of the cast take a trip to Prague to deal with Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), but there are some major changes in store for the Mid-Wilshire precinct. The season kicks off with John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox), and Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) going to Europe for Monica's case while the rest of the team stays at home in Los Angeles, dealing with new changes to the hierarchy at work.
Collider spoke with Mekia Cox and Alyssa Diaz about Season 8 and what's in store for both Harper and Diaz's character, Angela Lopez. Diaz breaks down how Angela and Wesley (Shawn Ashmore) are dealing with Monica's release, while also teasing a career shift for Wesley. Diaz and Cox both discuss returning villains like Liam Glasser (Seth Gabel) and a new face that we're anxious to meet. The two also dove into a discussion on their characters' respective marriages and whether Season 8 would hold any speed bumps for the relationships. And while Cox gave insight into her trip to Prague, Diaz manifested where she wants Lopez to go should The Rookie be eyeing another international destination in the future.
Mekia Cox on Her Time Filming in Prague for 'The Rookie'
"Somehow it starts there and only gets bigger from there."
COLLIDER: Mekia, you got to film in Prague.
MEKIA COX: I did.
What was that experience like? Did you get to do a little bit of sightseeing while you were there?
COX: I did get to do some sightseeing. We did a couple of little boat tours.
ALYSSA DIAZ: I didn’t know this!
COX: Oh, I didn’t tell you that? Yeah, we got a couple of boat tours. We got one of those really small boats with the guy on it who’s giving you the tour. He’s in the striped [shirt] with the red tie.
A gondola situation?
COX: Yeah. It was very cute. We had our little wine and spread that he had there. Then we did another tour with more of the cast. It's just a beautiful city. It's really rich in history and culture there, and I really enjoyed getting to not only be there and sightsee, but also getting to film there. I do think it is going to turn out really cinematic, really high-level in scope, and I think it's going to start our Season 8 off in the right way. Somehow it starts there and only gets bigger from there.
At the end of last season, Monica is out and free in this world, which, God help us.
COX: Exactly.
Alyssa Diaz Reveals How Monica's Return Will Affect Wesley and Angela
"It's a bit of a sticky, conflicted situation for her and him."
Image via ABCWhat are some of the obstacles that Angela has to face, especially with Wesley?
COX: You know what I just learned? That Shawn [Ashmore] and Bridget [Regan] were friends before this. It makes sense. She just told me that the other day.
DIAZ: Oh yeah. They're actually friends. He put in a good word, actually, for her. I think it was just supposed to originally be a guest star role, and it evolved into this whole arc because she's so talented and multifaceted.
With Monica back in the space, it's funny, it doesn't really do too much with Wesley and Angela. But what does affect the couple this season is some career change stuff that's going on. It's starting to affect the personal, and it will also affect Angela's career. It affects Harper, as well, and their friendship. So, it's a bit of a sticky, conflicted situation for her and him.
Is that a career change for Angela or for Wesley, or for both characters?
DIAZ: For Wesley.
Related
Cox and Diaz Teases Returning and New Faces Coming to Season 8
"Glasser has not made an actual physical comeback yet himself, but the storyline is continuing for sure."
Image via ABCI’m interested, because I did just talk to Shawn, and he told me that Liam Glasser is making a return, which obviously Nyla has a past with him, to say the least. What has that been like, revisiting that storyline?
COX: It's interesting because you realize that Harper is always so on top of whatever she's going through. So, in this case, she realizes that there were some areas where she made a couple of mistakes. So, now, revisiting that for her has been really hard. Now, she's also having to deal with that, along with having to deal with Wesley and how this affects everyone around her. I mean, Glasser has not made an actual physical comeback yet himself, but the storyline is continuing for sure.
But you guys are only halfway through.
COX: Exactly.
Last season, your characters’ moms came up, and I loved that episode. I love it when moms have their cute little arc. Are we going to see any more of your characters' families in this season? Are there plans for it?
DIAZ: No, we haven't heard anything. But we're only halfway through, so it's possible one of them can pop their heads in.
COX: Yeah, because we had fun with them. They're a fun little duo.
DIAZ: They're great.
COX: There is another mom that will appear, a mom that we have not met yet. But our moms, as of right now, as far as I know, are not coming back.
Cox and Diaz Reveal Where Harper and Lopez's Romantic Relationships Are Headed
"They're still getting over everything that happened last season, and last season was a lot."
Image via ABCFor now. Also, for Nyla and James last season, there was a bit of friction, is maybe the loosest way I could say it. There's always kind of been friction with her career, and then there was sort of a smear campaign against the police. Are we going to see any of that trickle into this season?
COX: Not as much. They're still getting over everything that happened last season, and last season was a lot. I think their relationship was put through a lot and tested, and so I think they're kind of over that hump and on the other side of it right now. So, of course, things are going to continue to come up here and there, but overall, it's not to the level that it was last season.
That's good to hear. Too much chaos. They need peace. Alyssa, I love Wesley and Angela together. I feel like they are the cutest couple. There's a little bit of push and pull in there, and I like that sort of dynamic. Can you tease anything about their relationship this season? Obviously, there are complications, but are we going to get to see them together a little bit more? What's the situation there?
DIAZ: We do see them more this season, especially with the storyline of Wesley embarking on a possible new career and how that dynamic plays out. Also, Angela is spending Wesley's money this season, and she's cracking open that trust fund.
Oh my God, that's right! He has a trust fund.
DIAZ: She's using it this season. She’s questioning, also, her career and her path, but it comes back to she loves what she does, and now she's just doing it with some style.
COX: That's right.
This explains the outfits and the style. I love your partnership together, but we were told that there are some potential professional changes, maybe in the future, for Harper. Can you tease anything about that?
COX: Yes. There are. As I said before, there have been some things that she has done that have sort of led her to a position in which I don't necessarily think she wanted things to go this way, but they are. So, she just has to sort of navigate through that and figure out how to get back to where she wants to be.
Related
Alyssa Diaz Reveals Where She Wants 'The Rookie' To Go Next
"I'm ready for the tapas."
Image via ABCOkay. My closing question is a little bit of a fun one. Obviously, you got to go to Prague, but Alyssa, you didn't.
DIAZ: I did not. No.
If you guys could choose a location to take Angela, an international city, maybe with Wesley or maybe you guys get to team up and go on a little mission together, where would you go?
DIAZ: Barcelona.
COX: I knew it was going to be Spain. I knew it.
DIAZ: Why not? I'm ready for the tapas.
That's the best answer so far.
DIAZ: Let's go.
COX: If that’s the case, then I'm definitely going.
DIAZ: Yes.
You guys can be on the boat this time together.
DIAZ: Yes. And we can be reunited in this way.
The Rookie Season 8 premieres on January 6 on ABC in the U.S.
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) ·