A show about a 40-year-old man who leaves his small-town life behind to become the oldest recruit in the LAPD might seem like an unlikely smash hit all the way across the world in Perth.
But as one of its stars, Jenna Dewan, knows, the massive appeal of the crime procedural The Rookie knows no boundaries.
Dewan stars alongside Nathan Fillion’s character in the series, which has become a phenomenon — in Australia, it draws three times the audience of any other show on 7Plus, which translates to about 6.9 million local viewers during its most recent season last year. When STM hit the streets of Perth last year to find out what readers were watching, The Rookie was the show that came up most often, by a country mile.
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“No way, really?” says Dewan, speaking to STM from her home in Los Angeles, ahead of the anticipated June 8 launch of the series’ eight season.
“Oh my God, that is too amazing. It makes my heart so happy, you have no idea.”
Dewan knew her show, which began in 2018 and which she joined as firefighter Bailey Nune in the finale of its third season, had its share of fans across the world.
But it wasn’t until she and co-stars Fillion and Bridget Regan (who plays Monica Stevens) headed to the Czech Republic this time last year to film the eighth season’s first episode, that the breadth of its broad appeal really hit home.
Nathan Fillion, Bridget Regan and Jenna Dewan filming a scene for the new series in Prague. Credit: Larry Horricks/Disney
In episode one, a case takes them to Europe, where they infiltrate a crime syndicate and help bring it down, from their temporary base in Prague.
“(The show’s popularity) has been a slow dawning on all of us, but where we started to realise the reach, was in Prague,” she explains.
“Obviously, we don’t do much international travelling on the show, so when we (went to) Prague, I was really blown away by the fans that were waiting on set, and that were following us and talking about how much they love the show.
“We all had a moment, where we were like, ‘oh wow!’ Then, one night after filming, I went back to my hotel room and I turned on the TV — and there was The Rookie, dubbed into Czech . . . That’s when I really started to realise that its reach is incredible.”
The role has been a breakthrough for Dewan; Nune was supposed to be a bit character, but she was made into a series regular and is now married to the show’s lead, the titular “rookie” John Nolan, played by Fillion.
Jenna Dewan and Nathan Fillion play husband and wife in the show. Credit: Mike Taing/Disney
The gutsy, multi-talented LAFD firefighter and EMT (emergency medical technician), former army reserve lieutenant and one-time Capoeira instructor quickly became a fan favourite.
“The fun thing about Bailey is that because she is such an adrenaline junkie, purpose-driven character, that generally means she gets to say yes to any and all adventures,” says Dewan, whose own physical prowess has seen her have a successful career as a dancer, performing with Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott and Pink.
“I love getting the scripts, reading them and getting to see what kind of fun stunt work I will get to do this episode, or where the arc is going,” she adds. “Personally, as Jenna speaking, I really love doing those kinds of things. I am also a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I love to do stunts, and I love getting to see what kind of fight scenes I am going to get myself into.”
Dewan’s background as a dancer stood her in good physical stead for the role, but there might have also been something more cosmic in her casting, she says.
“I blame a lot of it on astrology: I am very Sagittarian, so I like new things,” she explains.
“I like novelty and not to be doing the same old, same old all the time . . . and I like that in my character, there are a lot of new aspects to her that create new adventures for her constantly.”
New adventures is a recurring theme in Dewan’s life.
First finding on-screen fame via the successful dance film Step Up, which she starred in alongside Channing Tatum, whom she was married to for nine years and shares 13-year-old daughter Everley with, she has managed to sustain a career in film and TV for the better part of two decades.
Filming for The Rookie takes up about seven months of the year, and in recent times, Dewan has juggled it alongside a growing family; Callum, born in 2020, and Rhiannon, born mid-2024, with Dewan’s fiance, actor Steve Kazee.
Luckily, the LA studio where the show films is close to home, meaning she’s never more than about a 40-minute drive from home.
“I am grateful for that every single day,” she admits.
Jenna Dewan at home with her children Callum, Everley and Rhiannon. Credit: Facebook
“It’s a dream. I am able to take my kids to school most days, and I’m able to put them down (at bedtime) — not every night because we are often filming — but we are literally able to have a life away from work, and still be a part of the greatest show ever.”
The work-life scramble got considerably easier for the few years her fiancee was cast alongside her, ironically to play her character’s villainous ex-husband. It was a recurring role, the plot reaching its devastating conclusion in season seven last year.
So how did the pair reconcile the heavy material they were filming with their off-screen everyday lives?
“It was kind of nice, actually,” says Dewan, who was juggling a newborn when many of her most emotionally demanding story-lines were playing out.
“I think as all parents know, you are in a little bit of this ‘post-partum haze’. Outside of having a baby, just being a parent with children, it’s the most tiring job — it beats any job I have ever had on the exhaustion level, and that includes touring, where you’re doing 10 shows a week. Work, in a lot of ways, and especially at that time, was a nice reset for the brain.
“I was able to go and have adult conversations, and learn lines, and get into being Bailey again.”
Dewan was also able to bring Rhiannon to set with her, making things easier all round.
“She was there as a baby every single day with me — a ‘set baby’. Poor Callum, he was little and was like, ‘Why can’t I come?’
“Actually, I’ll have to bring him to set, because he is now obsessed with police officers and police trucks and fire trucks,” she laughs.
“He was born right when I started on the show, during COVID, so for a couple of years on set we weren’t able to bring visitors . . . But he knows I am on the show, and that I play a firefighter.
“I’ll have to time it for when I am in the fire truck, because it will just be the coolest.”
Jenna Dewan stars as Bailey Nune in The Rookie. Credit: Supplied
As season eight airs, Dewan is about to begin filming season nine, which will hit screens next year. It means dying her hair back to Bailey’s shade of brunette; slowly getting her head out of ‘mum life’ and into ‘set life.’
“Right around the week of going back into the series, I tend to say, ‘OK no more of the fun, glam hair,’” she laughs.
“I take off the fancy nail polish, and go back into being Bailey.”
But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Working on a show like this long term is the best thing, because in our real lives, it’s almost like we are a family,” she explains.
“When you have a little break and you come back together for the next season, it’s so exciting to see everyone. You’ve (formed) these genuine, deep friendships, which naturally transfers onto screen.”
