Today, we look at who are the ten most frequent “pop in” guest stars on The Rookie.
In this feature, Too Much Information About Nothin’, I detail lists of information about stuff that you really don’t need to know, but it might be fun to know!
Alexi Hawley, the creator and showrunner of The Rookie, is well-known for liking to use the history of his show in a big way, as there are constant callbacks to past episodes. Heck, the show had a spinoff, The Rookie: Feds, that only lasted a single season, and yet most of the cast has continued to make appearances on The Rookie after the spinoff was canceled. Like Olive Garden, once you’re on The Rookie, you’re family.
I was wondering, though, as to which characters who “pop in” and out of the series have appeared the MOST often over the years. In an attempt to differentiate guest stars from people who are just recurring characters, I made a rule – no one that has appeared in three episodes of the show in a row (it would be stupid to call, like, Smitty, a “guest star”), no kids or spouses (Luna Grey is obviously a recurring character, not a “pop in” guest star. Henry Nolan wouldn’t be eligible, anywats, as he had a three-episode arc with his heart surgery), and no one with major arcs on the series (it seems silly to call, say, Elijah Stone a “pop in” guest star, just because he appeared in, like, 6 out of 8 episodes, but never three in a row. The same would go for major love interests like Jessica Russo). So with that in mind, here are the ten most frequent “pop in” guest stars on The Rookie!
10 (tie). Jane Daly as Patrice Evers (5 episodes)
Jane Daly has been very sweet as Wesley Evers’ rich, but cool, mother. She hasn’t been on the show in a few seasons, though.
10 (tie). Madeline Coghlan as Abigail Tierney (5 episodes)
Abigail was engaged to John Nolan’s son, Henry. She later popped up as a documentary filmmaker who went missing in Season 7, after ending things amicably with Henry.
10 (tie). Britt Robertson as Agent Laura Stensen (5 episodes)
Robertson has brought her The Rookie: Feds character back to the main show a few times now.
10 (tie). Kevin Zegers as Agent Brendon Acres (5 episodes)
Similarly, Robertson’s former co-star, Zegers, has brought his former TV actor turned FBI agent, Brandon Acres, to The Rookie, and even continued a romantic subplot he had on the earlier series with Acres’ lab tech girlfriend, Antoinette Benneteau, who guest-starred with him in an episode.
10 (tie). Meg DeLacy as Chastity Sneed (5 episodes)
While Pete Davidson’s Pete (the half-brother of John Nolan) doesn’t show up as much, due to Davidson’s busy schedule, Pete’s stripper girlfriend, Chastity, continues to pop in without Pete (their characters remain together off screen, though)
8 (tie). Sara Rue as Nell Forrester (6 episodes)
Nell Forrester is a 911 dispatcher at the police station, who also has a murder podcast. She is dating another “pop in” guest star, Alan Tudyk’s Ellroy (Tudyk is just too busy to show up that often).
8 (tie). Flula Borg as Skip Tracer Randy (6 episodes)
Borg’s comedic performance as a skip tracer who constantly refers to himself as “Skip Tracer Randy” has been a consistent pop-in delight since Season 4 (appearing at least once in every season since).
5 (tie). Peyton List as Gennifer Bradford (7 episodes)
Tim Bradford’s sister always seems like she’s going to have a major plot at some point, but she never really does, although the closest she came is when she helped Tim deal with the death of their abusive father.
5 (tie). Michael Beach as Percy West (7 episodes)
Commmander Percy West is the Commander of the Internal Affairs Division in the Los Angeles Police Department. His son, Jackson, was one of the original rookies on the show. Even after Jackson was killed, though, Percy was brought back in his role as the head of IAB.
5 (tie). Felix Solis as Matthew Garza (7 episodes)
Garza was the head of the FBI group on The Rookie: Feds, and has remained a major FBI contact on the series even after the spinoff ended.
4. Jasmine Mathews as Rachel Hall (10 episodes)
Rachel was Lucy Chen’s friend, who briefly dated Tim. Her father warned Tim that since he had Huntington’s Disease, Rachel had a 50/50 shot of having it as well. She left Tim for a job in New York City in Season 2, but returned in Season 7 (like I told you, Hawleye likes to use the show’s history a LOT), and Lucy has been helping her out in trying to find a new job. She is another character who oddly keeps popping up without the show really pursuing any particular plot with her. She showed some issues with grieving her father, who died in the five years she was gone. She had been dealing with her grief by drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
3. Michael Trucco as Sean Del Monte (11 episodes)
It sure FEELS like Sean Del Monte has been a recurring character, right? And yet, he’s never made more than three appearances in any given season (and only once did he even get to three), while appearing at least once in all seven seasons, so I guess he counts. He dropped his attempt to run for District Attorney at the end of Season 7, so maybe this will be the last of him?
2. Matthew Glave as Oscar Hutchinson (12 episodes)
While a villain, the charmingly psychotic Oscar has obviously never really been the MAIN villain in any season, so I’m fine counting him as a “pop in” guest star, as that’s definitely how the show treats him. He’s spent most of the series in prison, and has STILL been a repeat annoyance.
1. Crystal Coney as Nurse Lisa (16 episodes)
Was I shocked to learn that Coney has appeared as Nurse Lisa in SIXTEEN episodes, never in three in a row, and in every season since Season 2? Of course, but it’s cool to know now! She even got a meaty bit in Season 6’s premiere, when she was accidentally shot in crossfire. Luckily, she survived, and was back to being a nurse in Season 7.
Okay, folks, I’m sure there are lots of other pieces of information that you’d like to see detailed online so you don’t have to remember it yourself, so feel free to drop me a line at brian@poprefs.com and I’ll see what I can do!
