“The Rookie” Creator 'Chasing Pete Davidson’ to Make Another Cameo: 'He's Really into Coming Back' (Exclusive)
- - “The Rookie” Creator 'Chasing Pete Davidson’ to Make Another Cameo: 'He's Really into Coming Back' (Exclusive)
Liza EsquibiasJanuary 18, 2026 at 6:00 AM
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Christopher Willard/Getty
From left: Nathan Fillion and Pete Davidson on 'The Rookie' in 2020 -
The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley hopes to bring Pete Davidson back to the show soon
The comedian previously appeared in several episodes as Pete Nolan, a sibling of Nathan Fillion's lead character, John Nolan
Fillion has also spoken about his eagerness for Davidson to return, calling him "a joy" to work with
Someone tell Pete Davidson the cops are looking for him.
More than four years have passed since the Saturday Night Live alum, 32, appeared on seasons 2 and 4 of The Rookie as Pete Nolan, the half-brother of Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion). Now on season 8, creator Alexi Hawley tells PEOPLE he hopes to see Davidson return to the police procedural in the near future.
“We are ever-chasing Pete Davidson and his incredibly busy schedule, but we are always hopeful to work, and he's really into coming back,” Hawley reveals, adding that there is already an exciting lineup of guest stars in season 8.
“I don't think it's too spoiler-y to say we'll see Oscar Hutchinson again this season,” he reveals, referring to Matthew Glave’s career-criminal character that escaped prison in the season 7 finale. “We are hopeful to get Flula Borg back, who's always fun for us.”
John Russo/Disney
'The Rookie' cast
Hawley further notes that “one of the joys” of having such a beloved and long-running series “that’s doing well” is that “people actually want to be on our show, which makes the phone calls easy to make.”
Deric Augustine and Lisseth Chavez — who play officers Miles Penn and Celina Juarez, respectively — also tell PEOPLE there are some dramatic characters returning in season 8.
“There's a certain episode that someone comes back, and you really see the true dynamic of their relationship, the things that they probably went through in their own lives,” Augustine, 35, teases. “You're going to see them come together and really air it out. It's such a huge spoiler that I can't even indulge more in it, but that's going to be a phenomenal scene, and scenes, to really look at and to appreciate the craft of acting.”
Christopher Willard/Getty
From left: Nathan Fillion and Pete Davdison on 'The Rookie' in 2020
Chavez, 36, adds: “I feel like we have a lot of really cool, fun guest stars that came to this season. One in particular, maybe because it’s for Celina, which is fun. It's Secret Service and reincarnation. That's it.”
Fillion, 54, who has starred as Nolan since The Rookie’s debut in 2018, previously expressed his eagerness to work with Davidson again. During a panel with Hawley at Comic-Con 2025, he shared that the comedian “wants to come back” but “is hard to get a hold of.”
He also called Davidson “a joy” to work with. “He vibrates on a different plane, and no two takes are alike,” Fillion gushed. “He's feeling his way through stuff, and he's, yeah, he's very sensitive, very concerned about doing a great job, and he really loves his work. He’s so kind.”
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New episodes of The Rookie air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and are available to stream on Hulu the following day.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
