In “The Rookie: The Fed” by focusing on Niece Nash’s Simone — a black, queer woman and rookie agent, co-creator, co-showrunner and executive producer Alexie Hawley knows the spinoff series shifts away from discourse about systemic change. There may not be more structural racism. In real life, less than 1% are black women, and following the killing of George Floyd and the 2020 protests against police, calls to end law enforcement procedures have grown in tandem with discourse about defunding.
The rebellion against racial injustice began when Hawley and his writers’ room opened for “The Rookie” Season 3, and the sensibility of his more nuanced portrayal of cops colored his and Terrence Paul Winter’s visions as “The Rookie” fades. .
Hawley told TheWrap in an interview, “[‘The Rookie’] had always been aspirational about policing, but it became very clear that ‘aspirational’ was not enough, that we were portraying a version of policing that was foreign to many. And so how do we capture the aspirational nature – because I think that’s what gives people hope – but still start tackling the issues that everyone was focusing on?
That’s the question “Feds” is trying to balance as well: while Hawley said he wanted to prioritize the entertainment value of the show, without the “preachy” qualities, the producers were able to enforce change from within an unjust system. The show also emphasized the core of the show – something like that in and of itself is a dirty debate and exemplified by Simone and her father, Katti (Frankie Faison) in constant disagreement over her chosen career path.
In our Q&A below, Hawley discusses everything from ensuring authentic portrayals through the rooms of consultants and diverse writers, as well as his response to the idea that there can be no ethical police procedural under the current system.
TheWrap: Right off the bat, “The Rookie: Feds” zeroes in on the debate about whether institutional change can be implemented from the inside, and Simone and her father often return to that conversation. Can you talk about how that’s going to continue and develop throughout the season?
Ahh: This is the heart of the issue that there is only so much external pressure can do – that if these institutions are really going to change the way they work, there must be people on the inside who are pushing because there are so many The sights circle the wagon, so to speak, when there is external pressure. So we think it’s really important. We try to tell the stories with a lot of different levels of tone, so we don’t want to preach about it, but I think, at the end of the day, the gap or gap between Simone and her father . Some of it is about issues that helps us tell these stories, and makes them feel character-based and not issue-oriented.
The show centers on a black, queer woman in a place that is often dominated by straight white men. How do you make sure that Simone’s perspective drives the story of the show?
The only way to do this authentically is to fill your writers’ room with people who represent that perspective or pieces of that perspective. That was Terence and I was the first target — Niece too — when we first sat down with him and started talking about it. We were all on the same page in the room looking like Niesi, who had a lifestyle like Neissie and all that stuff. If it’s all homogeneous, you’ll never get that kind of diversity perspective.
What were some of the most important ideas in airing this spinoff, alongside protests against police brutality and racial injustice, as well as calls for rescue?
In Season 3 of “The Rookie,” we started breaking that story right after George Floyd was killed, and we took it very heartily, both as a writer’s room, and as a show, that about systemic injustice. Talking in was something we were dedicated to doing. The show has always been aspirational about policing, but it became very clear that “aspirational” wasn’t enough, that we were portraying a version of policing that was different to a lot of people. And so how do we capture the aspirational nature – because I think that’s what gives people hope – but still start tackling the issues that everyone was focusing on? And also knowing that the headlines that followed George Floyd’s death are, as always, dim in time: the people taking to the streets and all that, kind of faded. We loved that we had a responsibility to talk about these issues even after the burst of activity.
We’ve been through “The Rookie” ever since, and while we were making “Fades” which was still very important and centered around Niecy and her character, Simone, the spinoff episode in Season 4 of “The Rookie” I say. Only 1% of FBI agents are black women. just by the nature of her choosing [person] To be your main character, you have an obligation to focus on those stories. But, again, still trying to make a show that people are looking forward to watching that doesn’t feel like an after-school special and walks that line on having some really important point of view, but Never takes himself too seriously. And justifiably, it’s all trying to get it off the ground in reality.
Were there any network or executive level challenges in making this series? Although it is based on a known process, it is not long lasting. How did their input differ or reflect from the conversations taking place in the writers’ room?
While we were talking about how to deal with policing issues, ABC and Disney were completely following us step by step. ABC has proven itself to be very committed to diverse writers’ rooms, diverse directors, diverse crew – they have guidelines they encourage you to meet. They’ve been a really great participant in trying to tell stories about police officers in Los Angeles who look like Los Angeles. In terms of challenges, it’s the challenge of anything. I feel so lucky that I won a gold medal twice for finding incredible cast members on ‘The Rookie’ and then on ‘Fades’ for finding equally talented and dynamic artists. ABC really supports all of our options along the way.
What kind of experts or consultants did you rely on for this show, and was it a mix of former law enforcement and activists on the other side?
going to season 3 [of ‘The Rookie’]We actually have a wide net to talk to people with different perspectives on policing. We started working with Color of Change and various other groups, Public Defenders, to talk about systemic injustice. But coming to the ‘Feds,’ it’s hard, as I said, if 1% of the FBI’s are black women, how do you find a black female advisor? But we magically managed to find a former FBI agent through one of the writers in our room. She has been invaluable in having an authentic view of where Simone is coming from and what she experiences inside the FBI. Traditionally, most advisors on FBI shows are white people, so it was really important for us to find someone who wasn’t like that, and we did.
Will the ‘Feds’ deal with a historical error on the part of the FBI, such as illegal surveillance of key civil rights figures? Conversations about the ethics of procedures often only touch on a local or state level, so I was wondering if you could speak more about whether the show could delve into these federal issues.
No, and we talk about it on the show; Some of Simone’s conversations with her father, Katti, were about the same. His origin story on the show was that his father had been wrongfully convicted by the LAPD and was found innocent eight years before a federal investigation, so he was inspired by the idea that the FBI could actually put him out there. Helps to remove. , Like anything, it’s complicated. yes there [were] Historically, a lot of crossing lines and stuff with the FBI and civil rights and with Black Lives Matter. but at the same time, [the FBI] Some were also at the forefront of civil rights legal actions across the country and things like that. We are always aware of this. I have said from the beginning that the one thing you should have as a cop show in 2022 is self-awareness.
What would you call the overall criticism that centering on so-called good cops or channeling a procedural process is ‘copaganda’ nowadays?
I totally understand the point of view, and I think, historically, police shows have only shown police to be righteous and just. Jumping back to “The Rookie,” our first episode of Season 3 was dealing with noble cause corruption, which is the concept that if a police officer does something in the pursuit of justice, even if it isn’t a positive act, The end justifies the means – that’s right. It has always been popular. Literally, the DNA of that show ’24’ was, ‘It’s okay if he’s torturing terrorists because he’s really trying to save the world,’ and it’s not okay if it’s corrupt.
I mean, at the end of the day, I think there are a lot of people in law enforcement who are doing it for the right reason and who are trying to help people. I think the ‘some bad apple’ framework ultimately needs to call attention to the fact that you can’t be a good guy if you’re not helping to root out bad guys. It goes back to the very beginning, what we’re talking about, in terms of change from the inside: unless the police stand up and get rid of a problem inside the force or inside the FBI, the system will win’ T change.
“The Rookie: Fed” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, with streaming on Hulu the following day.
