Rookie Blue is a Canadian police procedural television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, and aired on Global in Canada and ABC in the United States.
On July 17, 2013, Global and ABC jointly announced that Rookie Blue was renewed for a fifth season. Originally intended to be a single season consisting of 22 episodes (up from the usual 13), the season was split in two. Season 5 premiered on May 19, 2014, on Global, on June 19 on ABC, and on July 20 on Universal Channel in the UK. The second 11 episodes aired in 2015 and were later re-branded as season 6. The final episode of Season 6 aired that July.
On October 16, 2015, it was announced that Rookie Blue had completed its run after six seasons and would not be returning.
Premise There's something really primal about the idea of being a rookie—it hits that horrible, eternal sense of feeling like a fraud, like a kid dressed in grown-up clothes, trying to pretend you know what you're doing. And I thought, what if you were feeling just like that—but with a gun? —Tassie Cameron, Executive Producer
Set in Toronto, the series follows the lives of five rookie police officers from fictional 15 Division who have just graduated from the academy. The officers must learn to deal with not only their duties as police officers, but also the problems and expectations of family, friends, and romantic attachments at the office. They are first responders who are about to learn that no amount of training prepares you for life.
"To serve, protect, and..." is usually used in the parade room before shift starts by the officer leading the parade. It always has a significant meaning in the context of the episode plot. More often than not, however, they use "to serve, protect, and don't screw up".
Rookie Blue has been described as the Grey's Anatomy of the world of rookie cops.
Setting The series is set in Toronto, often referencing local street names and areas. The streets are often recognizable, as is the case with Jameson Avenue in Parkdale, the location of a call-out in the pilot episode.
Episodes
Cast
Main ActorCharacterPositionSeasons123456 Missy Peregrym Andrea "Andy" McNally Training Officer colspan=6 Travis Milne Christian "Chris" Diaz colspan=6 Charlotte Sullivan Gail Peck colspan=6 Priscilla Faia Chloe Price colspan=3 colspan=3 Peter Mooney Nick Collins Officer colspan=2 colspan=4 Enuka Okuma Traci Nash Detective Sergeant colspan=6 Gregory Smith Dov Epstein Detective colspan=6 Ben Bass Sam Swarek colspan=6 Adam MacDonald Stephen "Steve" Peck colspan=1 colspan=2 colspan=1 colspan=1 colspan=1 Rachael Ancheril Marlo Cruz colspan=3 colspan=1 colspan=2 Eric Johnson Lucas "Luke" Callaghan colspan=2 colspan=2 colspan=2 Noam Jenkins Jerry Barber colspan=3 colspan=3 Melanie Nicholls-King Noelle Williams colspan="1" colspan=2 colspan=1 colspan=1 colspan=1 Lyriq Bent Frank Best Staff Sergeant colspan=4 colspan=1 colspan=1 Matt Gordon Oliver Shaw colspan=6
Officers Missy Peregrym portrays Andrea "Andy" Grace McNally. She is driven by the desire to do the right thing even if it means not following procedure. Andy is the most positive person on the job—because she knows first-hand where the job can take you, and she does not want to go there. Charlotte Sullivan portrays Gail Peck. Underneath her caustic exterior, Gail is vulnerable and feels lonely. Because she is the daughter of high-ranking officials in the police force she is often seen by others as getting preferential treatment. Travis Milne portrays Chris Diaz. He is often seen as taking the "by the book" approach. He believes in the chain of command, following orders, doing the right thing and above all, he believes in defending the weak. Despite this seemingly good trait, it makes him unable to take initiative. Peter Mooney portrays Nick Collins. He appears for first time in season 3. He is a former soldier who served for four years, including a tour in Afghanistan, before becoming a cop. Priscilla Faia portrays Chloe Price. She appears for the first time in season 4, when she is first introduced as a one-night stand of Dov's and later revealed to be Frank's goddaughter and the newest rookie to be transferred to 15 Division. She is talkative and bubbly, which sometimes annoys the other rookies. However, she shows herself to be a competent officer.
Detectives Gregory Smith portrays Dov Epstein. He is often shown to be overeager to get involved in everything even when it is not necessary for him to do so. This characteristic has gotten him into trouble many times, so much so he has been told to "slow it down". Ben Bass portrays Samuel "Sam" Jay Swarek. He is known for following his instincts rather than following the book and is thus labeled as a rogue cop by his frustrated superiors. Adam MacDonald portrays Steve Peck. Steve is Gail's older brother and a corrupt detective in the Guns and Gangs division. Noam Jenkins portrays Jerry Barber. A divorced detective at 15 Division, he actively participated in operations and stings, coordinating officers and other resources at his disposal. Eric Johnson portrays Luke Callaghan. A homicide detective at 15 Division, he is tireless and exceedingly charming. Melanie Nicholls-King portrays Noelle Williams. Was originally a training officer and is veteran of the police force. Noelle is not only great at her job, but she is also an invaluable mentor for the rookies in her division. Rachael Ancheril portrays Marlo Cruz. During the six months in which Andy and Nick are away, Sam moves on and enters into a relationship with her. She is well liked by everyone, but she and Andy end up in situations together as partners.
Sergeants Enuka Okuma portrays Traci Nash. She is a single mother trying to find the balance between her work and her family. Matt Gordon portrays Oliver Shaw, one of the rookies' training officers and a veteran of the police force. He is the kind of cop who doesn't go looking for trouble but doesn't shy away from it when it finds him. He is one of the few older police officers with a functional marriage and family, having a wife and three daughters. Lyriq Bent portrays Frank Best. Frank was a training officer until he was promoted to Staff Sergeant after Boyko was promoted.
Supporting Peter MacNeill portrays Tommy McNally. He is Andy's father. Formerly a homicide detective, he has a drinking problem. Barbara Williams portrays Claire McNally. She is Andy's mother. She works in social services. Aaron Abrams portrays Donovan Boyd. He is a guns and gangs detective who seems to be always over the edge. Camille Sullivan portrays Jo Rosati. She is a homicide detective. Mayko Nguyen portrays Sue Tran. She is a bomb technician for ETF. Aliyah O'Brien portrays Holly Stewart. Appears for the first time in Season 4 Episode 7. She is a forensic pathologist who soon becomes one of Gail's closest friends. Jim Codrington portrays ETF Sgt Bailey. He is seen throughout seasons 3–5 with his team helping the officers of 15 Division. Emily Hampshire portrays Celery. Celery is dating Oliver.
Production and development The series is produced by E1 Entertainment, Canwest, and Thump, Inc. The pilot script was written by Ilana Frank. In February 2009, Canwest ordered the show straight-to-series with a 13 episode order under the working title Copper. ABC purchased the American broadcast rights to the series in April 2009.
The first role cast was Andy McNally, portrayed by Missy Peregrym, followed by Gregory Smith cast as Dov Epstein. Additional casting was announced in early July. Production began in Toronto, Ontario, on July 14, 2009, and was expected to continue through November 2009. Thirteen episodes were produced.
On June 21, 2010 The Accessible Channel announced that Rookie Blue would be the first series to premiere with a simultaneous Described Video broadcast for people with vision impairments.
Filming of the second season took place between September 1, 2010, and January 25, 2011. Tassie Cameron served as head writer and series showrunner, with Georgia Toews serving as writing assistant.Ah-Sen, J. M., "What do you do when your mother is Miriam Toews?", Maclean's, May 30, 2022. Filming of the third season took place between August 25, 2011, and January 23, 2012. Filming of the fourth season took place between August 20, 2012, and January 25, 2013. Filming of the combined fifth and sixth seasons took place between January 20, 2014, and October 1, 2014.
On September 3, 2015, during an interview with Missy Peregrym in The Hollywood Reporter, it was reported that the season six finale would likely be the Rookie Blue series finale, since the series regulars have not been called back for another season.
Release Broadcast Rookie Blue is distributed by E1 Entertainment. NBC Universal Global Networks (also known as Universal Networks International) purchased broadcast rights in all markets except Canada (country of origin), France, Germany, and the United States. Ion Television acquired the off network rights to the series in the United States. Ion ran the show starting in December 2014 on Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. with five episodes in a row, however by mid-February 2015 the show had been pulled from Ion's schedule due to low ratings, and replaced first by Blue Bloods, then Cold Case.
Home media Entertainment One releases the show on DVD and a few season on Blu-ray in Region 1. The Canadian releases contain an additional French audio track and the Canadian Blu-ray release is three discs instead of four. In Australia (Region 4), only the first two seasons were released. However, Via Vision Entertainment has acquired the rights to the series and will released the complete series boxset on November 18, 2020.
DVD name Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Ep # Discs Rookie Blue: The Complete First Season May 31, 2011 October 10, 2011 April 4, 2012 13 4 Rookie Blue: The Complete Second Season May 29, 2012 October 8, 2012 July 18, 2012 13 4 Rookie Blue: The Complete Third Season May 7, 2013 August 12, 2013 May 7, 2013 13 4 Rookie Blue: The Complete Fourth Season May 6, 2014 September 1, 2014 13 4 Rookie Blue: Season 5 August 18, 2015 11 3 Rookie Blue: Season 6 March 8, 2016 11 3 The Complete Series March 8, 2016 (Canada)September 20, 2016 (US) November 18, 2020 74 22
Reception
Critical response Metacritic summarizes the response as "mixed or average reviews". One of the more favorable reviews came from Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times, saying "it's not a groundbreaking police drama, nor is it divertingly cheesy. It's well made and well meaning." Robert Lloyd from the Los Angeles Times was also favorable with the show, and agreed with Stanley describing it as nothing new to television, but he rather enjoyed it and saying "Rookie Blue doesn't oversell itself. It is modest and plain in a way that makes even its less likely moments feel credible enough." Rob Salem of the Toronto Star favorably compared the series to Grey's Anatomy. "Call it Blues Anatomy (or Academy, take your pick)." Salem found the show "slickly produced and engagingly acted" and had a particular fondness for Missy Peregrym's character, which he described as "the Meredith surrogate". The Globe and Mail'''s television critic, John Doyle, described Rookie Blue as "a good cop show with a terrible title." Doyle went on to say "it's a very slick, glossy melodrama, all handsome actors and admirably sharp storylines. Yet it's true to its Toronto roots."