The Rookie is known for its light-hearted tone, but Season 5, Episode 16, "Exposed" took that to the next level with some overt comedy. It was a Valentine's Day episode, so everyone at the LAPD had their big plans. But everyone also had problems with their significant others. Naturally, that led to some hilariously awkward situations and more than a few laughs.
Comic relief is something that The Rookie does exceptionally well — and not something that a lot of procedurals can manage. That's because The Rookie prioritizes character development while other similar shows like NCIS, the constantly changing Law & Order: SVU and FBI focus on their cases of the week. While that's commendable, it leads to overly realistic and serious plots while the ABC series is able to not be quite so dramatic.
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The Rookie's 'Exposed' Succeeded in Providing Comic Relief
"Exposed" started its humor in an unexpected place: Wesley Evers hired "Charlie" to help protect his family from The Rookie's latest predictable villain scheme. Angela Lopez didn't love the idea of private security, but she was appalled when Charlie turned out to be a very attractive female. On the heels of that, Nyla Harper and James Murray had to establish some boundaries because James had given his mother access to their baby monitor. Harper knew that was a bad idea when her mother-in-law said that she had seen Harper breastfeeding in her bathrobe.
Harper and Angela started talking about their problems on an open radio channel. And it wasn't long before John Nolan, Aaron Thorsen and the rest of the crew was joining in. Thorsen was particularly interested in Charlie. The exchange got even funnier when Sergeant Wade Grey jumped in. He scolded his officers for having personal conversations on an open channel — but then quickly added his two cents into the conversation. By the end of "Exposed," both Wesley and James apologized… but their unintentional mistakes allowed The Rookie to maintain its special and not so serious tone.
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How The Rookie's Comedic Approach Separates It From Other Crime Shows
Most procedurals have a serious focus on realism. NCIS delved into Alden Parker's tragic backstory with an episode that revealed he'd accidentally paralyzed his former partner. FBI had an episode that included Jubal Valentine's alcohol addiction and his son's possible cancer diagnosis simultaneously. Law & Order: SVU focused on dementia on top of its usual subjects of sexually-based crime. There's little to no room for humor in any of those storylines. Even when the shows get personal, they're still very serious.
In contrast, The Rookie focuses more on its characters than its cases. "Exposed" was about Ebola and Sarin gas, but the casework was secondary to the latest Chenford developments and Elijah Stone's threats against Angela and Wesley. By taking the opposite approach, The Rookie is able to function like a sitcom — each episode maintains a sense of status quo. That makes it much easier for the writers to integrate comedy, and viewers to enjoy a cop show that is distinctly not grim.
The Rookie airs Tuesdays at 8:00 pm on ABC.
