The Rookie Season 8’s Running Joke Return Explained

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for the first episode of The Rookie season 8! The show’s creator, Alexi Hawley, recently explained the return of a fan-favorite running gag in the season premiere. The episode featured several callbacks to previous seasons, including the reappearance of “Daddy Cop” – a song about Nolan performed by Rodge in season 5 that has become a recurring joke for viewers.

So, I was reading an interview with showrunner Jonnie Hawkins over at ScreenRant about the Season 8 premiere of The Rookie, and he was telling this cool story about how a little inside joke made it onto the show. Apparently, while they were scouting locations in Prague, he connected with his son, Zander, who happens to be an actor, and then found a local Prague musician for a scene. It sounds like that little moment is really taking off with fans, which is awesome to see!

The reappearance of ‘Daddy Cop’ was a highlight! It’s funny to think Nolan will never escape that song. It makes you wonder how many more times the show can cleverly include it.

Alexi Hawley shared that the idea actually came from Bill Roe, their producing director. They were scouting locations in Prague when Bill suggested using street performers. Hawley thought it was a great idea and then wrote scenes incorporating those locations and performers, specifically imagining them on the Charles Bridge.

I got in touch with Zander Hawley, the actor who plays Rodge, and it turned out he knew a musician in Prague who loved the show. We ended up hiring that musician to play the busker on the bridge – it was a surprisingly small world, and a really funny coincidence!

Perhaps one day the song will reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which might really bother Christopher Nolan.

Alexi Hawley says the song has really taken off and is appearing everywhere – on bumper stickers, in song lyrics, and even being played at the National Guard in Washington, D.C. He finds it amusing to see where it shows up.

The song “Daddy Cop” on The Rookie first appeared in season 5, episode 13, when Rodge and his band spotted Nolan and Celina handling a traffic stop. They wrote the song about Nolan, which annoyed him and caused several conflicts throughout the series. This continued into season 6, episode 2, when Rodge sought them out, eager to share an updated version of the song.

Rodge eventually started dating Celina, who frequently hummed the song whenever Nolan was around – both because she liked it and to playfully irritate him. In season 7, episode 10, Rodge and Nolan reconcile after an incident where a prisoner assaults Rodge because of one of his songs. After that, Rodge appeared to be more cautious about the music he wrote.

Rodge last appeared on The Rookie in season 7, episode 17, when he and Celina had just become a couple. At the same time, his band was getting ready to tour with songs like “Daddy Cop.” The song reappearing in season 8 shows it continues to be a memorable part of Nolan’s life.

The potential spin-off, “Daddy Cop,” is gaining traction, with the premiere of The Rookie’s eighth season suggesting it could be a big hit. Although the showrunner, Hawley, hasn’t revealed specific plans, he clearly has ambitious ideas for how it will be featured in upcoming episodes.

I’m already loving the parody song from The Rookie Season 8, and I have a feeling it’s going to get even more popular as the season goes on! It’s become such a running gag, and honestly, I can totally see it being a part of Nolan’s story for as long as he’s on the force – which hopefully won’t be for a long, long time! It’s just one of those things that’ll keep popping up and making us laugh, and I’m here for it.

New episodes of The Rookie season 8 premiere Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

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2026-01-07 16:50