The WORST episodes of The Rookie
Every episode of The Rookie ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Rookie!
Starting over isn’t easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being a Los Angeles police officer. As the force’s oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can’t keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he’ll be risking lives including his own. But if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humor to give him an edge, he may just become a success in this new chapter of his life.
#1 - A Deadly Secret
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/22/2025
Documentary filmmakers interview the LAPD on a complicated missing person’s case connected to John.
#2 - True Crime
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/28/2021
The team gets the true crime docuseries treatment when they analyze a recent case featuring a former child actor whose adult life has garnered him a cult following.
#3 - Double Trouble
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/21/2023
When Dim goes missing, Officer Chen and Sergeant Bradford, along with the CIA, set out to find him and enlist the help of Juicy.
#4 - The Good, the Bad, and the Oscar
Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/13/2025
John and Harper work together to catch Oscar. Angela investigates a bank robbery. Lucy and Tim learn to adapt to her new schedule. Miles' first date takes an unexpected turn.
#5 - Real Crime
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/13/2022
Desperate to reset the way the world sees him, Officer Thorsen reluctantly decides to be a part of a reality show to help rebrand his image, only to be thrust back into yet another deadly situation. With cameras rolling, the show’s producer is found murdered and the team must investigate before Aaron is made suspect number one.
#6 - Trouble in Paradise
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/5/2024
Nolan and Bailey's honeymoon is more of a nightmare than a dream when it turns into an active crime scene. Meanwhile, Tim and Celina partner up and must uncover the identity of a John Doe.
#7 - Revelations
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/21/2021
Nolan’s decision to return to school in order to become a training officer is proving to be much harder than he expected. Chen considers going into undercover work after getting a taste of the job when Harper’s former colleague needs help.
#8 - Long Shot
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/27/2022
Officers Nolan and Harper help Skip Tracer Randy on his first bounty hunter case. Meanwhile, Officer Chen and Sergeant Bradford are on the hunt for a perpetrator on a citywide crime spree.
#9 - Enervo
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/1/2022
The team alongside the LA Division of the FBI are in a race to stop bombs that have been scattered throughout the city by a suspected terrorist. The joint task force is suspicious of the CIA’s involvement in the situation.
#10 - Simone
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/24/2022
Officer Nolan and the LA division of the FBI enlist the help of FBI trainee Simone Clark when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station.
#11 - S.T.R.
Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/18/2023
Officer Tim Bradford’s ex-wife returns and asks the team to help her save someone from her undercover past. Isabel’s return also creates additional pressure in Lucy and Tim’s relationship as they assist in the search.
#12 - Crushed
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/30/2024
When two teenagers go missing, it is up to the entire team to find the girls and uncover the truth about their disappearance. Meanwhile, Lopez and Harper are on a different kind of investigation – the search for the perfect nanny.
#13 - Day in the Hole
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/15/2022
Officer John Nolan is forced to spend a week in solitary confinement in a quiet border town with a young local officer who is in need of some training. Meanwhile, Sergeant Bradford and Officer Chen discover that looks are deceiving and go undercover together in a possible drug trafficking case.
#14 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/30/2018
After Nolan and Talia lose control of a crime scene, they begin to debate whether people are fundamentally good or bad and what that means for a police officer. Meanwhile, Lucy is concerned Tim is enabling his wife’s destructive behavior and not taking care of himself.
#15 - La Fiera
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/17/2021
Officer John Nolan’s mom makes an unannounced visit that complicates his life, and Sergeant Grey considers retiring.
#16 - In Justice
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/10/2021
Officer John Nolan and Officer Nyla Harper are assigned to a community policing center to help rebuild their station’s reputation in the community. Nolan is determined to make a positive impact but Nyla has her doubts.
#17 - Going Under (1)
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/25/2023
Officer Lucy Chen goes undercover to infiltrate an illegal firearm operation, and Detective Harper and Officer John Nolan work together to solve a mystery involving severed limbs found around the city.
#18 - Bad Blood
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/28/2021
Nolan, Harper and Lopez are assigned to the kidnapping of the son of a criminal court judge who has a long list of enemies who could possibly be involved.
#19 - Coding
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/3/2022
Officer John Nolan and the team feel they must negotiate with a distraught man who is holding a hospital hostage to ensure his wife receives a lifesaving surgery.
#20 - The Vow
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/2/2024
When a toddler is found at the scene of a crime, John and Bailey must decide whether to let the child go to a shelter for the night or care for her themselves. Meanwhile, when someone from his past returns, Tim disappears and leaves Lucy in the dark.
#21 - In the Line of Fire
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/2021
Officer Nolan and officer Chen report to a structure fire and suspect that there is more to the situation than meets the eye. Meanwhile, after witnessing a sniper shooting, the team searches for the shooter and discovers that the perpetrator has a connection to one of their own.
#22 - Sabotage
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/24/2021
Officer Jackson West’s relationship with his new training officer escalates, and he works with Sergeant Grey to find a solution.
#23 - The Hammer
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/27/2024
The team comes together to celebrate John and Bailey’s wedding; meanwhile, Celina discovers a discrepancy in her case, leading to a new discovery. Elsewhere, Lucy and Tim’s relationship is put to the test.
#24 - The Ride Along
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/4/2018
Sergeant Grey informs Officer Nolan and Officer Bishop that they are going to have a movie director as a ride-along during their patrol after a fun afternoon granting the wish of a Make-A-Wish kid as honorary police officer Kaydence Patton. Meanwhile, Officer Bradford is tested once again after he learns that his wife, Isabel, has been arrested for drug possession.
#25 - The Knock
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/23/2022
The team responds to the report of a severed hand washing up on the beach and are on the hunt to find its owner. Meanwhile, Tim attempts to prove he isn’t a control freak to Lucy and invites her on a double date with him and Ashley.