Nathan Fillion on 'Castle' vs. 'The Rookie'

Nathan Fillion is a very talented Canadian-American actor. He was born on March 27, 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta. That means he is 51 years old at the time of this writing. Like many actors, he first gained recognition when he appeared in a soap opera. He was in the role of Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997 and again in 2007. The actor had many other roles, but most people know him as Richard Castle, the mystery writer on ABC's long-running television show Castle and his role as John Nolan on the ABC's show The Rookie.

"Castle"

Fans were highly disappointed when Castle was canceled abruptly in 2016. Viewers got used to seeing Richard Castle, a best-selling mystery writer as he interacted with Kate Beckett, a homicide detective, played by Stana Katic. At first, she thought he was a pest, but that did not keep Castle from always appearing at the New York City police station to help Beckett's team solve unusual crimes.

Even though Beckett was fond of Castle, she didn't let on. It took many seasons for her to come around and acknowledge she had feelings for him. At first, they thought they were secretly dating, but their colleagues knew it. Then they became engaged. On their wedding day, Castle was kidnapped and was missing for two months.

When he was captured, he had no memory of his abduction. The couple finally got married after eloping. The series ended on a happy note with Richard and Mrs. Castle surrounded by a bunch of their own kids.

Why I Loved Watching "Castle"

Even though Castle was on ABC from March 9, 2009 to May 16, 2016, reruns are still being shown on Lifetime. Sometimes, episodes of the American crime mystery/comedy-drama television series, are aired all day long. The disadvantage is that the episodes are not in the order in which they were first aired.

I was so grateful when I discovered that all eight seasons of Castle are on Hulu. I watched all 173 episodes in a couple of weeks. That's because I loved watching Castle and Beckett's romantic journey. I also loved Castle's wit and the way he solved crimes as a writer whereas real police couldn't do so.

I loved Castle's relationship with his daughter, Alexis Castle, played by Molly Quinn as well as his mother, Martha Rodgers, played by Susan Sullivan. Castle called them his "red-headed girls."

Viewers saw Alexis grow up during the series. She was one of the main characters on the show for the entire eight seasons. She was only 15 years old at the beginning of the series. When the series was canceled, Alexis was 23. She had been to college and had a couple of different boyfriends. She ended up living with one of them.

In the last season, Castle had become a private investigator and Alexis was helping him. She was just as good as her father at solving cases.

"The Rookie"

After the cancelation of Castle, Fillion took the lemons and made lemonade. He became a main character and one of the executive producers of The Rookie which premiered on October 16, 2018. The American police procedural crime drama television series has been renewed and will return for Season 5 on ABC in the fall of 2022.

Fillion is no longer just hanging out at a police station trying to get Beckett's attention. He is playing a police officer himself. As John Nolan, he is still witty and solves cases, but it took him a long time to get to that point.

Nolan is a man in his forties and the oldest rookie at the Los Angeles Police Department. Viewers might not know that the series is based on real-life Los Angeles Police Department officer William Norcross, who became a rookie in 2015 when he was in his mid-40s. Norcross continues to serve in the LAPD. He is also an executive producer on The Rookie.

According to the storyline, Nolan was in a bank when a robbery took place. Because of what he experienced, he decided he wanted to make a difference by becoming a policeman. There was only one problem that others saw, but Nolan did not accept it as being a problem.

Others thought Nolan was too old to be a rookie. After all, he was 45 years old while other rookies were much younger. Because of his age, his captain and training officer gave him tasks to see if he could handle them. Nolan succeeded with every challenge and became one of the best police officers on the force.

Molly Quinn, who played Alexis Castle in the Castle series has a small part in only one episode of The Rookie. The series includes many other celebrities in minor roles.

Why I Love Watching "The Rookie"

I did not watch the live episodes of The Rookie when they aired on ABC. I was still pining from not seeing Fillion on Castle. After I finished watching Castle on Hulu, I wanted to see more of Fillion. I was elated to find out that all four seasons are on Hulu. Therefore, I watched 76 episodes in a few days. Actually, l love binge-watching instead of waiting to watch only one episode each week.

The show will still be called The Rookie, but when the series returns in the fall, John Nolan will no longer be a rookie. He won't have to wear long shirts and be called "Boots." (Those are characteristics of rookies).