Posted in: ABC, Preview, TV, YouTube | Tagged: angel, buffy, j. august richards, nathan fillion, The Rookie

The Rookie: Nathan Fillion & J. August Richards' Buffy/Angel Reunion

With less than a month to go until ABC gives fans a double dose of action with the return of the Nathan Fillion-starring The Rookie for a fifth season and the premiere of the Niecy Bash-Betts-starring spinoff series The Rookie: Feds. But for this go-around, we're focusing on the franchise and a pleasantly surprising "Buffyverse" reunion. Earlier today, J. August Richards (Vampire Academy), who starred in the "Buffy" spinoff as Charles Gunn for the vast majority of the series run, posted an image from the set of The Rookie with the show's newest addition, Chicago P.D. alum Lisseth Chavez, as well as Fillion. And who can forget Fillion's five-episode run as the sociopathic serial killer priest Caleb, who served as the First Evil's right hand during the seventh season? And while they may have never shared actual screen time together, you can never go wrong with a "Buffy"/"Angel" reunion (as long as it doesn't involve what's-his-name).

"A reunion, of sorts, with my buddy [Nathan Fillion] and my first time working with the incredibly talented and lovely [Lisseth Chavez] on ['The Rookie']!!! What an incredible group of people and a warm, welcoming environment… Thank you, Nathan and everyone, for your hospitality," Richards wrote in his Instagram post (which you can check out below):

Now here's a look back at the first trailer for ABC's The Rookie Season 5, premiering on September 25th:

And here's a look at the show's newest addition,  Chicago P.D. alum Lisseth Chavez, checking in from the set:

During ABC's The Rookie Season 5 & spinoff series The Rookie: Feds panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Nash-Bets, Fillion, franchise creator Noah Hawley, and executive producer Terence Paul Winter shared some new intel on what viewers can expect. For example, Tru Valentino's Officer Aaron Thorsen has been promoted to series regular for the upcoming fifth season (set to premiere on September 25, with "Feds" premiering on September 27). Okay, congrats to Valentino, and now here's a look at some highlights.

Fillion's John Nolan Is Become a "Rookie" Again:

"Early in season 5, John Nolan's going to become a training officer. He'll be the oldest rookie training officer." – Hawley.

"We started off with this guy is the rookie. Now he's elevated to another level of his job, and he's starting at rock bottom. I get a brand new rookie who's making all the same mistakes I was making as a rookie." – Fillion

So What's the Deal with "Chenford" aka Lucy (Melissa O'Neill) & Tim (Eric Winter)?

"Obviously, we left quite the cliffhanger at the end of last season with the kiss, which we've been building up to for four seasons. There will definitely be repercussions and some fallout from that, but I do think it's fair to make you wait to see exactly where that goes. There's definitely going to be some carryover from the end of last season that's going to be very dynamic." – Hawley.

"You have one character who is so very tuned in in Lucy. And then in Tim, you have this guy who's so very walled off and closed off and so tuned out. I tease Eric about this all the time. All he has to do is a little tiny smile, and everybody goes, 'Oh my god, swoooooon.'" – Fillion

Hawley's Had "Feds" in Mind for Some Time: "It's always been in the back of my head. It's a universal experience, the restarting your life, the second chapter. So it always felt like there was room for that to grow. Once we got a couple of seasons under our belt, we started hatching our evil plan to expand the universe. There's a lot of different ways we could've gone, staying in law enforcement, branching out to a law show, a medical show, but it felt like our first step should stay in that universe. I selfishly wanted to keep us in Los Angeles, so it became about a federal agency that's in Los Angeles that could be in tandem with the LAPD."

Nash on Her "Feds" Character Simone Clark: "We all know someone like Simone. I grabbed a little bit from different women in my life. She is that friend in your head or your favorite auntie. I was like, I know this woman; she is a culmination of so many women, so let me just bake a little bit in from the women I love and like to be around."

"Feds" Will Expand "The Rookie" Universe's Sandbox: "Because we're a federal organization, Los Angeles is not the only place where we do her work. We have a jet plane, and we often fly. We go to Texas, Mississippi, Florida. It opens up the show in an exciting way. We're going to be all over Los Angeles, all over the nation, and we might even go overseas."

And Much Like "Law & Order," Viewers Can Expect Crossovers: "We're going to try to be lousy with crossover events," Winter revealed. Hawley added, "We pick up pretty much right where we left off because we had some pressing matters that were going on. We were designing the show with crossovers between the new show and 'The Rookie' proper. They do live in the same universe, and so, we really want you to feel like you can balance between the shows, but at the same time not feel like, 'Oh, I missed this one, so I can't watch that one.' They all stand on their own, but they're also super fun to watch together."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!