The following contains spoilers for The Rookie: Feds Season 1, Episode 1, "Day One," which aired Tuesday, Sept. 27, on ABC.
From the outset, the new spinoff, The Rookie: Feds signaled it wasn't straying too far from its parent show, The Rookie, but it also splashed its own quirky spin on the formula that the original established. Simone Clark's story resumed after she graduated from the FBI Academy at Quantico, with her heading to Los Angeles and a new job. As a bonus, viewers got a glimpse of her fellow graduate and rookie agent, Brendon Acres, who left an acting career to join the FBI.
Things don't go as planned as Simone, played by Niecy Nash, is assigned to do background checks instead of joining Matthew Garza's special task force (as hinted in the backdoor pilot episode of The Rookie). It seems Garza's team is under scrutiny, with another agent looking to shut it down. Garza feels Simone is too much of a liability, but that doesn't deter her from trying to change his mind. This is where The Rookie: Feds embraces its crossover potential.
Which Characters From The Rookie Made an Appearance?
John Nolan, played by Nathan Fillion, popped up first, meeting Simone at the airport and dropping her off to settle in with her father (who isn't entirely happy about living with an FBI agent). At this point, both John and Simone still think she's going to work for Garza, and that plays into the appearance of another The Rookie character: Angela Lopez. But first viewers were gifted the enjoyable cameo from the ever-popular Officer Smitty.
As Garza's team shows up at a murder scene, Smitty goes all fanboy over Agent Brendon Acres, who was the star of the show Vampire Cop; Smitty even tries for an autograph. The scene is nicely executed, and one of several delightful comedic moments woven into the show. This murder investigation leads to a possible suspect, and enter Angela Lopez, who calls Simone with a lead, thinking she's with Garza's team. Simone inserts herself into the case, which later leads to John Nolan's reappearance as LAPD backup arriving just in time for a shootout.
Did The Rookie Crossover Hurt or Help the Show?
The crossover scenes were seamless and enhanced the story, rather than appear as an obvious ploy or ratings gimmick. It made sense that John would be at the airport after the two bonded, and it brought Feds full circle from the pilot episode. The Angela Lopez scenes worked as cooperating law enforcement and the detective helping out a friend (even if Simone took shameless advantage of a misunderstanding); it also advanced Simone's cause to join Garza's team. And since Simone called John in as backup, his involvement in the shootout didn't seem like an intrusion or sloppy writing.
Smitty's cameo set up Brendon with some issues as a media darling, similar to Aaron Thorsen's situation on The Rookie. They even did a cheeky scene after the final bust where the media splashed a picture of Brendon taking away a suspect with the "Crime Sucks" tagline from his fictional show. Brendon also has issues with the sight of blood, which is an amusing quirk. No doubt both these problems with cause trouble for the rookie agent, and maybe viewers can look forward to more Smitty adoration for poor Brendon.
And the crossover potential doesn't stop there. Viewers can expect more close ties between the two shows as Officers Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen, better known as "Chenford" to fans, will be guest starring on Episode 2, "Face Off." No doubt there will be more guest appearances from The Rookie forthcoming, and perhaps down the line, there could even be a crossover event. Perhaps Smitty will even start a fan club for Brendon.
The Rookie: Feds airs Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC.