'The Rookie' Season 8 previews 'Chenford's' biggest test with arrival of Sela Ward’s surprise character
The ongoing eighth season of 'The Rookie' is doing a good job so far in terms of being the biggest installment of the narrative yet. A recently released preview clip for the upcoming eighth episode, airing on Monday, February 23, teased the arrival of an unexpected character. According to the preview, Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen will have to put up with the former's mother paying them an unexpected visit.
According to a TV Insider report, in the episode titled 'Grant Theft Aircraft', Bradford will have to confront the idea of revealing everything about his live-in girlfriend to his mother. It has also been confirmed that actress Sela Ward, of 'CSI: NY' and 'FBI' fame, will portray Bradford's mother. The teaser hits a home run when, soon after she arrives at Bradford's apartment, his mother faces Chen and goes on to ask her, "Who are you? One of Tim’s coworkers?" Lucy retorted, "Among other things." Eric Winter, who plays Bradford on the ABC police procedural show, opened up about his reaction to the events of the upcoming episode, adding that he had no idea that the relationship between Bradford and his mother would be. "It’s so funny. It’s so different than what I had always anticipated when I thought it out in my head as me wanting my mom to come on the show, and it makes her very fun,
Tim’s in shock, nervous, happy, and I think we’re going to see a nice dynamic that keeps it interesting.”
When it comes to Bradford's character arc in 'Grant Theft Aircraft', Winter revealed that his character would be able to get a lot of weight off his chest by opening up to Chen about the dynamic between himself and his mother. "It also helps Lucy understand a bit of Tim’s baggage and relationship with his parents and the struggles,” he added. Melissa O' Neil, on the other hand, hinted that Chen and Bradford's mother gets along really well in the upcoming episode, citing the scene where they share a lot of information about the one person they have in common. As per O'Neil, the dialogue scene will provide "a lot of insight there into who her partner is and how all of this has come about and potentially why he is the way that he is. And yet we don’t villainize the mother in the process, which I think is important. Families aren’t perfect. And I think in this way it makes them stronger, but that’s all to be seen.”
'The Rookie' season eight airs new episodes every Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. The episodes are also available for streaming on Hulu.
