
We’re winding down summer TV and turning the corner to fall, so it’s time to take a look at the shows that brought us through the long hot summer. At number three, Rookie Blue is my first top three pick for summer. We’re in the middle of a ridiculous heat wave and drought (send all good wishes to folks in the fires, please) in Texas, so I haven’t been finishing real life activities and sitting down until after dark, and that has meant watching fewer shows this summer. So the ones I did make time to watch had to count.
Rookie Blue is actually in its sophomore season and I’m as surprised as anybody that I started watching it and then stayed. If you’ve read me for a while (thank you!), you know I’m an unabashed Canuck fan. I watched bits and bobs of the show’s first season for the guesters, and wasn’t disappointed, but this season, I began watching it for the regulars (most Canadian, which is itself awesome), and again, not at all disappointed.
I have to disclaimer that I adored Everwood until the end of the second season and the Madison pregnancy, when I fled and didn’t return, so Gregory Smith and I have a tainted history. Aside from Smith, there are several recognizable faces–Missy Peregrym was in the WB’s Black Sash and the CW’s Reaper, Enuka Okuma was in Sue Thomas F.B. Eye, Ben Bass was in Forever Knight and has been a regular fixture of TV movies and other Canadian series, Charlotte Sullivan did Spike’s Blade series, and Eric Johnson was Smallville’s much maligned Whitney–so a pretty solid cast.
I think the thing that kept me from getting attached last year was that ABC tried really hard to characterize the show as Grey’s Anatomy, which I do not watch, in a police precinct. I can’t speak to whether it is or isn’t, but something sort of clicked into place with the writing and the cast dynamics this summer and Rookie Blue snuck up on me as a show I looked forward to and then became appointment TV.

The show evolved a bit this year, tracking the second year of its rookies and tabling the love geometry of Andy (Peregrym) and Sam (Bass) and instead rejiggering it toward Gail (Sullivan) and BFFs Dov (Smith) and Chris (Travis Milne), and it worked. We also had Camille Sullivan, most recently in Hellcats. pop up for an arc as the ex-love and former partner of Andy’s fiance, Callaghan (Johnson). She returned just in time to stoke the flame with Callaghan and put a pin in his pending nuptials with Andy.
This conveniently re-opened the door for Andy with her partner, Sam, who had only stepped back a scoche to begin with. Last week’s fairly smokin’ episode had them finally getting together, but TV 101 tells us this could be dangerous for Sam (boo!) because he’s undercover trying to take down a guy played by Callum Keith Rennie (yay!). The Peckstein/Chris friendship/relationship hit the skids when a loopy-on-painkillers Dov professed his love for Gail and Chris found out and cut both of them out of his inner circle and they both desperately want back in. So, there are a lot of balls in the air as the season winds down.

What I think reeled me in, aside from the solid chemistry and soapish aspects of the romantic entanglements, is that while the show can take dark turns, it also has a thread of hope each week. Call me dopey, but I think we need that.
You can catch up with episodes you’ve missed on ABC.com. The second season concludes this Thursday with two back-to-back episodes starting at 9 pm ET on ABC, and season three returns next summer.
Heather M
Related posts
Classics
Alison Sweeney Talks About What’s Next for Hannah and Mike After Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery
[Warning: Spoilers for Carrot Cake Murder.] Everybody OK after that Hannah Swensen Mystery twist? Thankfully, our favorite crime-solving couple is still on speaking term, even if they’re on a break (hopefully not that kind of break). Most importantly, we already know this isn’t the last film in the series. No…
Counting Down to From Season 2
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] We’re just shy of two weeks away from Season 2 of last spring’s obsession, From, which premieres at 9 pm/8c, Sunday, April 23rd, on MGM+ (formerly EPIX). If you never picked it up last year, now’s your chance, and you can do it for free, catching…
Thank Me Later: Will Trent
[Warning: spoilers ahead.] I’m on record as loving and losing shows over at ABC so I’m usually very reticent to pick something up on the network until it’s been renewed, and I seriously hope I’m not jinxing it, but I took a chance on the deeply odd and very sweet…
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…