he Rookie season eight returned on ABC on Tuesday, January 6, and the premiere episode ended with Lieutenant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) asking Sergeant Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) to step into the lieutenant role as Grey makes a side-step for a new project. It’s an incredible opportunity for Tim – but comes after he and his long-time love interest Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) had decided to make a real go of their romance, now that Lucy is also a sergeant and there was no power imbalance.]

It’s unclear what choice Tim will make, but Melissa tells HELLO! that fans of Chenford (the portmanteau for Chen and Bradford) need not worry: “I don’t think Alexi [Hawley, showrunner] is interested in enraging The Rookie/Chenford fans.”

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Melissa O’Neil stars as Lucy Chen

“I don’t think he is interested in that – and that’s the beautiful thing about our show: we’ll tell a story, and we’ll tell it over and over again from every single angle, but once we’ve done it, we are going to move on and tell other fresh stories,” she added.

“I guess my tease is who knows [what will happen]? Power dynamics in a working environment as dynamic as law enforcement of course might come up, but maybe we will see them handling the power dynamic differently.”

Eric Winter and Melissa O’Neil as Tim and Lucy in The Rookie

Melissa continued: “And just speaking off the top of my head, but because I’ve been there, familiarity can sometimes breed a little bit too much permission. I could see that happening: at home, Lucy and Tim have a certain dynamic, then all of a sudden that bleeds into the workspace, but that’s not good because those rankings are there for particular reasons, for clarity in how decisions are made.

“But I actually think that having that power dynamic shift, if it does, is still really fun”.

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The Rookie season 8 opened in Prague, as well as Los Angeles

Season eight premiered with the titular Rookie, Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan, flying to the Czech city of Prague to catch high-profile terrorists with the help of his wife Bailey (Jenna Dewan) and recurring antagonist, Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan).

While the high-stakes drama took place in Europe, in Los Angeles, Lucy is manning the station in her new capacity as sergeant, liaising with the FBI and mapping out the plan for Nolan and the team.

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HELLO! Spotlight cover with Melissa O’Neill

“She’s stepping into a new shape of leadership as sergeant, and is wary of not having that be confusing for a partner with whom she shares her work environment,” Melissa previously told HELLO!

“At the same time, my hope, and what I believe will happen, is that when Tim and Lucy do finally come together, she’ll lean in. we’ve done this dance not only with the characters, but with the audience for so long, and I think it’s time to see what it looks like for them to be both leaning in at the same time.”

The Rookie season 8 continues on ABC on Tuesdays at 10pm and is available the next day on Hulu