‘The Rookie’s Jenna Dewan Confirms More “Spy-ish” Storylines for the ABC Procedural

The Rookie has taken wild turns in recent seasons. Although the early seasons hewed closer to the typical procedural format, the recent seasons have tackled everything from serial killers to international criminals and now to major government conspiracies. The series has long broken the mold for what a procedural TV show can be, but the most recent storylines involving the Pentagon might be its most ambitious story yet, especially when you bring in the involvement of an omnipresent, morally dubious AI. At the center of this story is Jenna Dewan‘s Bailey Nune, who began the season with an offer to work at the Pentagon and ultimately decided to move to D.C. and pursue a career while her husband, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), stayed home in Los Angeles.

Dewan sat down with Collider to break down the most recent arc for Bailey and how it’s been taking on this new storyline for her character. Dewan breaks down the feelings she had learning about the storyline and then getting to film in new locations. With the stakes constantly rising, she talked about the stability of Bailey’s relationship with John and where we might see her character go in the future.

Jenna Dewan Breaks Down Bailey’s Pentagon Arc for ‘The Rookie’

COLLIDER: What was it like learning that you were going to be embarking on this Pentagon arc this season?

JENNA DEWAN: I was really excited. At first. I went, wait, where? To DC? The Pentagon? And I mean, nothing surprises me anymore for Bailey. I feel she’s always up for a challenge. She has more talents and hobbies than I can even imagine for myself, and I love getting to see where she’s going to go and grow, and the experiences that Bailey’s going to have, and go on adventures. So when I was told about it, I immediately went, “Well, that makes sense. Sure, let’s do it!”

Was there ever a moment where you were wondering, ‘Am I getting written off the show?’

DEWAN: No, I was told I was not.

Dewan Talks About the Growth That ‘The Rookie’ Has Experienced This Season

How has it been seeing the show grow in terms of scope? Because this season has been so much bigger than the previous season. It’s been a huge jump since the last season, even.

DEWAN: Yeah, I think so too. I really like that we’re doing that because I think once you get to a Season 8, you’re lucky enough to be in Season 8, number one. And we’ve done so much. We’ve really explored so many different storylines and places, and I believe that the fans watching really like to see the locations that they know, their home bases, so to speak, in the show. But it’s fun to see us expand, and to be able to be overseas and in the Pentagon and all these different locations. I think it felt like a really exciting next step in the journey of our show.

I feel like it was just yesterday you guys were on a beach enjoying your honeymoon, and now you’re in full-on international spy stories.

DEWAN: I know it’s truly like, I do feel like I’m on the greatest show because we really get to experience and go on so many adventures. I mean, that honeymoon episode alone, it’ll be burned into my memory. At the time, Nathan and I were actually camera operating. We were holding all those cameras and getting to just experience it and be on level 10 stakes. Getting to have that kind of fun all in one episode — it’s unreal.

Dewan Gets Into Bailey and John’s Long-Distance Relationship

Speaking about Bailey and John, this arc of their long-distance relationship is actually really interesting to see a married couple exploring that without turning it into a very dramatic romantic moment. What was it like looking into that aspect of their relationship this season?

DEWAN: I liked it. I feel we’re a really solid couple, and we feel really comfortable and taken care of by each other. So it was nice to see what would happen when two people in a relationship are going on one path together, but then, like life is, opportunities come, and they’re not always opportunities in the same city, but you have dreams and goals as your own individual. How do you handle that together? So I think it was nice that initially, there was conflict about it and a different thought process as to how we would handle it, and then seeing John ultimately love me so much that he wants me to never have that “What if?” thought or feeling, and then coming to the realization.

How he put it was like, “We are good. You can go explore this side of yourself. Go challenge yourself, but we’re solid, and we’re good.” Which therefore, gives Bailey the freedom to really go to the Pentagon and jump both feet into this new job, but with the comfortability and understanding that John is there with her, and they’re going to make it work together. Then also seeing the side of it of a long-distance relationship, and the things that kind of come into that. There is the actual physical not being in the same proximity, and the face timing, but also, like in Episode 10, you see this absolutely insane situation that John gets himself in, and what that feels like when you’re not in the same town, and the anxiety that causes. Then, vice versa, when I’m in my own situation in the Pentagon, and he doesn’t really know what’s going on. So there are problems with being long-distance that we address. And I think it has themes of reality that a lot of couples go through.

What Is Up Next for Bailey Nune in ‘The Rookie’?

I’m wondering if you can tease how long we’re going to see this spy genre expanding throughout the rest of the season, or if it’s just going to be a few more episodes?

DEWAN: I would say kind of both. I will say there are some spy-ish or secret ops energy storylines that happen again.

Where do you see Bailey going in the future of the series? Is there an ideal place that you want to go, or a dream storyline you want to explore?

DEWAN: I think we really loved going to Prague as a whole. I believe it worked for our show. I love the idea of going somewhere new every season, somewhere foreign, somewhere expansive and big. I would hope to be involved in that story. That would be really great. And I do think it would be fun to see Bailey be able to have another storyline where she is really left to her own devices and to really have to save her own self and her own life, and in a new and interesting way. It would inform everyone watching about what it is Bailey is really inspired by, and what makes her tick, and what’s important to her.

New episodes of The Rookie air every Monday on ABC in the U.S.