Crossover Events Are Fun — Did 'The Rookie' and 'The Rookie: Feds' Live Up to the Hype?

Crossover events have to be some of the most anticipated episodes of a television series. Whether we’re talking about superhero shows on The CW, or the various NCIS spinoffs, fans are always interested to see the different cast of characters interact. With these events come expectations.

The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds were the latest shows to have their own crossover event. Episode 4 of both shows, The Rookie: Feds being in its first season and The Rookie in its fifth, were meant to feed off of each other.

Unfortunately, many fans believed that this crossover event did not deserve to be marketed as such and made their feelings known via social media. So, what happened?

The plot of the crossover event begins in Episode 4 of The Rookie and follows John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) on a scavenger hunt to save Bailey (Jenna Dewan), set in motion by murderer Rosalind Dyer (Annie Wersching). Rosalind tries to get Nolan to murder her, but even though he refuses, she is still killed by her accomplice Jeffrey Boyle (Thomas Dekker) while Nolan tries to bring her in.

Now, the start of episode 4 of The Rookie: Feds shows the aftermath of the scene where Rosalind was murdered. While the LAPD officers have already left, Simone Clarke (Niecy Nash-Betts) and the rest of her team arrive at the scene of the murder.

Then, Federal agents Stenson (Britt Robertson) and Acres (Kevin Zegers) are shown around the crime scene by The Rookie’s Officer Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) after taking a look at the autopsy of another one of Boyle’s victims. But, that’s where the extent of the crossover ends.

When shows market a crossover event, it’s natural for fans to expect something worthy of that title. Unfortunately, sometimes shows do not stick the landing or fail to understand what makes an effective and worthwhile crossover event.

In this case, The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds simply had a character from one show appear in the other, and it wasn’t even one of the main characters. Fans were especially upset because the scene with Officer Bradford had already been shown in previews for the crossover, so it just ended up being an average episode.

Had this been advertised as just a regular episode, then fans would not have had the reaction they’ve had. In fact, it would’ve been a nice surprise to see a character like Officer Bradford in the show. But, when it’s marketed as something more, fans will naturally expect an “all hands on deck” kind of episode.

Actually, shows like Law & Order and Grey's Anatomy have done a really great job when it comes to their own crossover events. If any shows need a blueprint to follow, those are some of the best.

Check out new episodes of The Rookie every Sunday at 10 p.m. EST and The Rookie: Feds every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on ABC.