‘The Rookie’ Boss Reveals How Lucy & Tim Navigate Her Return to Work After Major Trauma

Over the course of her eight seasons on duty, The Rookie‘s LAPD Sgt. Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) has had her share of on-the-job jeopardy. She’s been drugged, kidnapped, and buried alive in a metal barrel by a serial killer’s accomplice; suffered Ptsd-triggered panic attacks; and, just recently, endured a car bomb explosion that tore apart the precinct. “We’ve seen Lucy go through [so much], obviously there’s the barrel episode, which we alluded to back in Episode 3 of this season,” says showrunner Alexi Hawley, admitting that callback was to plant a reminder of her abduction and what she survived. “Sadly, she’s not new to surviving trauma, so,…