:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(726x303:728x305)/nathan-fillion-rookie-s8-123125-46dadd752369460880cf284809ecb854.jpg?w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1 "Filming ‘The Rookie’ in Prague ‘felt like a James Bond movie’ (exclusive)")
NEED TO KNOW
- Nathan Fillion and Jenna Dewan tell PEOPLE that the season 8 premiere of The recruit, which was filmed in Prague, was like “an action movie”
- The pair play married couple John Nolan and Bailey Nune in the police procedural, and the characters use the European location as their “second honeymoon.”
- The rookie Season 8 premieres Tuesday, January 6 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day
Nathan Fillion promises lots of excitement for the next season of The rookie.
For the first time ever, the hit ABC series is heading overseas, kicking off the Season 8 premiere in Prague. The actor, 54, with his on-screen wife, Jenna Dewan recently sat down with PEOPLE to explain what’s in store for their beloved characters, John Nolan and Bailey Nune, as they embark on this international adventure.
“It was different. It was amazing. We had an amazing time,” Dewan, 45, shares. “It felt like we were going back in time. It was so special. It was like we were in the middle of a movie, an action movie. It was so cool.”
“It felt like a James Bond movie,” adds Fillion. “It really was. I wasn’t wearing a cop uniform, I was wearing a suit. I felt very fancy. And we’re walking through these incredible squares and by these beautiful rivers.”
Disney/Mike Taing
“I felt very, very badass,” said the Intensify the former student admits it.
Fillion also notes that Prague was the perfect place for Nolan and Bailey to spend their “second honeymoon” after their first was “kind of a failure.”
“It was a lot of killing,” Dewan jokes. “So this one made me feel like, well, while we’re here, let’s make this romantic, because how can we not?”
Yet she reveals that the plan for a peaceful getaway isn’t going as well as they had hoped. “Lots of unexpected but bonding adrenaline,” she teases, as Fillion jokes, “Beggars can’t be choosers. Still, I think they’re two very grateful people who at least like each other.”
Dewan adds: “I always say I think it’s the mix of tones that works really well because we’re giving strong action. There’s almost a lot of suspense and scares, but there’s so much comedy, and there’s a lot of jokes and there’s romance.”
If the two had to describe what fans will see of their characters in the police procedural’s final episode with just three words, they would say: teamwork, friction and opportunity.
Raymond Liu/ABC via Getty
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Even though they weren’t filming, the actors say another benefit of filming in Europe was the vacations and excursions they could take. Fillion even extended his trip and Dewan decided to go solo.
“I was the busiest because I was leaving without children,” she explains. “I was enjoying every free moment I had. We would go to dinner, we would go on tours. I felt like I had finally matured to the point where I wanted to go on tours all day. It took me a while, but now, I firmly want to learn about history and tours.”
“It was so good,” she exclaims. “The castles were fun.”
The rookie Season 8 premieres Tuesday, January 6 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.
