The Rookie Casts SNL's Pete Davidson As Nathan Fillion's Brother, And It Could Get Weird

Pete Davidson Saturday Night Live NBC

Pete Davidson is most known for his work on Saturday Night Live, and perhaps his whirlwind short-lived romance with Ariana Grande, but he does some acting outside late-night as well. The actor just landed an interesting role on ABC primetime in which he'll join Nathan Fillion on The Rookie. Davidson will play John Nolan's brother, and as one may expect with the comedian, things may get a little weird.

Nathan Fillion shared the scoop on Pete Davidson's guest starring role with EW Live, and teased quite an interesting episode. As one may expect, Davidson's sibling character isn't quite the stand up guy that John Nolan is.

We had him come down and do an episode of The Rookie, he plays my half-brother. My miscreant, ne’er do well half-brother. One’s a cop, one’s a pain in the ass — and now they’re half-brothers. It’s amazing.

The episode sounds like the classic television trope of a cop with a no-good sibling, though that's not to say it won't be an entertaining episode of The Rookie. Nathan Fillion had nothing but nice things to say about Pete Davidson in his interview, and specifically noted he's a much nicer person than Fillion might have thought prior to meeting him.

I guess if there's any good news to be gathered from that, it's that Pete Davidson could pop up on the series a few times if audiences love him as much as Nathan Fillion did. No explicit word was given on which episode Davidson will appear in, though Fillion said the appearance will happen this season.

For those wondering, these two didn't just form an overnight bond shooting one episode of The Rookie. Pete Davidson and Nathan Fillion met on the set of The Suicide Squad, and while the roles they play on the upcoming movie are still a mystery, we can at least gather that they had a good time interacting. Perhaps we'll see a bit of the dynamic they have on screen in that DC movie in The Rookie?

Pete Davidson's television appearances primarily happen on Saturday Night Live, but he has done guest spots like his upcoming one in The Rookie in other scripted shows before. Davidson was featured on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Jim Gaffigan Show, and The Guest Book. As evidenced by his presence in The Suicide Squad, he's also been taking on more film roles, as is often the trend with SNL actors and actresses. Who knows? Perhaps this guest spot on The Rookie will be the role right before he really takes off as an A-lister in Hollywood.

The Rookie airs on ABC Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for more happening on television in the near future, and for a look at what's happening in movies as well.

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.