ABC/Steve Wilkie
Missy Peregrym talks to THR about the "emotional" season six finale, Andy's big day and a possible season seven. Plus: Watch an exclusive finale sneak peek.
As Andy (Missy Peregrym) and Sam (Ben Bass) prepare to walk down the aisle in Thursday's season six finale of ABC's Rookie Blue, viewers are preparing to potentially bid farewell to the series forever.
Showrunner Tassie Cameron, who has been at the show's helm since the beginning, made it clear she was stepping down after the season in order to pursue other projects. Writer Sherry White is ready to step in and take over, but only if the series is green lit for another round.
It's unclear whether ABC and Canadian co-producer Shaw Media will make an announcement before the season finale airs. However, with Andy running into hot water with a hitchhiker on the way to her big day, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Peregrym to preview the McSwarek wedding and get her thoughts on whether she thinks Rookie Blue should carry on.
Have you always felt that Andy and Sam are end game?
It’s a little bit different for us actors because we have no idea how long we’re going to be able to play these characters. It’s pretty weird to spend six years not knowing if we were going to keep going every season. But as long as I was going to be McNally, it was going to be Sam. Always. It was really fun to play that no matter who came into the picture. That's why it was really important when Peter Mooney came in that we played that romance equally as important, but in a very different way. I think it worked. We divided the fans -- I mean there’s still some huge Sam and Andy fans, and it will always be that way. But there are also people who were furious when Andy broke up with Nick Collins.
Will there be closure for Andy and Nick in this finale?
Yeah, they never really had a talk about it; never really made amends. Obviously you wouldn’t hang out with your ex-boyfriend. You’d see them at work or whatever, but that's it. There is a really nice moment I share with him that almost makes everything OK. There is still love for each other there and it was kind of perfect to go into the wedding episode with.
What does the lead up to Andy McNally's wedding look like?
It’s a perfect McNally day. When I read the script I was like, “Oh my God, Andy, honestly." She can’t even turn it off for one second, not even on her wedding day. She’s always got to do the right thing and if something’s off she’s going to get involved. It’s almost to her and Sam’s detriment. But I think that’s also what makes it perfect, because that’s what it’s been since the beginning -- I love the fact that it’s messy. This episode that Tassie wrote really did close out six seasons in the most perfect way and I think a lot of us cried on set. I definitely did that last day, filming the last scene in that episode. I bawled with gratitude. There was no better way to end this run with Tassie then to close out this ending with Sam and Andy in the way that she did it.
How would you feel if this ends up being a series finale?
You can always play a character forever if it’s close to life, and I grew as my character. I think everybody kind of grew with their characters, and there are so many different directions you can take it if it goes on. It’s easy to go into the next phase of things, maybe family life. But I don’t know. I’m really happy with the way that this one was wrapped up. I think it’s a gift if you can close a series down by choice instead of being canceled. That’s so rare. We’ve had the same team for six years and that’s really important. I love Sherry, she’s been a part of us since the beginning as well. She would make a great showrunner and it would make perfect sense if we continued forward with her. But I think we’re all feeling… it was super emotional. It felt like we were saying goodbye when we were filming this episode. That was the energy.
Have you spoken with Sherry about where things could go?
Definitely. We’ve had some discussions about it, but at the end of the day you need to have a pickup to really explore where things could go. You need to know the people that you get to work with, who your cast is. There are just so many things to put together before you can continue something like this. So until the decision is there we’re kind of at a standstill. Sherry is the right person to keep this moving forward. She’s very talented with writing character-driven scenes. Of course I would love to work with her in that capacity.
Would you take a behind-the-scenes role as well if it continued?
If we move forward, I was offered the position to produce. To me, I feel like I was already kind of doing that, like an on-set producer. What’s important to me is actually getting the work done and creating a really safe, positive environment where people can be creative and fail, and mess up, and try again, and not feel judged for exploring stuff. I really care about there being a positive, good morale between everybody. I love doing that. Directing… I don’t know. Maybe one day, but I really love what I do and I love the opportunity that I have on set and to be with the people that I am in that world.
At what point are you free to move on with other projects?
Until they say that there’s a job to come back to, I’m waiting to see what else comes up. I’m open to other things. At this point I’m just kind of getting settled and living my life and being patient about the rest of it. You have to move forward and trust that the right next thing will happen. It’s too difficult to sit in this business any other way.
How do you feel this potential series finale will sit with fans?
We’re really proud of the work we’ve done and we give fans what they’ve been waiting. The journey they’ve been on for six seasons wraps up in a really great way. I spent a significant amount of my life on this show and it’s been worth every second. It’s an end that really is something to celebrate. Even though there’s grief there and I have to face that this inevitably is going to end at some point, I have to celebrate to have had this opportunity. No matter what happens, it’s always been a win.
Are you hoping Rookie Blue returns for Season 7? Sound off in the comments below and check out this exclusive preview:
Twitter: @amber_dowling
