“The Rookie” is serving fans an amuse-bouche to tide them over until Season 9 by releasing an extended version of one of Season 8’s most intense hours.
Beginning Monday, July 20, Hulu will stream a supersized cut of Episode 10, “His Name Was Martin,” featuring five-and-a-half minutes of never-before-seen footage. The extended cut will be available in the Extras section of the ABC drama’s Hulu landing page.
Penned and directed by series creator Alexi Hawley, the hour finds John Nolan & Co. racing to contain an outbreak at Westview Psychiatric Hospital after a cleaning crew is exposed to a dangerous chemical that leaves them behaving like zombies. Amid the chaos, Lucy (played by Melissa O’Neil) is forced to kill one of the infected workers — the titular Martin — in self-defense, a traumatic ordeal that leaves lasting emotional scars.
“One of the many fun things about making ‘The Rookie’ is that we have such a broad playground story and tone-wise,” Hawley said in a statement to Deadline. “For 810, I knew I wanted to make something fun and scary and unexpectedly emotional. But tension takes time to play out on screen, and I found myself in the editing room with hard choices to make. I can count the number of scenes we’ve dropped in eight seasons on one hand (maybe two?), but I was up against a wall on this one. Network run times are set in stone. But Hulu’s are not. So, I picked up the phone and pitched the idea of releasing an extended cut as a reward to our amazing fans, who are so invested in the show. Now they’ll be able to go deeper into the character journeys (especially for Tim and Lucy) and see the previously unaired scenes that enhance the episode in a unique way.”
In other scheduling news…
* “Euphoria: A Look Back,” a retrospective featuring interviews and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage from the recently concluded HBO drama, begins streaming Friday, July 24, on HBO Max.
* “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Season 18 — which will consist of 10 episodes — will premiere Monday, August 17, at 9 p.m. ET on FX, FXX, and Hulu.
* HGTV will pit 1990s stars Brian Austin Green (“Beverly Hills, 90210”), Beverly Mitchell (“7th Heaven”), and Jodie Sweetin (“Full House”) against Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”), Matthew Lawrence (“Boy Meets World”), and Keshia Knight Pulliam (“The Cosby Show”) — with assistance from Joey Lawrence (“Blossom”) — in the six-episode home renovation competition “That ’90s House,” hosted by Jaleel White (“Family Matters”) and premiering Wednesday, August 26, at 9 p.m.