Why was Jackson West written out of The Rookie? Exploring Titus Makin Jr.’s sudden exit from the show
American police procedural drama The Rookie is a series that follows John Nolan, who becomes the oldest rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department. Broadcasted on ABC, the show became the talk of the town after one of the main characters, Officer Jackson West, played by Titus Makin Jr., unexpectedly exited the series.
The actor’s exit from The Rookie was not confirmed until the release of season 4, episode 1, which revealed that Jackson was dead. Jackson West was one of the strongest characters on the show and appeared throughout the previous three seasons.
According to TVLine, Titus Makin Jr. was not interested in returning to the show, which is cited as the main reason for his departure.
Jackson West was written out of The Rookie as Titus Makin Jr. did not want to return to the show
In The Rookie season 3 finale, Jackson and Lopez were kidnapped by Sandra de la Cruz’s men during Angela Wesley’s wedding. This raised questions about Jackson’s presence in season 4. The promotional material for season 4 also did not feature any scenes involving Jackson West, which sparked curiosity among viewers about whether he would make it to season 4 or not.
Finally, The Rookie season 4, episode 1, aired on September 26, 2021, on ABC. The episode confirmed that Officer Jackson West was dead. A scene featuring CCTV footage revealed that Jackson was fatally shot while trying to escape from Cruz’s men. The episode concluded with Angela paying tribute to Jackson by naming their child after him.
The sudden death of Jackson West in the series upset many viewers. The reason for Titus Makin Jr.’s unexpected departure was that he was no longer interested in continuing his role in the series. The executive producer of The Rookie, Alexi Hawley, told TVLine:
“What I can say is that Titus [Makin] was not coming back to the show, so we needed to do the best that we could to honor the character who has been so fundamentally a part of the show. It’s heartbreaking, but I didn’t really have a choice. “
He continued:
“He wasn’t coming back, and because of the way we set things up with the [Season 3] finale, there was just no way to tell that story without Jackson… But we lean really hard into honoring how he was the heart of the show, and it was definitely impactful for us to have to deal with that.”
Who is Titus Makin Jr.
Xem bài viết này trên Instagram
Titus Makin is an American actor and singer. He marks the third actor who exited The Rookie suddenly. The other two were Mercedes Masohn, who played the character Captain Zoe Andersen, and Afton Williamson, who portrayed Talia Bishop.
In an interview with EW, Makin discussed quitting the series as he said:
“I had that conversation with Alexi [Hawley], our showrunner, and he was extremely gracious and totally understood everything I was saying. I did come to that point where I was like, ‘If you want to write me out, I politely accept that. I would rather be written out than ignore the reality and not be able to tell the story.”
Currently, Titus is focusing on his music career, and his last album, Preacher’s Kid, was released in February 2021.
