'The Rookie's' Nathan Fillion on casting new series: 'Everybody we wanted, we got'

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- "The Rookie" is actor Nathan Fillion's latest television series. In a recent interview, Fillion, who is a whiz at social media, offered a little "selfie help."

In his new show, Fillion plays John Nolan, a middle-aged man who makes a drastic, life-changing decision: he becomes the oldest newcomer in the Los Angeles Police Department. And he quickly learns with this job, you literally have to hit the ground running.

"I say this over and over -- this job, the police, your job starts when everything has gone terribly wrong and it's already out of hand," said Fillion. "That's when people call the police. You never know what you're going to get, and it can get bizarre. Boy, the stories the cops have."

"And they're real, a lot of the stuff that we do is kind of mirrored off certain things that could have potentially happened," said Afton Williamson, who plays Nolan's training officer. "It's a very tough job, I learn every single day that they do this and lives are at stake."

Fillion is also one of "The Rookie's" executive producers. Surrounding himself with a quality cast and crew was priority one.

"I had something to do with everybody who was cast on the show," said Fillion. "One of the most wonderful things about how it all shook out, we got a jump start on casting, we were ahead of the game. We were the first to cast we had our pick. Everybody we wanted, we got."

"The Rookie" airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC and ABC7.