“Erghhhhhh get him off my screen”- Fans do not want to see Zander Hawley in The Rookie season 7

The outrage is mounting with every successive episode of The Rookie season 7, and the name at the center of the storm is Zander Hawley. What started as a perceived minor guest star stint has developed into a fanbase-wide frustration, reaching a point where a flood of Reddit posts are pleading the show to eliminate the character from upcoming storylines.

Rodge Bronson, played by the singer-songwriter Zander Hawley, has made a more regular appearance on the show this season. First brought in as an offbeat love interest for Officer Celina Juarez, the character soon wore out his welcome for many viewers. Although some early on appreciated his musical talents and comedic skills, the attitude has dramatically changed, and not for the better.

It all started with a Reddit user, volclare's comment, asking him to get off screen, in a now-viral comment that seems to encapsulate the mood of the fandom.

“Erghhhhhh get him off my screen,” they said.

Image via Reddit/ @volclare

"Maybe they brought him into distract from the Bailey hate," another user, Rocktype2, commented.

"Why are they adding him into everything," user CapitalWrangler2982 further added.

One user, TBNSK74, further said that the reason he is in the show is because his father is one of the executives.

"No they brought him in because the actors father is one of the executives of the show," they said.

"I don’t understand why he keeps coming back. Like I see no point in the character. I love Zanders music, daddy cop was hilarious but enough is enough. And why does he have to be in Lucy’s apartment?" another user, Psychological_Mix266, further added.

"There has to be someone to hate in the show and we don't have a villain on hand at the moment. So it might as well be him," user missekhmet13 added.

For many, it is about believability and relevance. Hawley’s character is neither a cop, nor a firefighter like Bailey. He is also not otherwise directly tied to the core crime-fighting narrative of the show. Instead, he is a singer-songwriter, who inexplicably keeps popping up in dangerous, high-stakes situations that have nothing to do with him.

Multiple users have also pointed out that Zander Hawley is the son of The Rookie's showrunner and executive producer, Alexi Hawley. That revelation only poured more fuel on the fire.

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The Rookie season 7: What led to the backlash

Zander Hawley, initially introduced as an offbeat singer-songwriter Rodge Bronson in The Rookie, has become more and more enmeshed in the show's main plot, especially through a romantic sub-plot with Officer Celina Juarez.

While his initial few appearances were deemed as light and even somewhat charming by fans, the show has since put him into increasingly central scenarios—riding along on police investigations, being at crime scenes, and interacting with primary characters in unnatural ways that frustrate many viewers.

His arrival has significantly impacted other fan favorite plotlines' screen time and progress, such as the highly teased revival of Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford. Zander's poorly assimilated relationship with the rest of the cast, paired with suspect acting and a seeming lack of chemistry with Celina, has resulted in him being the target of most of the backlash.

The breaking point came in The Rookie's most recent episode, when he was on screen once more, this time sleeping in Lucy's apartment and playing a larger role than ever before, leading fans to share their dismay throughout social media and fan communities.

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Catch the latest episode of The Rookie season 7 streaming on ABC.