Hulu’s most popular show features a popular sci-fi star

According to Jonathan Klotz
| Published 11 seconds ago

The landscape of television has changed thanks to the rise of streaming, but one thing remains the same: people love procedurals, whether medical, legal, police or mystery, the convenience of watching food isn’t going anywhere. Well, make that two things, because people also love Nathan Fillion, which explains why Roost was a huge hit. Lightning struck twice, as now, NoviceFillion’s latest police procedural is once again Hulu’s number one show.

Nathan Fillion’s latest hit

Novice played by Nathan Fillion, who is still the most famous science fiction fans like Captain Malcolm Reynolds Fireflyas John Norris, a 45-year-old man living his dream of becoming a Los Angeles police officer. After Norris helps stop a bank robbery in his hometown, he joins the LAPD in what sounds like an absurd plot but is based on the true story of William Norcross, who serves as an executive producer on the series as well as the LAPD. An officer to this day. Fillion, as always, can take any concept and make it must-see TV with the sheer force of his villainous charm.

In the hands of any other star, Novice it may not have made it to seven seasons, but aside from Fillion, part of the appeal is that the characters were allowed to change and grow, which is big news for a procedural. Beginning in Season 5, Norris is no longer a “rookie” and instead a training officer overseeing a new class of rookies. It doesn’t sound like much, but consider the overall concept NCIS hasn’t moved in 20 years, even though McGee is no longer “on” he does the same thing week after week.

Nathan Fillion is the biggest name in the cast Novicebut sci-fi fans will also recognize Melissa O’Neal Dark matter as Lucy Chen, a rookie officer, and Shawn Ashmore from Fox’s X-Men as defense attorney Wesley Evers. The guest star list includes other notable sci-fi cult favorites, including Felicia Day, Stephen Lang, David Dastmachlain and The X-Files Mitch Pileggi, among many others. Sean Maher, Simon of Firefly and Peacehe even appears as a different type of escaped convict in one episode.

Trials are still the backbone of television

For all the talk streaming original programs from Shogun on Stranger Thingsthe backbone of each service are classic sitcoms and procedural comedies that can be watched and re-watched over and over again, often with dozens of seasons and hundreds of episodes. That’s why NCIS dominates Paramount+ between seasons Yellowstone, Max was built on The Big Bang Theoryand why is it a huge problem when the rights to Friends change hands. Novice it doesn’t reinvent the wheel and includes every procedural trope you can think of, but that’s not a bad thing.

The procedurals are comforting because they are so predictable, with just enough twists and turns and colorful characters to keep viewers coming back week after week to spend another hour living in his world. He was successful with Nathan Fillion Roost and now Novicewhich proved so popular that it spawned a spin-off, Rookie: The Fedswhich is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s still not bad. Ironically, Fillion’s most popular series was also his least successful, but at least millions of people can now appreciate the unrivaled charm and swagger of Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

Novice streams on Hulu.