‘The Rookie’: Why Did Titus Makin Jr. Leave the Show?

A few main cast members have left ABC‘s The Rookie over five seasons. Mercedes Mason, who played Zoe Andersen, and Afton Williamson, who played Talia Bishop, exited the series during and after the first season. But the most heartbreaking departure came when The Rookie killed off Titus Makin Jr.’s character Jackson West in the season 4 premiere.

Titus Makin Jr, in character as Jackson West in 'The Rookie' on ABC, wears his dark blue police uniform over a white shirt. — Titus Makin Jr. as Jackson West | Gilles Mingasson via Getty Images

Titus Makin Jr. played Jackson West in ‘The Rookie’ until the character’s death

The Rookie introduced Titus Makin Jr.’s character Jackson West during the series premiere. He, Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan, and Melissa O’Neil’s Lucy Chen were all rookies assigned to the Mid-Wilshire station in the LAPD. Jackson’s training officer was Angela Lopez, and the two developed a close friendship over their time together.

Jackson also trained in the academy alongside Nolan and Chen, so they had a close bond. But despite being a main character, it wasn’t until season 3 that Jackson got his first big (individual) storyline. Angela became a detective, meaning that Jackson needed a new training officer. And unfortunately for him, Doug Stanton was the man for the job.

Doug was racist, and Jackson’s mission was to take him down. But getting a police officer fired is ridiculously difficult, and it wasn’t until Jackson’s body cam showed Doug letting four suspects beat him up that the LAPD relieved him of his duty. And sadly, Titus Makin Jr.’s time on The Rookie would end a short time later.

During the season 3 finale, La Fiera kidnapped Angela and Jackson at Angela and Wesley Evers’ wedding. And in the season 4 premiere, fans learned that La Fiera’s men shot and killed Jackson shortly after grabbing him. After the LAPD caught Jackson’s killer and saved Angela, the characters honored their fallen comrade, and Angela named her baby after him.

‘The Rookie’ showrunner revealed the actor wanted to exit the series

Following the premiere of The Rookie Season 4, Titus Makin Jr. never addressed his character’s death. However, Alexi Hawley, the creator and showrunner, spoke with TVLine about the decision to write Jackson out of the series.

“What I can say is that Titus [Makin Jr.] was not coming back to the show,” Hawley explained. “So we needed to do the best that we could to honor the character who’s been so primally a part of the show.”

He added, “It’s heartbreaking, but I didn’t really have a choice. 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.”

Titus Makin Jr. decided not to return to The Rookie after season 3, and we might never know why. Following his exit, the actor appeared in NCIS: Hawai’i, Aliens on Halloween, On the Come Up, and Pool Service, Inc. Makin Jr. also has a music career under the name Butterfly Ali.

Titus Makin Jr. almost left ‘The Rookie’ after season 2

Perhaps Titus Makin Jr.’s exit from the show didn’t shock some The Rookie fans since the actor previously contemplated leaving after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020.

“A lot of people are finding a voice, and I found that for myself, where I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’ve been complacent,’” Makin Jr. told Entertainment Weekly. “I woke up one morning, and I was watching the news, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t go play a cop on a show and not talk about the fact that I’m a Black cop.’ My character hadn’t addressed any of that.”

The actor continued, “I had that conversation with Alexi [Hawley], our showrunner, and he was extremely gracious, and he 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 receive that. I would rather be written out than ignore the reality and not be able to tell the story.’”

Makin Jr. stayed with the show and acted out Jackson’s storyline with Stanton in season 3. But he made the decision to leave shortly afterward.

New episodes of The Rookie Season 5 air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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