‘The Rookie’ Casts ‘SNL’ Comedian Pete Davidson in Guest Starring Role, and Fans Weigh In

Pete Davidson appeared as a guest-star on The Rookie. In the episode, the Saturday Night Live comedian played the half-brother of Nathan Fillion’s character, Officer John Nolan. Davidson’s character didn’t stray far from his own name, as his on-screen persona went by Pete Nolan.

Davidson is first introduced on the show when Fillion’s character along with his training officer, Nyla Harper, are checking out a classic car he owns. The show’s star calls the car “a piece of crap” to which Davidson’s character, whose nearby, says that the car belongs to his father, revealing that they are half-brothers.

The scene eventually sees Davidson punch Fillion in the face before a brief questioning that ultimately deals with the two figuring out the details behind their relationship before Fillion lets Davidson go.

The two actors met on set of Suicide Squad 2, which is where Fillion approached him about coming onto an episode.

“I said, you’ve got to come down and do an episode of The Rookie,” Fillion said according to the ABC release, per Connect FM. “You have to be pleasant for me to say, ‘I need to make this happen. I need you to be. I need you.’”

With his appearance, fans of the show were quick to comment as his scenes unfolded throughout the episode.

“I’m so glad Pete Davidson is on the show,” one user tweeted. “He’s one of my favorites. #TheRookie.”

“Pete Davidson really expanding his range as an actor on The Rookie by playing a character…. named Pete,” another wrote.

“Whoa, #PeteDavidson just popped Officer Nolan,” a third user wrote. “This fun episode just got more interesting… #TheRookie.”

Davidson did not appear on this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live, which comes after he made some criticizing remarks about the show. The comedian did an on-camera interview with Charlamagne Tha God at the end of February that saw him dismissing the series and how they portray him as “this big dumb idiot.”

“I personally think I should be done with that show because they make fun of me on it,” said Davidson, who also added he sometimes does not know if “I’m the joke or I’m in on the joke.”

No official statement was provided to explain Davidson’s absence.