Actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, known from Supernatural, made a cameo appearance in the latest episode of ABC's The Rookie. They played themselves as demon-hunting experts interviewed about a bizarre LAPD case. The episode features a documentary-style investigation into a former officer's suspicious suicide.
In this week's episode of The Rookie, officers led by Nolan probe the death of Rich, a former LAPD police officer who stabbed himself in the heart. Rich had become obsessed with demons and a group of demon hunters he believed were behind unsolved murders. Showrunner Alexi Hawley appears in the story as a documentarian working with Abigail Tierney, played by Madeleine Coghlan, to examine the case for a film crew. The filmmakers interview Ackles and Padalecki via Zoom, drawing on their expertise from 15 seasons of Supernatural. Padalecki said, 'We co-starred on a TV show together for 15 seasons, called Supernatural.' Ackles added, 'Yeah, we played Sam and Dean Winchester, brothers that tracked and fought supernatural beings.' Ackles and Padalecki recount meeting Rich years earlier at a fan event called Monster Con. Ackles described Rich as 'a different beast,' while Padalecki noted his fixation on a specific episode and pointed questions, as if 'testing us.' Ackles clarified, 'We didn't come up with these stories. We just did what the writers wrote. It's called acting.' The investigation reveals Rich correctly linked the murders, though he wrongly thought himself possessed. A direct-to-video movie director orchestrated the killings by manipulating others with fabricated demonic tales.