‘The Rookie’ Dedicates Future Episode to Annie Wersching Following Her Death
The cast and crew of ABC‘s The Rookie are mourning the loss of one of their most prominent guest stars — Annie Wersching. The actor played Rosalind Dyer in The Rookie until her character’s death early in season 5. And now, the procedural series is honoring Wersching in a future season 5 episode.
Annie Wersching died on Jan. 29
Per Deadline, The Rookie star Annie Wershing died on Sunday, Jan. 29, after being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in the summer of 2020. She was 45 years old at the time of her death. Wersching was married to actor Stephen Full, and they had three sons together.
Besides The Rookie, Wersching’s acting credits include 24, Castle, Bosch, Extant, The Vampire Diaries, Timeless, and Marvel’s Runaways. The actor also voiced and performed the motion capture of Tess in the video game series, The Last of Us.
Stephen Full released a statement along with the news of his wife’s death. It reads:
“There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. ‘Go find it. It’s everywhere.’ And find it we shall. As I drove our boys, the true loves of her life, down the winding driveway and street, she would yell BYE! until we were out of earshot and into the world. I can still hear it ringing. Bye my Buddie. ‘I love you little family…'”
‘The Rookie’ Season 5 will honor the actor
A couple of days after the actor’s death, The Rookie Twitter page announced that a future season 5 episode would honor Annie Wersching.
The tweet reads, “We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Annie Wersching, who brilliantly portrayed ‘Rosalind Dyer.’ Annie’s light both on and off screen will always be remembered and our thoughts are with her loved ones. The Feb. 14 episode of The Rookie will be dedicated to her memory.”
The Rookie Season 5 is taking a one-week break following episode 14’s airing on Jan. 31. So the ABC series will dedicate episode 15, which premieres on Tuesday, Feb. 14, to Annie Wersching.
The synopsis for The Rookie Season 5 Episode 15, “The Con,” reads, “With help from the FBI, Detective Lopez puts everything on the line to help Elijah Stone take down a gang leader in exchange for her safety. Meanwhile, Nolan and Bailey must deal with the secrets and shady dealings his late mother left behind.”
‘The Rookie’ cast and crew react to Annie Wersching’s death
The Rookie fans expressed their sadness to hear about Annie Wersching’s death, as did a couple of the members of the cast and crew of the show.
Alexi Hawley, The Rookie creator and showrunner, tweeted, “Such sad news. Annie was part of The Rookie family. A special person and true talent who brought joy to our set and elevated every scene she was in. Please donate if you are able.” He attached a link to a GoFundMe page for Wersching’s family.
Eric Winter, who plays Tim Bradford, also tweeted, “I want to take the time to share this about someone who was very dear to our [The Rookie] family and so many others. RIP [Annie Wersching]. If you are able to help please see the link attached.” Winter also provided a link to the GoFundMe page.
The Rookie Season 5 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
