University of Kwazulu-Natal

Why Jackson West Left The Rookie What Titus Makin Jr Is Doing Now

Bonisiwe Shabane
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why jackson west left the rookie what titus makin jr is doing now

Titus Makin Jr.'s The Rookie character, Jackson West, abruptly departed the series towards the end of season 3, but there are behind-the-scenes reasons for why Jackson left. Assigned to the Mid-Wilshire Division, Jackson West was among the main police officers in The Rookie throughout the first three seasons. However, in the closing moments of The Rookie season 3, he and Lopez got kidnapped by Sandra de la Cruz's men during Angela and Wesley's wedding. While this alone did not confirm that Jackson left The Rookie, audiences started speculating about his departure after Makin didn't appear in season 4's promotional material. Speculations rang true when The Rookie season 4's episode 1 revealed that Jackson West tragically died. To confirm this news, season 4 featured CCTV footage that showed how Jackson was shot by Sandra de la Cruz's men when he tried to escape them.

The episode ended with a poignant scene where Angela Lopez paid her tribute to Jackson by naming her newborn son after him. While the show gives Jackson's characterization satisfying and emotional closure, his death in Rookie season 3 is upsetting given how he was among the primary protagonists since the show's first episode. Nathan Fillion's The Rookie has graduated into a long-running hit for ABC across six seasons, and now the popular cop drama has concluded season 7. According to reports (via TVLine), The Rookie's creators ended Jackson West's storyline in season 4 because actor Titus Makin Jr. did not want to return. Recalling the actor's decision to leave the series, The Rookie's showrunner Alexi Hawley said that after hearing the news of the actor's exit, they needed to do their best to honor him since he...

Although Hawley did not disclose the reasons behind Titus Makin Jr.'s decision to leave, Makin had considered leaving The Rookie in 2020 after learning about the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In an interview (via EW), Makin recalled that while watching the news one day, he realized that he could not go back to "play a cop on a show and not talk about the... My character hadn't addressed any of that." Titus Makin Jr's Jackson West disappeared from The Rookie after Season 3, never to be seen again in the ABC series. The cast of The Rookie during Season 7 looks rather different from what it did when the series began in 2019, with Titus Makin Jr.'s Jackson West being a notable absentee as one of... Several years after his departure, fans still miss Titus Makin Jr.'s Jackson West.

Speaking in an interview with Entertainment Weekly during the airing of Season 3, Makin revealed he almost did not return for the (at the time) current run, citing the killings of George Floyd and... Floyd and Taylor were just two examples of innocent Black individuals killed by U.S. police officers in early 2020, both of which helped light the fuse of the "Black Lives Matter" movement that swept the globe. The Rookie Season 4 premiere featured a shocking development. The character of Jackson West was abruptly killed off, leading to the immediate exit of original cast member Titus Makin Jr. Despite the cliffhanger in the Season 3 finale, which saw some police officers kidnapped by La Fiera (Camille Guaty), it wasn’t expected that a character would be killed.

In the Season 4 premiere, the remaining cops watch security footage in which Jackson died from a single gunshot to the head. As a tribute, Angela (Alyssa Diaz) named her newborn baby after him. Makin did not return to film the scene, with a double used in his stead. The reason for Jackson’s death is quite complicated, but originated from Makin Jr., who wanted to leave the series. The departure of Jackson West, portrayed by Titus Makin Jr., from “The Rookie” at the close of its third season came as a sudden twist, fueled by intriguing reasons off-screen. Throughout the show’s initial seasons, Jackson West served as a pivotal character, assigned to the Mid-Wilshire Division and becoming a central figure in the narrative.

His storyline took a dramatic turn during a kidnapping scenario involving him and Lopez by Sandra de la Cruz’s henchmen at Angela and Wesley’s wedding. This event sparked speculation about his future on the show, especially when he was conspicuously absent from the promotional content for season 4. These speculations were confirmed in the opening episode of season 4, which revealed the heartbreaking fate of Jackson West: he had been killed. The show depicted his tragic end through CCTV footage, capturing the moment he was fatally shot by de la Cruz’s men in an attempt to flee. The aftermath of his death saw a touching tribute from Angela Lopez, who named her newborn son after Jackson, providing a heartfelt conclusion to his story arc. Despite the emotional send-off, Jackson’s death was a significant blow to fans, considering his role as a mainstay from the very first episode.

Behind the scenes, Titus Makin Jr.’s exit was driven by personal decisions. “The Rookie” showrunner Alexi Hawley disclosed that Makin Jr.’s choice not to return necessitated a respectful closure to Jackson’s journey, acknowledging his integral contribution to the series from its inception. Viewers are curious to know why Jackson West played by Titus Makin left The Rookie, despite being one of the key characters. Introduced in Season 1, Jackson was portrayed as a smart rookie officer in the LAPD, with a thorough knowledge of procedures and penal codes. His intriguing personality and dedication to his job helped him advance in the LAPD, achieving the rank of Officer II by Season 3. However, during the same season, he abruptly disappeared, raising suspicions among fans regarding the reasons for his sudden departure.

So, why did Titus Makin’s Jackson West leave The Rookie? Here’s a detailed look at why Makin exited the series. There was no official reason stated for why Titus Makin’s Jackson West left The Rookie. However, the actor’s earlier comments suggest that the real reason stemmed from personal beliefs. The fourth season began with a shocking revelation: not only was Angela Lopez kidnapped from her wedding venue, but Jackson West was also taken. The kidnappers were working for the drug trafficker La Fiera.

Later, it was revealed that West had been shot and killed by his kidnappers. His death was not shown on-screen; instead, he was killed off-screen. The sudden departure of Titus Makin left many fans in shock. Later, in a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Makin addressed his abrupt exit during the Season 3 run due to the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor killings. He revealed that amid the “Black Lives Matter” moment, he saw many black individuals speaking up, inspiring him to find his voice as well. The end of The Rookie season three saw the unexpected departure of Officer Jackson West (played by Titus Makin Jr) in the ABC procedural drama.

Despite becoming a fan favorite the actor took viewers by surprise when he decided to step down from the role in 2021 after a major cliffhanger. Many were left on the edge of their seats when Jackon and Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) were kidnapped by Sandra de la Cruz' (Camille Guaty) men during Angela and Wesley's (Shawn Ashmore) wedding. Although the ending didn’t tease their death or survival, fans began to speculate the officer’s death after he didn’t appear in any of the season four teasers or trailers. However, the suspicion proved to be true when the premiere confirmed Jackson was killed. The death of The Rookie’s Jackson West hit us hard. As one of the original police officers on ABC’s hit crime drama, why did Jackson West leave The Rookie after almost four seasons?

Keep reading to learn more. The Rookie, ABC’s successful police drama, follows the story of John Nolan, a recently divorced man in his 40s who pursues a career as a police officer at the Los Angeles Police Department, after... The Alexi Hawley-created series is based on the true story of William Norcross, a real officer with the LAPD who moved to L.A. in 2015 and also joined the department in his mid-40s. The show premiered in October 2018 and is currently in its fifth season, but has not yet been renewed for a sixth. The Rookie has one spin-off, The Rookie: Feds, which debuted in 2022 and follows Simone Clark (Niecy Nash), the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy.

Actor Titus Makin Jr. played the role of Jackson West, a police officer assigned to the Mid-Wilshire Division. He trained under multiple LAPD officers, including Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), Doug Stanton (Brandon Routh) and Quigley Smitty (Brent Huff). West first appeared in the pilot episode of The Rookie in October 2018 and was a main character until his unfortunate death in season 4, episode 1. In an April 2021 interview with Smashing Interviews Magazine, Makin Jr. spoke about his audition process before joining The Rookie.

When asked if he interviewed for the role of Jackson West, he replied, “I sure did, yeah. I was technically up for a show called The Boys, which is on Amazon, and I didn’t get that one. It was between me and Jessie (Usher),” he explained. “In that same casting office, they said they were casting another project called The Rookie and asked if I would be interested. I said, ‘Yeah,’ so they threw me in the process of the auditioning where they were, and it worked out.” Makin Jr.

also talked about how his character, West, has evolved since the show’s first season when he was memorizing penal codes and was afraid to fire his weapon. “I’ve loved it personally. It’s one of those things where at first, Jackson was just as annoying to me as he was everybody else. I was like, ‘Come on, man. Step it up. Do something now.; I loved to see that he is finally coming into his own,” he said to the magazine.

“He’s finally speaking up, and he’s finally doing all the things that we essentially expected him to do anyway based on who he was in the academy and how he was raised in the... So, it’s really nice to see that coming-of-age story and him coming into his own.”

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