All eyes will be on Wesley Evers and Angela Lopez as The Rookie’s race for district attorney heats up next week.
“This is kind of almost a culmination of a pretty intense story line for both these characters, the DA race,” Shawn Ashmore, who plays attorney Wesley, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 17.
Ashmore, 46, noted that the Monday, March 23, episode titled “Spy Games” will highlight Wesley’s road to becoming DA of Los Angeles two days before the election. During that time frame, he and wife Angela (Alyssa Diaz) will have to stand together against two former foes that could tear them down.
“You get to see both characters sweat a little bit,” Ashmore teased, revealing that one guest star is someone close to Wesley while the other is a villain with a personal connection to Angela.
The actor told Us fans will see how Wesley and Angela “interact together as a couple with that pressure.”
Ashmore noted that as always, the couple are a “team” and they both “jump to action and are there for each other.”
According to ABC, the upcoming episode is about the FBI and LAPD joining forces on “a covert sting operation to protect Bailey [played by Jenna Dewan], while Wesley and Angela face tensions in their marriage when his campaign is threatened by a public scandal.”

Alyssa Diaz, Shawn Ashmore. Disney/Mike Taing
“What I love about this episode is it lets the audience in on their relationship in a kind of a fun way,” Ashmore told Us. “It sort of focuses on this moment in time for them, this culmination of the DA race. And it also harkens back and brings some elements from the past, some sort of challenging things and brings that to the forefront.”
Diaz, 40, exclusively told Us that viewers will see Angela rising up in the face of adversity to support her spouse — even when tested.
“She has to stay strong, because this is her husband. This is the father of her children,” Diaz said. “He’s in a very intense situation with a lot of eyes on him, and she can’t show any weakness.”
The actress added that when an old foe comes back into their lives and makes an allegation about Wesley’s past, Angela has to show a “strong face” knowing that the villain “has a tendency to B.S.”
Diaz played coy about who was trying to hurt Wesley and Angela’s romance, hinting the detective will “not let him get under her skin, especially in this really important moment for Wesley.”
Ashmore, meanwhile, told Us that there is a pivotal scene between Wesley and someone from his past that will turn the episode on its head.
“It’s a beautiful scene and a very loaded scene and a very emotional scene,” Ashmore teased, adding that Wesley’s vulnerability and accountability is “maybe what swayed” the overall outcome.
The Rookie airs on ABC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes steam the next day on Hulu.
