Before Paradise, Teri Rogers-Collins Actor Enuka Okuma Starred In A Popular Police Procedural

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"Paradise" has returned for its second season, and the post-apocalyptic drama/thriller series has been diving even deeper into the compelling world created by Dan Fogelman. Along the way, Enuka Okuma has stepped further into the spotlight as Teri Rogers-Collins, aka the wife of Sterling K. Brown's Xavier Collins. "Paradise" season 2 has similarly revealed how Teri survived the show's doomsday event in the first place, further cementing her as a crucial element of the series at large.

So, given that Teri is now a bigger part of the show, viewers might be wondering where they've seen Okuma before (or what else she's done in the past). While she's been working for some time dating back to the 1990s, the actor's biggest pre-"Paradise" credit by far is a long-running police procedural drama. And though it may not be quite as well known to U.S. viewers as something like the Nathan Fillion-led "The Rookie" (and, to a lesser degree, its short-lived spin-off), it was popular all the same.

The show in question is "Rookie Blue," which was a Canadian-produced cop procedural that ran for six seasons from 2010 to 2015. Created by Tassie Cameron, Morwyn Brebner, and Ellen Vanstone, the series follows the lives of five inexperienced rookies thrown into the world of big city policing as part of the 15 Division, all while they navigate their chaotic personal lives.

Okuma played one of the main characters on "Rookie Blue," Detective Sergeant Traic Nash, and she appeared in every one of the series' 74 episodes, which is a heck of a run for any actor on any show. The series itself aired on Global in Canada and on ABC in the U.S, and it's currently streaming for free on Tubi.

"Rookie Blue," despite being a Canadian import, was rather successful during its run on ABC. In fact, it was the network's best summer scripted opener in nearly six years up to that point, per TV by the Numbers. In the modern era, TV shows don't just coast to six seasons. That takes a sizable audience, and this show had one.

Despite that, it's surprisingly less-discussed, it seems, compared to other, similar series in the genre. Then again, comparable law enforcement shows like the Tom Selleck-starring "Blue Bloods" or even a comedy along the lines of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" ran longer still, so perhaps that's part of it. That and, again, "Rookie Blue" is a series from the northernmost half of North America, so that might be a factor here as well.

In any event, Enuka Okuma was a big part of the show and is owed a certain amount of credit for its success. When it comes to "Paradise," which is arguably as much a Western as anything else, Okuma will similarly be owed an increasing amount of credit for its success, given her increased role as the show continues to unfold. It's already slated to return for a third season on Hulu, and it only seem to be gaining more momentum as it goes along.

You can also grab "Rookie Blue: The Complete Series" on DVD from Amazon.