Caution: There are SPOILERS for The Rookie season 7 & Will Trent season 3 finales. Just like this year, ABC has chosen to hold back on the premieres of The Rookie season 8 and Will Trent season 4. While this does make sense in terms of continuity, the waits hurt, considering the way the seasons just recently ended. Major cliffhangers have left us needing more, and now there’s at least an eight-month wait for resolutions.
The decision to hold back The Rookie season 8 and Will Trent season 4 until the midseason is also somewhat surprising, considering both shows are some of the most popular on ABC. Yet, lower-rated shows like Grey’s Anatomy get to return in the fall. It begs the question of why ABC would do something like this, and whether it could have a detrimental effect on the shows when they return.
The Rookie Season 7 & Will Trent Season 3 Finales Set Up Exciting Futures
We Need More After the Cliffhanger Endings
Both The Rookie season 7 and Will Trent season 3 delivered shocking cliffhangers. In The Rookie season 7 finale, the race was on to catch Oscar, who targeted Nolan and took him somewhere in the desert. Fortunately, Harper was able to find him, but in the end, Oscar managed to escape the police again. He did share news that Monica was the reason he got out of prison in the first place, and we learned at the end of the episode that Monica was getting released as a free woman after making a deal with the feds.
Meanwhile, the Will Trent season 3 finale ended with the potential deaths of two characters. After finding out that he had a brain tumor, Ormewood collapsed from a seizure, but fortunately, Faith was there and was able to call 911. In the hospital, Amanda survived surgery after being shot in the sternum, but she was left in a coma. Will learned that the next 48 hours were critical, and he went to the room asking her to wake up as he needed his family.
There are questions about what happens should Trent characters survive, including the type of limitations they may have and whether they will need to leave their jobs.
Both of these finales set up exciting arcs for the future. There are questions about what happens so Will Trent characters survive, including the type of limitations they may have and whether they will need to leave their jobs.The Rookie leaves us with questions about the type of damage Monica will do next now that she’s free.
ABC Delays The Rookie & Will Trent To 2026
We Have An 8-Month Wait For More Of The ABC Dramas
Now we have to wait, and this wait is going to feel excruciating considering how the shows ended. While we are used to waiting three or four months for the summer break, this wait is going to feel like it will drag, especially if there are no teases or no news to help get us through it. However, this isn’t unusual for ABC, considering we had to wait for the two shows last season.
Will Trent had, up to this point, been a midseason show from the first season, but it had performed so well that we thought it would move up to the fall.
In May 2024, ABC announced the surprise decision to hold back on the Will Trentand The Rookie premieres. The Rookie hold was the most shocking of the two, as that series had always been a fall show except for the year of the strikes. Will Trent had, up to this point, been a midseason show from the first season, but it had performed so well that we thought it would move up to the fall.
Looking at the linear ratings, the decision was a good one, but that doesn’t make it easy for us. These are two of the most popular shows on the network, and usually, networks want to take advantage of that by airing them in the fall. The fall is when many get ready for their shows to return, blocking out time in September and October. By holding to the midseason, there is always the risk that viewers will forget about the cliffhangers and not return.
Why ABC Set The Rookie Season 8 & Will Trent Season 4 To Midseason Returns
ABC Is Focusing On Continuity For The Two Shows
The move may not be a bad thing for the show as a whole. When announcing the schedule, the Disney Television Group president, Craig Erwich, stated (via Deadline) that the decision was due to stability and continuity. He shared that the decision to hold back to the midseason in the 2024–2025 season was beneficial to the two shows, with Will Trent growing year-on-year and The Rookie performing well.
Part of the reason he believes this happened was due to continued momentum. By airing the 18-episode seasons starting in January, there was no need to take a long hiatus in the winter. The two shows had a couple of weeks off due to political programming, but there wasn’t the one-to-two-month break around Christmas and New Year, keeping people tuned in and focused on the events of each episode.
“Will Trent was one of the only broadcast shows that actually grew year over year. I think
