Is ABC Dooming Will Trent and The Rookie With Extra-Long Hiatuses?
When ABC announced its fall schedule, two of its most popular series, The Rookie and Will Trent, were moved to midseason.
Fans are understandably aggravated and worried again after already waiting an extra long time because of the dual strikes.
The Rookie is headed into its seventh season, which concerns us since two ABC series, Station 19 and The Good Doctor, were recently canceled in their seventh seasons. While Will Trent is leading into its third season, it also ended with a polarizing finale, leaving viewers anxious.
Why Are The Rookie and Will Trent Delayed Until January 2025?
ABC’s Tuesday 2024 fall schedule includes Dancing With the Stars and the new drama High Potential. This doesn’t make sense since they were both reliable ratings performers.
The only blessing is that they’ve each been granted 18 episodes, and we’ve been told they’ll air in nonstop runs from January to May. That’s way more episodes than Will Trent has ever gotten. The series had 13 episodes in Season 1.
This is an election year, so at least this way, we don’t have to worry about debates postponing either series.
Disney TV Group President Craig Erwich has confidence in both series and praised them at the Disney Upfronts.
“We held the return of these shows till midseason so they can have truly an uninterrupted run for that season, which I think is a very powerful weapon in terms of watching our shows, Erwich said. “And with New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and all of our events that we have in December, January is one of the best times to launch new shows.”
Giving the writers longer to plan a more cohesive season could work, but let’s be honest. The dual strikes delayed everything, and now everyone is hurting because of it.
How Did The Rookie Season 6 End?
The Rookie Season 6 was rough, partly because some storylines seemed rushed and not fleshed out enough.
After a season-long arc, Chenford finally came together, but it was ripped away in Season 6, episode 6. Seeing Tim Bradford get this reckoning was fascinating, but it was so quick. We hadn’t heard much about his military background or his past with Ray.
He wanted to protect Lucy, but she wanted to be there for him and voiced her anger that he took away her voice in their relationship.
Tim tried therapy, even if Blair London was working for the wrong side. Fans are anxious to see how Tim and Lucy continue to navigate their relationship post-break-up. They still care about each other.
Hopefully, with more episodes, Tim will spend more time in therapy exploring his past and helping others as a Training Officer.
Monica was an excellent villain in Season and the effects of her involvement will be felt going into Season 7. She was responsible for Mad Dog’s death and blackmailed Blair.
While seeing Bailey’s ex, Jason gets tiresome, becoming the primary antagonist in Season 7.
We have so many stories and potential arcs for The Rookie Season, but many months until it premieres.
How Did Will Will Trent Season 2 End?
Will Trent Season 2 ended on a controversial cliffhanger that has kept the fans divided and talking.
After the team struggled with learning who was killing these sex offenders, they discovered it was Crystal, a young girl Angie was mentoring.
Angie also realized it and tried to stop Crystal, who she related to. Lenny had sexually assaulted both Angie and Crystal as teenagers.
Initially, Angie thought she gave Crystal a second chance at life when she covered up that Crystal stabbed Lenny because he caused her so much pain, but then Crystal kept killing sex predators.
This was such a grey case because it’s difficult to feel for those predators when you sympathize with Angie and Crystal.
Angie had come so far this season. Even Amanda had recognized how she mentored others and helped Will more. It was time for Angie and Will’s happy ending, but it was ripped away, and now we have to wait months before seeing what Angie’s consequences will be.
Will generally saw things in black and white, but he struggled with that decision since he and Angie had only recently reunited. She had been in his life for so long, and his decision to arrest her may have destroyed everything.
Will hasn’t had many people he can count on, so that was an impactful decision. He disappeared after that. We suspect he visited Antonio, the uncle he recently bonded with, since almost everyone else was destroyed by what happened.
Det. Ormewood’s life is also in flux. He became the main caregiver for his children when his wife, Gina, left to work on her mental health.
In the finale, Gina returned, claiming she wanted a divorce and custody of the kids.
Will Trent Season left many character-rich arcs in the play, not even counting the murder mysteries of the week.
How Will These Long Hiatuses Affect the Fans and These Shows?
Will Trent has played both of its seasons at midseason previously. This would have been the ideal opportunity to run the series in the fall after ending on such a controversial finale.
The fans are eager to see how Angie gets out of this mess. They’re divided over whether they are Team Angie or Team Will, regardless of whether they understand why Will arrested Angie for her part in those murders.
The Rookie also ended on the cliffhangers, and Season 6 was often disjointed and mediocre at best, saving the action for the end.
While ending on cliffhangers is a trope, hoping your audience will return, leaving them hanging for eight months is cruel. Both the Rookie and Will Trent left one of their leading couples in peril, even if one-half was trying to do the right thing.
Beyond that, fans will be eager to see if any antagonists still threaten the team, with Monica, Oscar, and Jason all free.
Chatter and speculation over upcoming spoilers only last so long, so waiting until January wasn’t the best decision on ABC’s part.
Some fans may wait no matter how long it takes, but many others are exhausted over waiting nearly a year between seasons. They’ve complained they have to do that for streaming shows, and they shouldn’t have to wait as long for Broadcast scripted shows, too.
The Rookie has always aired in the fall, and the two series paired well in the ratings. They would have been a smarter decision than airing more reality television.
Over to you, ABC Fanatics. Will you wait until January 2025 to watch The Rookie and Will Trent?
Are the shows worth waiting for you? What do you want to see on each of them?
Let us know in the comments.
