Heading into The Rookie season 8, John Nolan needs a new rookie to replace Celina Juarez, and there are only so many candidates to choose from. The ABC police procedural series began with Nolan as a rookie. More than seven years later, Nolan is now one of The Rookie’s training officers, meaning he needs a new cop to teach in season 8.
Celina was Nolan’s first rookie. But, ever since Celina graduated from the FTO program in season 7, Nathan Fillion’s Rookie character has failed to maintain a permanent new trainee. He attempted to work with several different police officers. Unfortunately, none of them stuck. So, if Nolan is to remain a training officer in season 8, he’ll need to find a rookie.
7
Rodge Bronson
Played By: Zander Hawley
Rodge Bronson (played by The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley’s musician son, Zander Hawley) might be the last person fans expect to be Nolan’s next rookie, but it’s not entirely impossible. Yes, he’s the least likely candidate on this list. However, stranger things have happened on the ABC police procedural series.
As far as anyone knows, Rodge is actively pursuing a career in music. He is even going on tour. That doesn’t mean Rodge can’t suddenly change his mind and want to be a cop. Perhaps The Rookie season 8 will begin with a time jump and the revelation that Rodge went to the police academy instead of going on tour.
Given Nolan and Rodge’s bemusing dynamic that all began with “Daddy Cop” in The Rookie season 5, though, one can’t deny that seeing them working together would be fun and hilarious.
It’s not like The Rookie has always been 100 percent realistic and faithful to the FTO process in real life. The series tries to get everything correct. But there is only so much any TV show can do when crafting a dramatic and intriguing narrative.
Sure, some might be confused about Rodge’s sudden change of heart. Given Nolan and Rodge’s bemusing dynamic that all began with “Daddy Cop” in The Rookie season 5, though, one can’t deny that seeing them working together would be fun and hilarious. Plus, who better to replace Celina than her own boyfriend?
6
Ashley
Played By: Molly Quinn
As mentioned above, The Rookie can sometimes be lenient when trying to portray the realistic ins and outs of police departments. They hypothetically can make an exception for Ashley (an ex-convict and Oscar Hutchinson’s daughter) if she wants to become a cop. Despite Ashley’s criminal history, she could be the perfect character to replace Celina as Nolan’s rookie.
For starters, Molly Quinn famously starred as Nathan Fillion’s character’s daughter in Castle for all eight seasons. Having her appear as Ashley in only two episodes of the newer ABC series alongside her former TV dad was exciting enough. Just imagine how thrilling it would be to see Fillion and Quinn work directly together again, but this time as a training officer and a rookie instead of as a father/daughter duo.
Plus, Oscar remains on the run after the events of The Rookie season 7 finale. So, bringing Ashley back into the fold would add more intrigue to the longstanding (overused) villain’s arc, especially if she and her dad are on opposing sides of the law. Maybe Ashley becoming Nolan’s next rookie is far-fetched, but the idea is captivating enough to place it on this list.
5
Katie Barnes
Played By: Katy O’Brian
Katy O’Brian’s Katie Barnes is one of the Rookie characters who has lasted the shortest in the FTO program, but to no fault of her own. She became Tim Bradford’s rookie in season 3, episode 11, after Lucy Chen graduated to P2. However, Katie soon realized that she wasn’t ready to be a cop.
Katie joined the LAPD straight out of the military and couldn’t separate her Army training from what she learned at the police academy. As a result, she quit. And Katie hasn’t been seen in the ABC crime drama ever since. That could change in season 8, though.
Even though Katie had decided a career in law enforcement wasn’t for her, the last time we saw her, some time away might have helped her heal and become ready to be a cop. As such, Katie could reapply to the FTO program in The Rookie season 8. Since Tim already has a rookie, Nolan could become Katie’s training officer instead.
4
Miles Penn
Played By: Deric Augustine
Technically, Tim is Miles Penn’s training officer. However, rookies have been known to bounce around from training officer to training officer (e.g., Nolan became Nyla Harper’s rookie in season 2 when Afton Williamson’s Talia Bishop left The Rookie). So, it wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibility for the responsibility of Miles’ training to transfer from Tim to Nolan in season 8.
Tim could get another assignment when The Rookie season 8 premieres, meaning Miles would have to find a different training officer — enter Nolan. The protagonist isn’t currently tied down to any rookie. Consequently, if Tim is unable to teach Miles, Deric Augustine’s character could look to Nolan for guidance.
Since Miles is already a rookie and has been promoted to series regular, his replacing Celina would be more plausible than many other characters. The only issue is that Tim is currently his training officer. Anything could happen in The Rookie season 8, though, that causes Miles to become Nolan’s responsibility.
3
Connor Craig
Played By: David Gridley
David Gridley guest-starred as Connor Craig in The Rookie season 7, episode 12, and he was Celina’s best replacement so far. Unfortunately, he only stuck around for that one episode. At the hour’s beginning, Nolan learned that Connor was his new rookie and quickly discovered why the young man was assigned to him despite already being a year into the FTO program.
Connor didn’t have many (if any) instincts when it came to being a cop. Consequently, his original training officer didn’t want to end his revered career on a “dud” like Connor. As such, Nolan had his work cut out for him.
In only the span of one episode, Nolan pulled off the impossible — he turned Connor into a halfway decent cop. However, that didn’t seem to matter because Lieutenant Grey transferred Connor to a less chaotic station at the end of The Rookie season 7, episode 12. Connor could still return to Mid-Wilshire and finish what he started with Nolan in season 8.
2
Seth Ridley
Played By: Patrick Keleher
Seth Ridley was another candidate to become Celina’s best replacement in The Rookie season 7. However, his time with Nolan came to a tragic and abrupt end when he got shot in the leg while on the job (and while saving Nolan’s life). The doctors had to amputate Seth’s leg, leaving his career with the LAPD up in the air.
It’s entirely possible that we have seen the last of Patrick Keleher’s character in The Rookie. But, Seth could heal and undergo plenty of physical therapy to ensure that he is in shape to serve as a police officer again. Then, he could return to the LAPD (for a second time) and resume his training with Nolan in The Rookie season 8.
1
A New Character
Played By: ?
Despite all the readily available options for Nolan’s next rookie, the most likely candidate is someone we have never met. It would be much more plausible if Lieutenant Grey brought in a new character for Nolan in season 8. Everyone else is technically unavailable in their own ways. As a result, The Rookie cast might be getting a fresh face very soon.
The Rookie won’t return with season 8 until early 2026, when it’s set to air its 18 episodes weekly with little to no interruptions (according to a report from TVLine).
