Since its debut in 2018, The Rookie has kept viewers on the edge of their seats, awaiting the next twist — and the news of a potential season 7 is no exception.
Starring Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, the ABC series follows the police officer as he navigates his career as the oldest rookie to join the Los Angeles Police Department.
Over the past six seasons, his storyline has intertwined with his fellow LAPD coworkers, who have become close friends, facing a slew of emergencies alongside him. Away from work, he’s also connected with others like his now-wife Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan). After marrying at the beginning of season 6, the couple has had to figure out if parenthood is the next step for them but the answer hasn’t been clear cut.
The procedural crime drama also follows other characters’ journeys, including Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter). After leaning into their chemistry, Chenford hit a bump in the road when someone from Bradford’s past returned and derailed his personal and professional life.
Meanwhile, Thorsen went back to work but not before processing his trauma with psychologist Dr. Blair London (Danielle Campbell), who also takes Bradford as a client. But it wasn’t long before Dr. London was revealed to have been feeding secrets from LAPD officers to the ruthless lawyer Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), and things turned for the worst.
From renewal news to a release date and the returning cast, here’s everything to know about The Rookie season 7.
Will there be The Rookie season 7?
The Rookie is coming back with season 7.
In April 2024, ahead of the season 6 finale, ABC renewed the procedural drama for a new installment. After Deadline announced the news, Fillion expressed his joy the following day on Instagram, alongside a screenshot of the publication’s article.
“It’s a good feeling to have work,” he wrote. “It’s even better to be able to take pride in that work. If you are among those who are enjoying The Rookie, we owe you our thanks.”
The actor continued, “Thank you, for having excellent taste in entertainment. Season 7, here we come. (And let’s not forget ABC! Thanks for being so supportive!).”
When is The Rookie season 7 release date?
As of right now, The Rookie season 7 has no release date.
That said, ABC confirmed that The Rookie season 7 will come back “midseason” during their fall 2024-2025 primetime lineup, and Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich hinted to TVLine that a premiere date could be in January 2025.
“The Rookie and Will Trent are two of the cornerstones of our schedule,” he said of the shows returning midseason. “The Rookie is an amazing story, where at this point in its life cycle [six seasons in] it continues to grow. We see not just the current season but past seasons drive a tremendous amount of viewing on Hulu.”
Erwich continued, “It felt like the best way to platform those shows for success was to launch them in January, when we have this huge promotional platform in New Years Rockin’ Eve as well as college sports and Christmas programming, and also to give these shows an uninterrupted run.”
Although season 6 of the The Rookie took short breaks while on the air, he said that will not be the case for season 7.
“They’re going to go straight through,” Erwich added. “And that kind of momentum of original episodes week-in and week-out is just a very powerful engine for both of these shows.”
How many episodes will The Rookie season 7 have?
It has not been confirmed how many episodes The Rookie season 7 will contain.
The first two seasons had 20 episodes each, followed by 14 episodes in season 3. Meanwhile, seasons 4 and 5 were increased to 22 episodes each, but season 6 was the shortest yet, with just 10 episodes after a delayed release due to the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Who is in the cast of The Rookie season 7?
Currently, no cast member exits have been announced at the end of season 6, and if this remains true, The Rookie season 7 cast could feature familiar faces, like Nathan Fillion, who also serves as an executive producer, coming back as John Nolan.
Additional actors include Eric Winter as Tim Bradford, Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen, Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune, Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen and Lisseth Chavez as Celina Juarez.
Where can I watch The Rookie?
The Rookie airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
If you can’t watch it on a TV, you can stream it online via the ABC website with a cable provider login or through a live-streaming service that offers the ABC channel, like YouTube TV, fuboTV, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV.
New episodes are available to watch the next day on Hulu, where the first six seasons are also offered. In addition, past seasons can be purchased on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Google Play.
