New ‘The Rookie’ Season 7 Trailer: The Series’ Future Looks Exciting

As reported by Variety, The Rookie season 7 is adding two new characters to the LAPD team — Deric Augustine as Miles and Patrick Kelehe as Seth, two rookie police officers. Augustine and Kelehe are being described as recurring guest stars. While Miles is the newest rookie at Mid-Wilshire, Seth is a transfer from Texas who has already served two years. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, ABC released a sneak peek at The Rookie season 7, which featured a first look at Miles and Seth.

Most of the video’s footage is clips from previous seasons, reminiscing how far The Rookie has come since season 1. However, toward the end of the teaser, Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan introduces himself to the two new rookies in the locker room, which presumably occurs during the season 7 premiere.

Nolan asks Eric Winter’s Tim Bradford (who was talking to Miles and Seth before Nolan arrived), “Are these the academy’s finest?” Bradford responds, “Negative. These two were scraped from the bottom of the barrel,” which is harsh, but it’s coming from Bradford, after all. Knowing what it’s like to be a rookie, Nolan tells the two young men, “Welcome to the crucible, gentlemen. I look forward to learning your names if you survive the week.” Hopefully, Nolan will get the chance to remember Miles and Seth in The Rookie season 7.

The New Characters Are Bringing The Rookie Back To Its Roots

Tim Bradford’s Season 1 Demeanor With Rookies Is Making A Comeback

Although the sneak peek is relatively short, it tells us a lot about what’s to come when The Rookie season 7’s release date arrives. Firstly, the addition of new rookies proves that the writers are trying to take the police procedural series back to its roots. At its core, The Rookie is about rookie police officers (if one can’t tell by its name). Of course, the show’s main appeal when it premiered in 2018, other than Nathan Fillion, was that Fillion’s character was a middle-aged man who moved to Los Angeles to become a cop after working as a contractor all his life.

Based on the Rookie season 7 sneak peek, it appears that [Tim] Bradford will also be working with Miles and Seth, and his stern teaching style reminds me of the good old days.

While Miles and Seth aren’t middle-aged, the two new Rookie characters should bring the series back to the days of inexperienced, bright-eyed cops facing the harsh reality of working as LAPD officers. Season 5 kind of did this when Nolan started training Celina Juarez. However, Nolan and Celina’s dynamic was quite different from those between training officers and rookies in season 1. Based on the Rookie season 7 sneak peek, it appears that Bradford will also be working with Miles and Seth, and his stern teaching style reminds me of the good old days.

The Rookie Season 7’s Episodic Format Is Also Promising

Season 7 Will Consist Of 18 Episodes

Aside from the two new rookies, the writers are already doing one other thing right — The Rookie season 7’s big story promise. Instead of utilizing a serialized format as they did in season 6, the writers are returning to an episodic formula while planning season 7’s 18 episodes. So, instead of focusing on a convoluted overarching storyline, The Rookie season 7 will feature case-of-the-week episodes, which were one of the best parts of the ABC police procedural show’s early seasons.