Get ready for an international adventure, Rookies! ABC’s hit procedural, The Rookie, is kicking off its eighth season with a surprising trip to Prague! This exciting news was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con by showrunner Alexi Hawley and star Nathan Fillion, as reported by TVLine.
The country-hopping season premiere has actually already been filmed! Expect to see Officer John Nolan (played by Nathan Fillion) and his wife Bailey (Jenna Dewan) navigating the Czech capital. They’ll be joined by Mekia Cox’s Detective Nyla Harper, Bridget Regan’s ever-slippery Monica Stevens, and Felix Solis’ FBI Supervisory Special Agent Matt Garza (once again crossing over from the now-defunct The Rookie: Feds).
Fans who worried about cast departures after Season 7 can breathe easy! Showrunner Alexi Hawley reassured TVLine that “We’re all good there.” This means we’ll see all our beloved main characters back, including Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), Detective Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox), Detective Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), Sergeant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones), Sergeant (!) Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), Sergeant Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), LAFD’s Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan), ADA Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore), and Officer Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez). Plus, Season 7 addition Deric Augustine has been promoted to series regular as Officer Miles Penn.
What about the story? Hawley revealed to TVLine that The Rookie Season 8 won’t jump far forward in time; it’ll be “fairly continuous” to resolve lingering plot threads. Expect movement for #Chenford (Tim and Lucy) regarding living together, and watch out for more mayhem from the immune Monica Stevens.
The Rookie Season 8 is set to premiere midseason 2026 on ABC. Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, explained to TVLine that this wait-and-spree approach “worked like gangbusters” for Season 7. Get ready for an uninterrupted, 18-episode run!
