‘The Rookie’ Season 7 Will Focus More on Nolan and Bailey

Although fans won’t be getting another season of ABC’s The Rookie until 2025, showrunner Alexi Hawley has some early teases for the upcoming season. While speaking with TV Insider, Hawley pointed out how season 6’s finale will have a direct connection with the new season, especially with how complicated things would get for Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Bailey (Jenna Dewan) due to Bailey’s ex-husband Jason’s (Steve Kazee) prison escape.

“The stakes are there. Obviously, there’s a danger lurking,” the showrunner explains. “On the completely practical side, Jenna [Dewan]’s about to have a baby in real life, so we do have to navigate that at the beginning of the season. So I think we’ll have to slow roll slightly and that, but yeah, look, especially in the adoption story, they do live dangerous lives. She’s going to have an ex-husband slash stalker out there. How does that impact them on a personal level will be interesting to explore.”

Earlier in April, The Rookie was renewed for a seventh season; however, during ABC’s announcement of their fall schedule for scripted and unscripted programming, it was revealed that season 7 would be placed on hold until next year. As of right now, no details have been revealed yet about the upcoming season, but fans can expect the storyline to explore the unfinished twists from season 6, including how the villains who escaped in the finale are getting by.

The Rookie is set to have a bigger and more intense season 7 thanks to the escapees in the previous season, and while Jason is not the only one free, he is expected to be the most direct threat. In EP Hawley’s words, “Without spoiling too much, because I don’t know everything at this point, I think Jason’s probably the most immediate problem. I can’t necessarily comment on Oscar (Matthew Glave) and Monica (Bridget Regan) yet, but I think obviously Jason is the one with the most specific, the most harmful intent towards anybody on our show at the moment.”

The show’s creator also admits that while there are some big shoes to fill following season 6, he loves that there is always the challenge to do even better while figuring out how to lean more into how much the audience loves the characters. He then adds, “I feel super lucky that we get to have fun every week, even if we do some stuff that’s high stakes or tragic or whatever, that tonally because we do everything, it allows us to really give you an episode every week that just really keeps you on the edge of your seat.”

Seasons 1-6 of The Rookie are available to stream on Hulu. Stay tuned to Collider for more information on season 7.

The Rookie

Starting over isn’t easy, especially for John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of joining the LAPD. As their oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from those who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.

Release Date

October 16, 2018

Seasons

6

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