The Rookie Season 8 Is Officially On Production Revealed By Miles Penn Actor With A New BTS Image

The Rookie actor Deric Augustine, who plays Miles Penn on the ABC procedural, has dropped a BTS image confirming season 8 is officially in production. Augustine joined the cast of The Rookie in season 7, when his character Miles trained under series regular Tim Bradford. Though Miles got off to a rocky start with both Tim and his love interest Lucy Chen, he eventually earns the respect of both. With The Rookie season 8 renewed, Miles is set to return, with Augustine revealing that the season is now in production.

Per his X account, Augustine posted a captionless image showing the script for The Rookie season 8, episode 1, complete with a highlighter pen, indicating that the season has now officially entered production. The episode title has yet to be confirmed and is presented on the script’s title page as “TBD,” while the image cuts off before the writer of the episode is revealed.

What This Means For The Rookie Season 8

The Season Could Start Shooting Very Soon

The Rookie season 7 finale episode aired May 13, and season 8 has entered pre-production already, suggesting showrunner Alexi Hawley has a very definite plan for where he wants to take the season. With over 100 episodes aired, The Rookie is one of the most prominent and successful shows on network television, but it could be due a period of evolution or reinvention in order to keep things interesting and engaging. The fact the script for the premiere is already circulating around the cast suggests several scripts have already been penned, and the new season could start shooting pretty soon.

Network TV shows often have intense filming schedules, and given that seasons typically end in May and new ones begin in September, there is a window of a few months to shoot multiple episodes. Per Deadline, The Rookie season 8 is expected to have 18 episodes, and, as such, filming will likely begin imminently, with the first episode confirmed as already scripted.

Our Take On The Rookie Season 8

The Season Will Likely Stick To Its Winning Formula

The Rookie season 8 is expected to adopt the same formula as previous seasons, using the season 7 finale as a road map for how events unfold. However, there will likely be a few fresh changes, some new characters could come to the forefront, and characters like Miles could have meaty story arcs. Many viewers will be keen to know what the future holds for Chenford, and whether the fan-favorite couple will reconcile. There is plenty to cover in the next season of The Rookie, and the hard work begins now.