The Rookie star Eric Winter explains ABC’s decision to postpone the season 7 release of the hit police procedural until early 2025. Based on the real-life story of LAPD police officer William Norcross, the show stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, who becomes the oldest rookie in the LAPD in his 40s, with a strong supporting cast that includes Winter, Richard T. Jones, Shawn Ashmore, and Jenna Dewan. While The Rookie was renewed for season 7, ABC revealed that the show wouldn’t return until midseason in 2025, instead of its regular fall schedule, raising concerns as to why this decision was made.
In an interview with Hello Magazine, Eric Winter, who plays no-nonsense training officer Tim Bradford, revealed that the network’s decision on the season 7 delay was based on the fact that it is an election year. He elaborated that ABC was keen to protect one of its most popular franchises, resulting in its delay to 2025. Check out Winter’s comments below:
“I was very nervous at first I’ll be honest, I was bummed. But then, I talked to a lot of people at the upfronts and it made perfect sense. I know how much of a priority The Rookie is to ABC and with this being an election year and a lot of time being devoted to those sorts of things, they’re trying to protect the show.
There would be too many gaps, and the fans don’t love that. So they’re really trying to put us in a lineup where we can give eight episodes in a row with no interruption and so I appreciate it for that reason.”
Will A Different Release Date Impact The Success Of The Rookie Season 7?
With the presidential election looming on November 5, such a seminal event would likely take a lot of viewers from The Rookie , so this is certainly a shrewd move by ABC, particularly as the show will be returning to long-form storytelling again.
The Rookie has been a major success for ABC, despite season 6 having a truncated 10-episode length due to the strikes. Therefore, giving season 7 a different release date seems to be a move to preserve viewership, especially since new episodes air on Tuesdays. With the presidential election looming on November 5, such a seminal event would likely take a lot of viewers from The Rookie, so this is certainly a shrewd move by ABC, particularly as the show will be returning to long-form storytelling again.
Plot details are currently under wraps, but showrunner Alexi Hawley seemingly confirmed that Dewan is set to miss early episodes of season 7, which could impact the plot. She portrays a firefighter and John Nolan’s wife, Bailey, and a major plot point saw her abusive ex-husband breaking out of prison in The Rookie season 6 finale, which is likely to set up a major season 7 arc. Elsewhere, the lack of a ‘Chenford’ reunion in the finale is also a storyline that could be explored in greater detail in season 7, which could be fleshed out more with a higher episode count.
There is a chance that a different schedule could hurt viewing figures due to the huge gap between seasons. However, it does allow for the whole season to run uninterrupted, and being that the show will return to longer seasons with an 18-episode count, this could be essential. The fact season 6 also had a delayed premiere date could have been a factor in this decision, as the network (and audience) have experienced this delay before. Therefore, waiting a little longer for The Rookie is something viewers should be more prepared to do.
