The Rookie will return with season 7, and even though fans must wait until 2025 for the next batch of episodes, I think the elongated hiatus will be worth it, thanks to an update regarding the upcoming season’s story. The ABC police procedural series, created by Alexi Hawley, premiered in 2018, and since then has produced six seasons and 108 episodes, an impressive feat for any network show nowadays. The Rookie’s high ratings and dedicated fanbase have contributed to its success. Based on Hawley’s tease about The Rookie season 7, the series’ accomplishments will likely only continue in 2025.
The Rookie season 7’s release date is rather disappointing, given season 6’s delay due to the 2023 writers and actors strikes. But, if waiting just a few months longer for new episodes is what it takes for the ABC show to return to its former glory, the hiatus will be rewarding. The Rookie season 6, which consisted of 10 episodes, was undoubtedly one of the series’ worst. It felt rushed, convoluted, and predictable, and details surrounding season 7 suggest it could (and should) avoid these issues when it premieres in early 2025.
The Rookie Season 7 Will Be More Episodic, Despite Season 6’s Serialized Story
The Rookie season 6 primarily relied on a serialized format, depicting Monica Stevens’ rise to power in the criminal underworld, resulting in an explosive (and poorly executed) finale. However, during an interview with TVLine, showrunner Alexi Hawley revealed that The Rookie season 7 will return to the show’s episodic roots. He explained:
“I do think we’ll go back to being more of a standalone show with serialized elements because it’s going to be a longer season and I think people really do like that. Also, there are the many different ways we tell stories — whether it’s the big event-type episodes, the more rom-com episodes, or with a big guest star — so it’ll be fun to go back to that.”
Since ABC gave the seventh season of the police procedural a larger episode order (18) than season 6, the writers of The Rookie have more wiggle room to let stories breathe and formulate ones that begin and end within one episode. The series is set to return to the basics of any procedural series, and I couldn’t be happier. Of course, fans will have to wait until The Rookie season 7 premieres in early 2025 to see if the good ol’ episodic strategy works. But anything will be better than season 6’s overwhelming and confusing overarching plot.
Why The Rookie Season 7 Being More Episodic Is A Good Thing
The Rookie taking an episodic approach significantly suits it much better than a serialized one. At the end of the day, the series is a procedural, a genre that thrives off of telling stories that are contained within one episode before moving on to the next. Therefore, a procedural show like The Rookie greatly benefits from having longer seasons, as more episodes give it space and time to create an entertaining, well-thought-out, and satisfying season.
Since The Rookie season 7 will contain 18 episodes, straying away from serialized stories is the best decision the writers and producers could make.
The Rookie has been able to accomplish the above when it has more episodes. Seasons 1 and 2 are arguably the ABC show’s best, and they both had 20 episodes featuring an episodic format. Since The Rookie season 7 will contain 18 episodes, straying away from serialized stories is the best decision the writers and producers could make. Instead, the upcoming season will return to the series’ glory days by featuring numerous cases that begin and end in one hour. Unfortunately, though, they will also have to address the cliffhanger from the season 6 finale of The Rookie.
What To Expect From The Rookie Season 7’s Story
As one might recall, The Rookie season 6 ended with Oscar Hutchinson and Jason Wyler escaping prison with Monica’s (who evaded capture in Argentina) help. Oscar has always held an affinity for John Nolan, while Jason is Bailey’s scorned ex-husband. Consequently, John and Bailey are in danger in season 7. So, the premiere will either only tease Oscar and Jason’s plans now that they are free, or it will resolve this rather boring storyline by the hour’s end. Hopefully, given Alexi Hawley’s comments about The Rookie season 7 being episodic, it’s the latter.
Meanwhile, John and Bailey decided they wanted to adopt a child during the last episode of The Rookie season 6. Jason’s return may delay those plans, though. As for the ABC police procedural’s other main relationship, Tim and Lucy didn’t rekindle their romance by the finale’s end. Neither was ready to jump back into a relationship. However, with time (which season 7 will give them a lot of), Tim and Lucy will likely find their way back to one another in The Rookie.
