The Rookie Showrunner Talks Nolan’s Self-Doubt, Full-Circle Training Officer Trio, & Chenford’s Will They/Won’t They Dynamic In Season 7

The Rookie season 7 debuted January 7 on ABC and will release new episodes every Tuesday at 10 p.m ET. The premiere sees Nolan hesitate to take a shot that could have saved a life, making him question whether he returned to work too soon. Meanwhile, Tim and Lucy are each assigned a trainee, and the exes make a bet over who can train the better rookie. Season 7 stars Nathan Fillion, Eric Winter, Melissa O’Neil, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, and Lisseth Chavez.

“The Shot” features two noticeable character absences, with neither Bailey nor Aaron making an onscreen appearance. While Dewan was unable to film the first few episodes due to her pregnancy, showrunner Alexi Hawley confirms that the firefighter will return at the end of Episode Three. However, as announced by Tru Valentino in August 2024, Aaron will not be a series regular in season 7. Hawley shares that writing out the character was a creative decision, and the premiere reveals that Officer Thorsen transferred to North Hollywood.

ScreenRant interviews Hawley about Nolan’s storyline, building the new trainees around Tim and Lucy, whether Aaron could return, and what to expect throughout The Rookie season 7.

Wesley Will Continue To Carry The Weight Of Graham’s Recordings In The Rookie Season 7

You put Nolan on a journey of self-doubt in this episode. What inspired you to do that at the beginning of season 7?

Alexi Hawley: Yeah, I mean, given that he ended season 6 being shot for the first time in his life and his career and sort of forcing himself to come back probably a little too soon just because of Jason being out there and wanting to protect his wife and his family. And just to get to a place, whereas a man, as he says, of a certain age—not only did he come back too soon, but is he still up for the job?

And so to get him to a place where in a split second moment he makes a decision and then second guesses it—it’s just a very human thing to do. The joy of Nathan as an actor is he’s not afraid to fall down. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable and to fail. And so it just makes him very relatable to see him struggle a bit.

I loved Wesley’s storyline. He’s got this information about Detective Graham that is haunting him, but he can’t say anything. Will that continue to play a role throughout the season?

Alexi Hawley: That definitely plays forward. When we came into the season, it was important for us to keep the corruption scandal alive, not just to brush it under the rug, so to speak. It became a fun way to have Wesley come in to be a bit of the hall monitor, so to speak, inside the department, but then stumble across something not criminal, but personal. He’s going to have to carry the weight of the secret that he knows that there’s a cop who’s got the hots for his wife, and he can’t tell anyone. It works all day, so we definitely play it forward.

Tim was also a patient of Blair’s, and so he presumably has recordings. Could that ever come up?

Alexi Hawley: It could. Just to be transparent, that’s not in our plans to come forward in the future. I don’t think there’s an expectation that he said anything that would create story for us other than some hard honest things that Wesley probably felt super uncomfortable listening to.

The New Trainees Were Created To Challenge Tim And Lucy In The Rookie Season 7

You talked about this a bit earlier, but when you were creating Penn and Ridley, were you building their personalities around who would challenge Tim and Lucy the most?

Alexi Hawley: Yes. Yeah, for sure. I definitely knew coming out of last season that the fun of Lucy becoming a training officer, at least potentially temporarily for us, allowed us to have a bit of a restart on her relationship. We’re always looking for some way to make somebody a rookie, so another rookie training officer.

It became the fun of, who do they get? Who’s a better foil for them? Obviously, for Tim, having somebody who was not scared of him seemed like a fun idea. And for Lucy, having somebody who works her last nerve constantly in his earnest—nobody is nicer than Seth on his face. It seems cruel to be mean to him, but yet, also watch your muzzle.

It was a great episode for Tim and Lucy. Now that they’re in a better place, are you trying to get back to that will they/won’t they dynamic? What can you share about their storyline going forward?

Alexi Hawley: Yeah, I mean I think we are. I don’t think you could avoid it. Their chemistry is so dynamic. It’s just baked in. But part of the journey that they’re on is, what does it look like going forward? And are the feelings still there? And if they are, can Lucy trust him again? And if so, he’s still her supervisor, which means it’s not okay, right? So there’s all these obstacles still, but I think obviously there’s a desire down at the core of this for that to happen.

Lucy has always wanted to be an undercover officer, but she didn’t do well on the detective’s exam. Now that she has this temporary training officer opportunity, could she stumble down a different path?

Alexi Hawley: She could. We’re definitely exploring that this season. It was important in the fallout of Tim sort of blowing up their relationship that Lucy come out of it with a renewed sense of agency, of not being a victim, of ultimately needing to make her career a priority.

Part of the reason that she scored so low on the detective’s exam, which she passed, but she’s just so far down the list that there’s not going to be a spot that opens up, is because she put herself out there and put together this five-player trade to get Tim a better job. And so I think there’s definitely a sense of her going, “I’ve got to look out for myself here. I got to make myself a priority,” which I think is super positive for her.

Simone Could Return To The Rookie Universe If Niecy Nash’s Schedule Allows

Jenna Dewan is obviously not in the premiere due to outside circumstances. Are you able to say when Bailey will return?

Alexi Hawley: Yeah. I mean, Jenna had a baby, so we see her at the end of Episode Three, basically.

The Rookie has been incorporating characters from The Rookie: Feds. Could we see Simone in the future?

Alexi Hawley: We would obviously love to have Niecy [Nash] back in our universe. Niecy is a very busy woman, and so I guess I can say that we’re not necessarily going to see her again in the near term, but hold out hope that she’s got a window for us.

Something felt so full-circle about seeing Tim, Lucy, and Nolan all at the training officer table together. That trio is so comedic. Will we see more of them now that they’re in the same role?

Alexi Hawley: Oh yeah. We definitely lean into [that]. And it’s interesting, because obviously Tim was a training officer when we started the show, but to see Lucy and Nolan now just get to a point where they’re equals of a sword. Obviously, Tim’s still a sergeant, and they’re not. But yeah, it sort of shows the growth of the show. They’re always fun together.