Hit US police drama The Rookie continues to go from strength to strength, with showrunner Alexi Hawley recently telling Deadline that they plan to "Grey's Anatomy this thing".
That suggests we could see the series running and running, and that's as it has already become the third-longest running drama series for US network ABC.
Right now, fans are waiting to see the highly anticipated ninth season, which officially started filming in July 2026, according to Hawley.
Hawley has said that the season opener's script has already been is "super fun and romantic and emotional [with] a lot of action", and fans are now desperate to see what the show has in store for Nathan Fillion's John Nolan going forward.
So what lies ahead for Nolan and his colleagues in season 9? Here's everything we know about the upcoming season so far.
When is The Rookie's season 9 release date?
Currently, there is no official release date for The Rookie season 9.
However, the show has maintained a regular output throughout its eight-year run – releasing a new season every 12 to 18 months.
For the past two seasons, the show has launched in January, running through to May. Season 6 launched in February 2024, but was initially on track to start this pattern. It was ultimately disrupted due to Hollywood's actors and writers' strikes in 2023, which delayed production and resulted in a shorter episode count.
Filming has now kicked off for season 9 so with this in mind, it's likely they will continue to aim for this release structure, putting season 9's release at sometime in early January 2027.
We will update as we learn more!
What is the plot of The Rookie season 9?
Currently, there is no official word on what the plot of season 9 could be.
The Rookie mainly adheres to a typical 'case of the week' structure of crime police procedurals – but there's also ongoing story threads dealing with the personal lives of the officers we've come to know and love.
But the show has continued to broaden in scope outside the of the police station we first met Nolan in. In season 8, some of the team ended up in Prague as part of an interagency task force to bring down drug traffickers.
With this in mind, the sky's the limit over where the show can go.
Who is in the cast of The Rookie season 9?
It's currently not known who will be returning for season 9 – though Nathan Fillion will almost certainly be back as the titular leading man.
The current main cast of The Rookie season 8 consists of:
- as John Nolan
- as Angela Lopez
- as Wade Grey
- as Lucy Chen
- as Tim Bradford
- as Nyla Harper
- as Wesley Evers
- as Bailey Nune
- as Celina Juarez
- as Miles Penn
Fillion, Diaz, Jones, O'Neil and Winter have appeared in every episode of the series to date.
Bridget Regan has also had the recurring role of Monica Stevens, though only appears in 17 episodes total to date. First appearing in season 5, Monica is a corrupt former lawyer-turned-'information broker' for whoever pays her, making her a long-standing troublemaker and eventually a fugitive.
In season 7's finale, she secured a sketchy immunity deal with Homeland Security to ensure she wouldn't face jail time, and she's since made several appearances in season 8 as an informant for the FBI.
Longterm fans may want to keep an eye out for past villains though as Hawley has already teased that they may be looking to bring some of them back. Speaking to Deadline, Hawley said: "Actually, my plan going into the writers room for season 9 is to have somebody, or somebodies go back to the first couple of early seasons and try and figure out, some of our people that we’ve seen before who might have gone to prison, would they be out by now?
"Like, organically, are there some people that we put away that would actually have served their time, gotten out, and can we bring them back? Because we have some characters from the first couple seasons that I really liked, but obviously they go to jail, so you’re like, well, we can’t do anything with them. It’s nice, we’ve got to a place now where I think we can start to, as real life happens, oh, they’re back out and we do something with them."
Is there a trailer for The Rookie season 9?
There is not yet a trailer for the forthcoming ninth season of The Rookie, since it's just started filming. As and when the trailer for the new season is released, we'll update this page. But, for now, enjoy the trailer for season 8 below.
The Rookie airs in the UK on Sky Witness and NOW.
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