After an elongated hiatus,The Rookieis back with season 7, andfollowing a chaotic sixth season, viewers must prepare for the new episodes by remembering everything important that happened in the past.The ABC police procedural series, created by Alexi Hawley, revolves around a group of law enforcement officers,including Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan. At the beginning ofThe Rookie, Nolan was a middle-aged rookie who moved from the East Coast to Los Angeles after a divorce. Now, Nolan is the one training rookies.
The Rookieseason 7, episode 1, “The Shot,” premieres on Tuesday, August 20, 2025, at 10 pm ET on ABC. Season 7 consists of 18 episodes.
Over the course ofThe Rookie’s ten-episode sixth season,the characters experienced many highs and lows, from a wedding to a devastating breakup.So, season 7 has much to address.The ending ofThe Rookieseason 6 even included a cliffhangerthat, based on trailers for the upcoming episodes, the premiere will address immediately. Fans won’t have to wait too long to get answers (aside from the crime drama’s seven-month hiatus between seasons 6 and 7).
10Oscar & Jason Escaped From Prison
The Two Rookie Villains Are On The Run
The Rookieseason 6 finale endedon a cliffhanger — Oscar Hutchinson and Jason Wyler escaped from prison. As a gift for helping Monica Stevens with her own villainous endeavors, she aided Oscar and Jason’s breakout. Consequently, they walked out of the penitentiary with ease. Oscar and Jason strode out, dressed in guards' uniforms, and found the car that Monica left for them. When Oscar asked Jason where he wanted to go,Bailey Nune’s ex-husband revealed he wanted to return to Los Angeles.
The Rookie: 10 Missing Characters I’d Love To See Return In Season 7
When The Rookie finally returns with season 7 in 2025, the new episodes should bring back a handful of characters who haven’t been seen in a while.
Jason undoubtedly wants to get revenge on Nolan and Baileyas they are the main reason he ended up in prison. So, when season 7 opens, the officers will be searching for Jason (and Oscar, of course). However, Jason is likely the bigger threat out of the twoThe Rookievillainsbecause he will want to target two of the show’s main characters. Given that Nolan and Bailey are two of the main characters, though, viewers should not worry too much about their well-being in the season 7 premiere.
9Nolan & Bailey Got Married
The 100th Episode Celebrated The Couple’s Wedding
On a happier note, Nolan and Bailey got married duringThe Rookie’s 100th episode(after a handful of obstacles). The second episode of season 6 was full of joy, celebration, and unfortunate disasters. Their original wedding venue became suddenly unavailable; Nolan had to deal with Oscar’s lawsuit; Skip Tracer Randy pawned Bailey’s ring; the minister got stuck in traffic; Henry Nolan’s flight was canceled; etc. Still,Nolan and Bailey somehow made it down the aisle after getting engaged early on in season 5,and the two are happier than ever.
Aaron Thorsen helped Nolan and Bailey find a last-minute venue. Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen got Bailey’s ring back. Wade Grey ended up officiating the wedding. Henry found a way to make it to his father’s wedding. So, everything worked out bythe end ofThe Rookieseason 6, episode 2, andNolan and Bailey can live happily ever after (for now).
8Celina Moved In With Lucy
Tamara Moved Out In The Rookie Season 6
A small but important event happened between an unlikely pair inThe Rookieseason 6 — Lucy and Celina Juarez moved in together. Well,Celina moved into Lucy’s apartment.Lucy and Tamara Colins lived together for a long time, but the younger woman decided it was time for her to leave and set out on her own journey in season 6. As a result, Lucy had an extra room up for grabs.
Unfortunately, the end of the season didn’t allow much room for Lucy and Celina’s newfound friendship to grow, but there’s a chance that season 7 will circle back to the intriguing dynamic.
Meanwhile, Celina was on a search to find an affordable apartment in Los Angeles that she was also fond of (which is a difficult task for anyone). Thankfully for Celina,Lucy’s place had a vacancy.The two women decided that Celina would move in (afterTim and Lucy’s breakup inThe Rookieseason 6, episode 6). Unfortunately, the end of the season didn’t allow much room for Lucy and Celina’s newfound friendship to grow, but there’s a chance that season 7 will circle back to the intriguing dynamic.
7Nolan & Bailey Want To Adopt A Baby
The Couple Decided Against Trying To Get Pregnant
After getting married,Nolan and Bailey took the next step in their relationship inThe Rookieseason 6.Unfortunately, having children proved not to be so easy for the couple. They had trouble getting pregnant, and Bailey learned that she would have to start IVF treatments if she wanted a chance to bear offspring. Bailey decided she didn’t want to go through the expensive care. So,Nolan and hisRookielove intereststopped trying to have a baby. However, that wouldn’t be the end of their parenthood journey.
At the beginning of the season 6 finale ofThe Rookie, Nolan asked Bailey how she felt about adoption. Bailey was hesitant at first but had come around to the idea by the hour’s end. Now,Nolan and Bailey will assumingly be going through the adoption processwhenThe Rookieseason 7 premieres(probably after dealing with the whole “Jason broke out of prison” situation, of course).
6Tim & Lucy Broke Up
Tim Ended The Relationship In Season 6, Episode 6
One of the saddestmoments fromThe Rookieseason 6was Tim and Lucy’s breakup in episode 6. Based on everything leading up to the heartbreaking scene between Eric Winter and Melissa O’Neil’s characters, the split wasn’t all that surprising. Nevertheless,Tim and Lucy getting separated shortly after they finally got together(following a five-season slow-burn romance no less) was devastating to many viewers and the characters.
Tim went through a lot inThe Rookieseason 6, especially after his military past came back to haunt him. He tried facing his demons alone, shutting Lucy out. Lucy was stubborn, though, and eventually convinced Tim to let her help him. Sadly, once all was said and done,Tim decided the best thing for Lucy was for him to break up with her.Tim felt as if he didn’t deserve her. Even though Lucy tried to change his mind, Tim couldn’t take back his words.The Rookieseason 6 ended without a Chenford reunion, meaning one might be in store for season 7.
5Tim Started Attending Therapy
Blair Was Tim’s Doctor
The good news is thatTim started to put the work into getting better inThe Rookieseason 6.After breaking up with Lucy, he started therapy. Unfortunately, his therapist was Dr. Blair London, who also happened to be Aaron’s psychiatrist and was working with Monica. Despite his doctor’s nefarious intentions, Tim still walked away from her feeling better about himself. Hopefully, he will find a therapist who isn’t evil inThe Rookieseason 7 and continue his progress. During an interview withTVLine,The Rookieshowrunner Alexi Hawley discussed Tim’s season 7 arc. He revealed:
“Tim does [still have to work on himself], he does. We’ll definitely see a bit of that this season. At some point, we have a scene where he’s at a veterans support group, so he’s still trying to do the work on himself. And look, the good news is that he understandswhathe did wrong. But in terms of thewhy, that is still something he’s trying to figure out, and sort of punishing himself for his own failures. The worst thing he could possibly think to do to himself was to break up with Lucy, and he’s going to figure that fully out, and then also deal with the repercussions of that. But you know, we really wanted to come into this season with positivity about Tim and Lucy. Obviously, they did do a lot of work, Tim especially, at the end of last season. It did feel like they were coming back together in a way that was at least positive.”
Based on Hawley’s comments,Tim was punishing himself by breaking up with Lucy inThe Rookieseason 6. So, he needs to process his own feelings of failure before being ready to be in a fully committed relationship with Lucy. Only time will tell if she will be ready to accept him back into her life, though.
4Tru Valentino Exited The Rookie After Season 6
Aaron Isn’t In Season 7
Unfortunately,whenThe Rookieseason 7 releases, it will have one less main cast member.Tru Valentino, who plays Aaron Thorsen and was introduced in season 4, has exited the seriesahead of the season 7 premiere. Consequently, the season 6 finale was Aaron’s last appearance (for now). The actor’s departure was seemingly a creative decision on the writers' part, but Aaron’s story isn’t necessarily over in the ABC police procedural TV show.
Patrick Kelehe
Seth Ridley
Aaron’sThe Rookieseason 7 exit might not be permanent, based on comments from Valentino and Hawley. The showrunner toldScreen Rantthat the door is open for Aaron’s return. So, it stands to reason that the character won’t die offscreen at the beginning of season 7, episode 1. Hawley said:
“Of course. Tru [Valentino] is a great actor, and he was a huge part of our show for several seasons, and so we’d love to have him back in some capacity. It just ultimately felt like, creatively, for where the show was going, that we needed to pivot a bit. But he’s still very much alive in our universe.”
3Monica Got Away During The Season 6 Finale
The Officers Couldn’t Catch The Villain
Although the team’s focus might be on catching Oscar andJason duringThe Rookieseason 7 premiere, they still have to worry about Monica.Season 6’s villain escaped the LAPD’s clutches in Argentinaduring the finale. She had a meeting with another criminal there, and some of the main characters followed her. They busted the meeting, and chaos ensued. Amongst the mayhem, Monica was able to get away, andThe Rookieseason 6, episode 10, surely won’t be the last time fans see the character.
Monica should return in some fashion inThe Rookieseason 7, whether it’s for an episode to close out her story once and for all or a multi-episode arc to dive deeper into her nefarious ways. Whatever the case,Nolan and co. should be concerned about Monicaand her whereabouts following the season 6 finale.
2The Rookie: Feds Characters Crossed Over In The Finale
Felix Solis, Kevin Zegers, & Britt Robertson Guest Starred
ABC canceledThe Rookie: Fedsafter only one season, but, thankfully, its ending didn’t mean the spinoff’s characters couldn’t guest star in the main series. During the season 6 finale, Felix Solis as Matt Garza, Kevin Zegers as Brendon Acres, and Britt Robertson as Laura Stensen appeared to help the LAPD catch Monica.The threeThe Rookie: Fedscharacters joined Nolan and Nyla Harper on their missionin Argentina.
All 8 The Rookie Characters That Appear In The Rookie: Feds Spinoff
The Rookie: Feds is a spinoff of the popular ABC drama series The Rookie, so numerous characters from the parent show crossover to the second one.
Given thatGarza, Brendon, and Laura were able to return inThe Rookie,perhaps morecharacters fromThe Rookie: Fedswill make cameosin season 7. No one has been confirmed to appear, but the possibility is out there following the season 6 finale. Hopefully, Niecy Nash is somehow able to reprise herFedsrole as Simone Clark for an episode (or two) inThe Rookieseason 7.
1Two New Rookies Join The Season 7 Cast
The Rookie Season 7 Introduces Miles & Seth
WhileTru Valentino is leaving the cast ofThe Rookieahead of season 7, two other actors are joining it in recurring roles.Deric Augustine and Patrick Kelehe are playing Miles Penn and Seth Ridley, respectively,two new rookies at Mid-Wilshire. As for who their training officers are, Nolan is still with Celina, and Harper and Angela Lopez were promoted to detectives a long time ago. Tim might be serving as one of their training officers, though.
The Rookiehas been in need of some fresh blood, and it will be intriguing to see how Miles and Seth mesh with the other characters in season 7. Not much is known about their characters, aside from the fact thatMiles served as a cop for two years in Texas before starting over by moving to Los Angeles.To find out more about Miles and Seth, fans will just have to watchThe Rookieseason 7 on ABC.
The Rookie
Cast
The Rookie follows John Nolan, a small-town man who embarks on a new career as an LAPD officer after a life-changing event. As the force’s oldest rookie, Nolan faces skepticism from superiors who view his pursuit as a midlife crisis.
