As The Rookie Season 8 wrapped up with an intense and action-packed finale on ABC, creator Alexi Hawley has teased Chenford (Tim and Lucy) and the LAPD’s future in the upcoming season. The network’s cop drama has already been renewed for Season 9, making it the third-longest-running series on ABC, following Grey’s Anatomy and NYPD Blue.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Hawley unpacked the jaw-dropping cliffhanger in The Rookie Season 8 finale, where Tim and Lucy were abducted by two of Heath Everett’s men. As the hour came to a close, John Nolan and the team managed to put Everett behind bars but he played his final move, moments after Tim proposed to Lucy.
As The Rookie heads into its ninth season, the LAPD will race against time to save two of their own, while many familiar faces will return, ensuring exciting twists and turns in the next chapter.
More on this in our story.
The Rookie Season 8 finale concludes with Chenford’s uncertain fate
To jog your memory a bit, Heath Everett is a menacing criminal introduced in the eighth episode, who sold his private mercenaries’ services to countries accused of war crimes. While Nolan and Grey were in charge of transferring several high-risk inmates (including Everett) from Vegas to LA, he planned an escape by practically forcing the Pilot for an emergency landing on the water. However, Tim Bradford caught him before he could succeed. Everett then went on to offer a $10 million deal to Tim in exchange for his freedom, which he naturally declined and put the criminal behind bars.
While Heath Everett’s escape operation failed yet again in The Rookie Season 8 finale, he had the final laugh. The final moments saw Everett successfully orchestrate Chenford’s kidnapping, even in custody. As Tim and Lucy were abducted by two of Everett’s men, Hawley teased that The Rookie Season 9 will reveal the real mastermind:
”So yeah, I think there’s a right hand person out there that is pulling these strings for sure.”
The Rookie Season 9 updates: Old villains and new rookies
The Rookie Season 8 finale featured another interesting development for Miles, who was made in charge of the precinct while the team was occupied with Everett’s escape. The situation became chaotic when an unprocessed gunman started a shootout that led to a prisoner’s death, which made Miles question his capabilities. While the rookie was contemplating his future, Nyla offered to put in a recommendation to accelerate Miles’ graduation, suggesting he would no longer be a rookie when the series returns for Season 9.
But justifying its name, Hawley has teased that the upcoming season will introduce new rookies and characters in the LAPD, ensuring fresh narratives:
”Going into Season 9, we would need a new rookie, at least one. I want to figure that out.”
While The Rookie creator was tight-lipped, the latest season suggested Dash, the drone kid, could explore a career in the LAPD but he is a little too young to join the programme for now.
Speaking of new characters, another exciting The Rookie Season 9 update features the return of OG and long-forgotten villains. Liam Glasser, Monica Stevens and Oscar Hutchinson ruled The Rookie Season 8 but the upcoming season will reintroduce some old and forgotten villains into the fold, as Hawley teased:
”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?”
The Rookie Season 8 creator teased that the upcoming season could very well check in with some freshman season villains, who will likely be out by now. This could certainly bring a fresh narrative to the series, as it heads into its ninth season.
You can stream the Season 8 finale on Hulu.
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Edited by Aashna