The Rookie Season 5 ended with a squad member’s fate hanging in the balance. Although the hit police procedural was renewed by ABC for another season, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike caused a major stall in the production of Season 6 and fans have had to wait longer than anticipated to see if office Aaron Thorsen will wake up from his coma. So, when does The Rookie return for Season 6? Keep reading to find out.
Inspired by the true story of real-life LAPD officer William Norcross, The Rookie follows John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), a 40-year-old freshly divorced man who abruptly moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of being a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. The series has gone on to have incredible success, with the Season 5 premiere earning 8.2 million total viewers, according to an ABC press release. It even spawned a spin-off series, The Rookie: Feds, although the show was cancelled after one season in November 2023.
Fillion spoke to the show’s success in an interview with the Toronto Sun, telling the outlet: “It’s a police show, so there’s a lot of drama and excitement there. But I think there’s something relatable about the redo and the restart. Dropping everything and push into something entirely different. That’s a new reality for a lot of people, especially coming out of the pandemic. We’ve all reprioritized and made changes. People have quit jobs and people can relate to change.”
With Season 5 ending on a major cliffhanger, fans are dying to know when Season 6 of The Rookie will return. Below, find out everything there is to know about Season 6’s release date.
When does The Rookie return for Season 6?
Good news for The Rookie fans! Season 6 of the hit police procedural is officially underway. Actor Eric Winter, who stars on the show as training officer Tim Bradford (and also played Rex Brady on Days of Our Lives), gave fans an update on The Rookie Season 6 on social media on November 9. Not long after the strikes ended, The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley posted a photo of the season 6 premiere script on X (formerly known as Twitter). Winter then reposted the photo, writing in his caption: “🔥🔥🔥🔥 let’s go @therookie fam! #therookie.”
Fans were thrilled to see that Winter was getting back to work on The Rookie, with one fan writing in his comments section, “OMG ERIC HI WELCOME BACK WE’RE SOOO READY FOR YOU GUYS SEASON 6 LET’S GOOO AHHHH!!!” Another commented: “Can’t wait to have you all back on screen!! I miss you.” A third fan referenced Winter’s character’s relationship with Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), writing, “So excited for [season] 6 especially what’s next for #Chenford. Miss Metro Tim!”
🔥🔥🔥🔥 let’s go @therookie fam! #therookie https://t.co/MsZ3cBiaqe
— Eric Winter (@EricWinter1) November 10, 2023
Winter had previously shared his excitement about The Rookie being renewed for Season 6, writing on Instagram: “Could not be happier with the news we got today!! @therookieabc fans get ready! We are coming in 🔥🔥🔥 congrats to our entire cast and crew! We love what we do. @alexihawley @abcnetwork @eone_tv thank you for making this show possible! #therookie #season6 #bradford.” His post received plenty of praise from fans, with one writing that Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen’s relationship was their favorite part of the show: “We love you for what you do, that whole ensemble is terrific, but Chenford is that cherry topper! Bring in the heat, love, angst, and action, can’t wait! 🔥❤️.”
However, fans still have a ways to go until they can watch more #Chenford action on their screens again. While ABC has not yet announced an official release date for The Rookie Season 6, the earliest expected release date is January 2024, though it could take even longer for Season 6 to make it to the air. If ABC follows the same schedule for CBS, The Rookie — and other ABC primetime shows — are likely to return in February 2024.
Thankfully, the entire cast has been confirmed to return for Season 6, including Fillion, Winter, and O’Neil, as well as Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers, Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, and Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune. Kristian Bruun will also join the Season 6 cast as the new villain — the person who masterminded the attacks in the Season 5 finale. The only cast member who has yet to be confirmed is Tru Valentino, as the fate of his character, Aaron Thorsen, is still unknown.
