Summary

  • Showrunner Alexi Hawley teased big action set pieces involving Nolan and Harper chasing down a suspect in the Rookie season 7 finale.
  • Season 7 finale may feature a dramatic twist with Lucy Chen's change in shift, posing obstacles for her connection with Tim Bradford.
  • Pete Davidson may return in season 8 of the Rookie, as the showrunner expressed interest in bringing back the character of Nolan's half-brother.

The Rookie season 7 finale is coming up soon, and in a recent interview, showrunner Alexi Hawley shared what fans can expect from the upcoming episode.

After a season that brought back Seth Ridley (Patrick Keheler) and featured more than a few memorable cases, the season 7 finale is highly anticipated. The Rookie premiered on ABC in 2018 and follows John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), a rookie LAPD officer who is notable thanks to the fact that he starts his second career at an older age than the others. The series dives into the lives of its compelling and dynamic cast of characters that includes Nolan's wife Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) and smart and compassionate officers Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil), Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), and Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox).

John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) on The Rookie
'Timing Is Everything' Jenna Dewan's The Rookie Season 7 Comments Make Me Wonder About This Bailey/Nolan Storyline

Jenna Dewan talked about one important Bailey and Nolan plotline in The Rookie season 7, and hopefully it will continue.

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What Did Showrunner Alexi Hawley Say About The Rookie Season 7 Finale?

John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) on The Rookie

In an interview with Deadline, Alexi Hawley shared what fans can expect from The Rookie season 7 finale and mentioned that John Nolan and Nyla Harper will chase down Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave). Hawley said:

"on the Oscar front, Nolan and Harper going out into the desert, it’ll be a big action movie; there will be pretty big action set pieces at the end."

Hawley mentioned the dramatic twist at the end of The Rookie season 7, episode 17: Lucy Chen is a sergeant working the night shift. Now, Lucy and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) won't be on the same shift anymore. He said, "that will be part of the — I don’t want to use the word fun — of the episode is the obstacles to overcome." It will be interesting to see how Lucy and Tim figure this out. Fans are curious if the couple will reunite in the finale or if there will be a cliffhanger that teases a big storyline next season. There may be a moment when viewers think they might have gotten over their problems, but then viewers would have to wait until the season 8 premiere to find out what really happened.

In the same interview, Hawley also answered a question about Pete Davidson returning to play Nolan's half-brother Pete. The showrunner said Davidson didn't come back recently thanks to his schedule, but suggested it could be possible for season 8. Hawley said:

"Pete Davidson is someone we’re desperate to get back, and he loves doing the show. His reps have reached out to us about him doing the show, it’s just about trying to land when he’s actually available, because he’s super busy. Hopefully in Season 8 we can get Pete back, that would be great."

Davidson first appeared in The Rookie season 2, episode 13, "Follow-Up Day," when Nolan finds out about Pete after their dad dies. This is also the episode when Pete and Chastity Sheen (Meg DeLacy) begin dating. Then, Pete comes back in season 4, episode 5, "A.C.H." And Nolan gives him some helpful life advice about committing to Chastity and not running away from things that seem scary or tough. Chastity comes back in The Rookie season 7, episode 17 when Skip Tracer Randy (Flua Borg) reveals his romantic feelings for her. It's a particularly fun season 7 episode thanks to Randy's silly and naive approach to life.

As of now, it's unclear if The Rookie season 8 will air in January 2026 as part of ABC's mid-season broadcast schedule or if fans will get to see the next part of Nolan's engaging and adventure-packed story in September 2025. While fans wait to find out more about when season 8 will air, they can look forward to what is sure to be a great season 7 finale.

Source: Deadline.com

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The Rookie
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TV-14
Crime
Drama
Comedy
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Release Date
October 16, 2018
Network
ABC
Showrunner
Alexi Hawley
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Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 4
7 Images
Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 4
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in an episode of The Rookie
The Rookie Cast
Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen pointing at something with Eric Winter as Tim Bradford by her side in The Rookie season 1 episode Greenlight
Titus Makin Jr as Jackson West, Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen, and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 1, episode 16
Jackson West in The Rookie season 3, episode 7
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 7, episode 2
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Cast

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  • instar52203872-1.jpg
    Nathan Fillion
    John Nolan
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    Melissa O'Neil
    Lucy Chen

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming
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Directors
Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro
Writers
Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
Creator(s)
Alexi Hawley