‘The Rookie’ Receives Season 8 Premiere Date

The Rookie is finally coming back.

ABC released its midseason 2026 schedule, and the Nathan Fillion-led procedural will be returning on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 10 p.m. ET for Season 8.

The Rookie is going international for the season opener, with some of the cops going to Prague to help track down international targets. The Disney-owned network has released the first teaser for the season, and the LAPD is as serious as ever. Grey points out that it’s a global operation, and while Nolan says he’ll do his best, Tim, of course, tells him he’ll do his best. This marks the first time that The Rookie is taking things international for the season opener, and they are going big.

The Rookie was renewed for Season 8 in April, and it’s the second season for the series to premiere during midseason. Season 7 premiered in January 2025, but it proved to still be a success for the network; otherwise, ABC wouldn’t have continued to do it for Season 8. The series will be returning midseason alongside Season 4 of Will Trent.

Season 8’s cast for The Rookie includes Nathan Fillion, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O’Neil, Eric Winter, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, and Lisseth Chavez. Deric Augustine has also joined the series regular cast for Season 8 after recurring in Season 7 as new LAPD rookie Miles Penn. He was on the force for two years in Texas, but then transferred to Los Angeles. Miles decided to become a cop after his dreams of playing pro football did not pan out the way he planned.

As previously mentioned, Will Trent will also be premiering its new season on Jan. 6. American Idol and The Bachelorette will be premiering new seasons as well, among others. Abbott Elementary, 9-1-1, Grey’s Anatomy, Shifting Gears, and High Potential are some of the few shows that will have midseason premieres. Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Scrubs revival will officially be premiering in February.

The Rookie fans will be happy to know that it finally won’t be much longer until they are reunited with the Mid-Wilshire gang. Now would be a good time to rewatch the first seven seasons, which are all streaming on Hulu, where new episodes of Season 8 will be available the day after they premiere.