The uncertain fate of Thorsen’s life hangs in the balance as ‘code blue’ was deployed in the hospital.
A new villain, after Moran’s death, is on the prowl to seek unquenched revenge on the LAPD officers.
Will The Rookie Season 6 answer our questions tonight on ABC?
Ripping off the band-aid, we can affirm that The Rookie Season 6 is not new tonight. In fact, there is a bleak possibility that the sixth installment will reach us anytime soon. Why? There are two speculations to this statement. One was that after ABC greenlit the titular series back in April 2023, filming was scheduled to begin a month later, and a release window of fall 2023 was set in motion. However, the unforeseen WGA and SAG AFTRA strikes knocked the air out of The Rookie’s lungs and put the production for Season 6 on life support.
Secondly, even though the writer’s union struck a fair deal with the AMPTP on 27th September and ceased their strike, the SAG AFTRA is still striking it out. Hence, even though the writer’s room may be huddling for their brainstorming sessions, the actors cannot film the parts unless the SAG AFTRA strikes a fair deal. So, from these earlier mentioned statements, it is clear that Season 6 of The Rookie is not new tonight. And, in fact, it will not be reaching us at all in 2023.
So when can we expect ABC to broadcast our favorite series?
The Rookie Season 6 Arrival Date: Best Case Scenario
After an enthusiastic revival of the series with the ABC network ordering a sixth season of The Rookie, fans have been grappling with excitement and the prospect of a 2023 arrival. But will that be possible, given the current status of the production that The Rookie is in? Let’s rewind the tapes and figure out where the new season is currently stationed before we predict the dates of its arrival.
April 2023 was the month when a brand new sixth season of the series was revived by the official network. Production was set to begin in the summer, and an anticipated fall release was set free to be considered as a rumor. However, what we must understand is that the regular pattern of release for The Rookie’s earlier seasons was usually in the fall months. So, predicting a fall 2023 release did not seem too outstretched. However, the situation got out of hand when the WGA broke out on strike in May, not giving The Rookie writers enough time to brainstorm ideas and dip their pens in ink. Unlike other networks, ABC suspected that the strike may carry on till June or July, so they decided to remain silent until things cooled off.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, a double strike situation was ignited when the SAG AFTRA decided to join hands with the WGA to fight for better wages and protection from Artificial Intelligence that could replace the jobs of these writers and actors. Again, the major networks, including ABC, suspected that the strike would reach an impasse by the end of summer, so they promised fall releases in the form of their 2023-2024 official fall schedules. The Rookie was supposed to be on the map for a fall release.
Given the current unsettling premises surrounding the release of the new Season of The Rookie on the ABC network, it is difficult to make an accurate prediction on the release date. However, judging by the past release patterns and good guesswork, a calculated arrival date can be determined.
Given that the strike ends within the next two months and does not carry into the new year, all competitive networks such as NBC, CBS, FOX, and FX have decided to postpone their fall 2023 releases to a mid-2024 seasonal release. Fastracking this prediction, fans were frantically taking to the internet to find out where the production status stands after the WGA strike ended on 27th September. Deadline and several other news outlets have reported that writers’ rooms for several halted productions are finally getting back on track, and The Rookie is one of them. Network series that are supposed to be released in mid-2024 are being given the top priority to set forth their arrival in the allocated time.
In that capacity, while the scripts for Season 6 materialize, we expect the SAG AFTRA strike to reach a favorable deal by the end of the year. From the hourly updates, we can assume that the strike will be reaching its impasse soon. Counting in the months for filming and post-production thereafter, we can assume that Season 6 of The Rookie should be released on ABC by March 2024. When it is exactly set to arrive will depend on when the strike situation comes to an end. So stay tuned to Web News Observer and keep up with the updates!
The Rookie Season 6 Cast: Who Will Reprise Their Roles For The New Season?
On top of the strikes, Fillion had signed on to star in James Gunn’s DCU movie Superman: Legacy. However, when asked about his time in the DCU impacting The Rookie on social media, Hawley simply answered with a “Nope” concerning a Fillion-caused delay in filming. Check out the post below:
Could Nathan Fillion’s #SupermanLegacy Movie Role as Green Lantern Further Delay #TheRookie Season 6? https://t.co/RRA259n9tp
— TVLine.com (@TVLine) July 11, 2023
The main cast members from the fifth season are still expected to return, as follows:
- Nathan Fillion as John Nolan
- Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers
- Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper
- Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune
- Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez
- Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey
- Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen
- Eric Winter as Tim Bradford
- Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen
The series is created by Alexi Hawley for ABC, and the series is produced by ABC Signature and Entertainment One (eOne), which is the lead studio and international distributor of The Rookie, a co-production with ABC Signature. Moreover, ABC Signature is a part of Disney Television Studios.
When it does arrive, where can you watch it?
Where Can I Watch Rookie Season 6?
In every instance, we can expect a full-blown 22-episode Season 6. However, the situation seems different here. Until the strike reaches a negotiation point, the production keeps getting delayed. The more delay, the lesser the window of time to complete production, and hence a shorter season. It’s been confirmed that the next season of The Rookie will arrive late and with only about half the episodes than normal. It’s a somewhat similar situation to The Rookie season 3, which arrived in January 2021 and had 14 episodes thanks to the Pandemic. This will have to happen again because filming on The Rookie season 6 hasn’t started.
All the episodes of Season 1 are available to stream on Hulu based on the viewer’s location. Moreover, you can also watch The Rookie on:
- Disney Plus
- Hotstar (for Indian audiences)
- or FuboTV
You can also stream The Rookie by renting or purchasing it on:
- Amazon Instant Video
- Lifetime
- iTunes
- Google Play
- Vudu
The Rookie Season 6 Plot: What Can We Expect In The New Season? *Spoilers*
While the details for the upcoming Season’s plot have been kept under wraps, we are certain that the series will continue to follow John Nolan, the oldest rookie in the LAPD, who has used his life experience, determination, and sense of humor to keep up with rookies 20 years his junior.
Nearing the end of his training, Nolan now faces his biggest challenge as a police officer when he must come to terms with the choices he has made in pursuit of the truth. The series is also based on real-life LAPD officer William Norcross, who moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and joined the department in his mid-40s. The series is also expected to continue from the fifth season’s final episode, “Under Siege,” which was directed by Bill Roe and written by Alexi Hawley. The episodes showcased Thorsen and Juarez being ambushed by masked assailants after investigating a suspected disturbance and being seriously wounded.
Later, the viewers get to see that when Juarez is hospitalized and recounts a riddle to Nolan said to her by one of the assailants. Mid-Wilshire is put on high alert, and even further when Nolan and Bailey are attacked, and Harper’s child is shortly abducted. Lopez works with Wesley and Luna Grey to decide on the riddle.
The police look into past run-ins, identifying one with a prior record, and find him dead in his booby-trapped house By the end of the season, they further narrow his possible prison encounters, with Bradford and Chen visiting Luke Moran. An army of masked men with police shields pursue them, but they’re swiftly taken out with reinforcements on-scene. With Moran caught and surrounded, he makes one last stand before being killed. As further reinforcements roll in, a mystery man in a passing vehicle praises how well Moran served as a distraction.
John is faced with a mind-numbing moral dilemma where he knows in his gut that the criminal caught for the LAPD officer firings is being set up and is not the one who committed the crime. This is where the credits roll in. Season 6 will pick up from here to see if John can decipher the intent and the actual person behind the heinous crime. But the main question is, will he succeed? And will the other LAPD officers believe his gut over evidence? We will just have to wait for Season 6 to find out.
Series Like The Rookie:
Here are a few series that you can enjoy watching if you liked The Rookie. Besides, these will give you something to binge on while you wait for the next season to arrive:
- Law And Order
- S.W.A.T.
- FBI
Stay tuned to Web News Observer for follow-up updates, and in the meantime, catch up with the earlier seasons of The Rookie. There is a fresh one brewing!