ABC’s hit police procedural The Rookie will return to its episodic roots for season 7. The show, which stars Nathan Fillion in the role of 45-year-old John Nolan, the LAPD’s oldest-ever rookie, debuted in October 2018, with seasons 1 and 2 running 20 episodes, before the global pandemic led to a 14-episode season 3. The show recovered, with its seasons 4 and 5 running 22 episodes each, while The Rookie season 6 saw a truncated 10-episode season on account of the dual Hollywood strikes.

As reported by TVLine, it seems that the show will be returning to its episodic roots for The Rookie season 7, which is set to have 18 episodes. Showrunner Alexi Hawley spoke about the future direction the show could take, and how he is keen to return to longer-form, more episodic television, which he believes is what people like the most. Check out Hawley’s full comments on the direction The Rookie season 7 could take below:

I do think we’ll go back to being more of a standalone show with serialized elements, because it’s going to be a longer season and I think people really do like that. Also, there are the many different ways we tell stories — whether it’s the big event-type episodes, the more rom-com episodes, or with a big guest star — so it’ll be fun to go back to that.

What Should Audiences Expect From The Rookie Season 7?

The Rookie Has An Opportunity To Go Back To What Made It Great

The shorter season 6 meant The Rookie was not able to be the vast and expansive show that made it popular and this forced the writers to get creative about what they could do in a shorter time-frame. However, the return to a longer season allows for greater opportunities to explore different types of stories, and can do justice to the ensemble of characters who breathe life into the show. The Rookie season 7 behind-the-scenes images have a familiar feel, and give viewers a teaser of what they can expect from the upcoming season.

While story details for season 7 are not yet known, several different plot threads are likely to be explored throughout the season, including the return of Jason, who played a role in The Rookie‘s action-packed season 6 finale, as well as the continued fall-out from Tim and Lucy’s break-up, and whether they will get back together. For audiences, the show returning to a longer episode count is likely to be appealing, as it also provides the opportunity for The Rookie to get back to basics.

It is unclear how long the show will run for, but being that it is one of ABC’s most popular and successful shows, it seems unlikely that The Rookie season 7 will be the final season. A lot rests on how the show can pivot following the shorter season 6, and transition audiences back to the episodic storytelling that made it a hit, while also providing something fresh and unique that viewers may not have seen before. If Hawley and the team can get his balance right, there is no reason The Rookie cannot run for several more years.

Source: TVLine