The Rookie Season 9 Officially Confirms Nathan Fillion’s Replacement

ABC (via MovieStillsDb) Published Oct 11, 2026, 2:36 PM EDT Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Nathan Fillion's Nolan is coming full circle in The Rookie season 9. During the show's panel at New York Comic Con 2026, at which ScreenRant's Jordan Williams was in attendance, it was announced that Troian Bellisario is joining The Rookie season 9 cast. Though currently only cited as a guest appearance, the character is confirmed to be the new rookie Nolan is training, described as being "a single mom going through a difficult divorce" who, needing a change, decides to turn to becoming an officer. Bellisario, who most recently appeared in the Prime Video procedural On Call as a training officer herself, is best known for her work as Spencer Hastings in Freeform's dark teen drama Pretty Little Liars. Joining The Rookie as a rookie will be a shift for the actor, but with more in common with her TO than anticipated, it's likely that the mutual threads between Nolan and Bellisario's characters will help connect them as the season progresses. The Rookie season 9, which will debut in early January, is one of the most highly-anticipated premieres of the 2026-27 network TV season. After leaving off the previous season on one of the show's most intense cliffhangers ever, the creative team behind The Rookie have shared that they're prepared to answer viewers' questions quickly, especially when it comes to the fates of the newly engaged Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil). The pair were abducted moments after Chen accepted Bradford's proposal, which was seasons in the making. As The Rookie season 9 approaches, the series is also celebrating an exciting milestone with the addition of another show to the wider Rookie universe. After attempting a spinoff that was more closely interconnected with the series in The Rookie: Feds, which aired for a single season from 2022 to 2023, the Rookie universe will be expanding once again with The Rookie: North. While the premise of the upcoming series, which stars Jay Ellis as the Fillion figure on the show, is similar to the original, The Rookie: North will tackle different issues in the greater pacific northwest area. Both of the shows in The Rookie universe will be hitting the air on January 6, with ABC allowing the franchise to ring in the new year with exciting premieres. With The Rookie welcoming new blood as Bellisario joins the cast, Nolan's rookie replacement will unlock an entirely different side of his capabilities as a training officer when the ABC hit returns. Release Date October 16, 2018 Network ABC, Hulu Showrunner Alexi Hawley The Rookie follows John Nolan, a small-town man who embarks on a new career as an LAPD officer after a life-changing event. As the force's oldest rookie, Nolan faces skepticism from superiors who view his pursuit as a midlife crisis. 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 Franchise(s) The Rookie Main Genre Comedy Creator(s) Alexi Hawley Executive Producer(s) Alexi Hawley, Bill Norcross, Bill Roe, Brynn Malone, Jon Steinberg, Liz Friedlander, Mark Gordon, Michelle Chapman, Nathan Fillion, Nicholas Pepper, Rob Bowman, Terence Paul Winter Producers Llewellyn Wells, P. Todd Coe, Diana Mendez Boucher, Helen Pai, Robert Bella, Patrick McKee, Michele Greco, Marco Black Seasons 9 Story By alexi hawley Streaming Service(s) Hulu