Will Trent Survives ABC's Disappointing Hiatus Decision With A Major Upgrade

Published Nov 12, 2026, 2:45 PM EST Laura Hurley has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than twelve years, after a decade as a content producer and editor at CinemaBlend after writing for WhatCulture and Examiner. Attending events like SCAD TVfest and San Diego Comic-Con over the course of her career, she has been immersed in the world of network, streaming, and cable TV. The start of network TV's fall season brought back many of primetime's biggest shows, including ABC heavy-hitters like Grey's Anatomy and Abbott Elementary. Unfortunately, Will Trent was not among the returning hits, and months have passed without ABC airing a single episode of Ramón Rodriguez's hit series. The decision to hold the crime procedural until midseason has meant the better part of a year without Will and Faith investigating new cases, and the only good news since the season 5 renewal was a very recent (and very big) update. ABC's 2027 release schedule at least confirmed that Will Trent will be back sooner rather than later in the new year, and the network gave the fifth season a premium primetime spot. The drama will kick off on January 5, 2027, at 8 p.m. ET, which is a time slot that pairs it with High Potential. Kaitlin Olson's show was one of the most-watched series of the 2025-2026 network TV season, and it's a safe bet that Will Trent won't suffer as the lead-in. Will Trent fans deserve to see the show get off to a strong start in 2027, since ABC hasn't aired a single new episode since early May. The network has even been light on reruns during the long hiatus. Fortunately, the first four seasons arrived on a major streaming service ahead of season 5, which is just enough to make up for its absence on network TV. ABC Skips Will Trent Rerun During The 2026 Hiatus Image via MovieStillsDB Normally, summer hiatus is the best time to check out reruns without needing to sign into a streaming service. Networks are often light on original programming between spring finale season and fall premiere season. Although ABC did air sporadic reruns of Will Trent over the summer (and rarely in complete order), the network has barely delivered any Will Trent content sincemid-August. Instead of filling vacant slots with episodes to keep the show at the forefront of viewers' minds during the wait, the network has left Will and the other characters off the lineup. With season 5 finally premiering in just under two months, ABC's approach to Will Trent reruns could backfire. After all, reruns in the summer (and fall) months leading up to a return could not only be the best way to keep existing fans on the edge of their seats, but also recruit newcomers. Of course, Will Trent isn't entirely unique in this respect. ABC hasn't aired reruns of High Potential or The Rookie over the past few months either, and both are dramas that will be back early in 2027. That said, High Potential is slated to get primetime reruns in December, following the fall finales of the network's current shows. Will Trent just isn't getting the same attention as High Potential, despite its status as the lead-in starting in January. Scratch & Peek Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible. The good news is that ABC renewed Will Trent before the fourth season wrapped, so fans have at least known since back in the spring that Will Trent season 5 was happening. The twist is that the biggest push that the show is getting in the final months before season 5 isn't coming from ABC at all, but rather from a streaming platform. Will Trent's Netflix Availability Is Bigger Than An ABC Rerun Will Trent has been available for streaming on Hulu from the start, but the show now has the opportunity to reach a much wider audience. The first four seasons joined the Netflix library on November 3, as did St. Denis Medical, another TV show that can reach far beyond its broadcast network this fall. While Will Trent does not currently have a spot on the streamer's Top 10 TV Shows list in the U.S., Netflix has a history of spreading awareness for network shows. In fact, NBC's Manifest performed so well on Netflix that the streaming service eventually saved it from cancellation, and CBS' The Neighborhood currently has a spot on that Top 10 list. ABC's decision about Will Trent reruns may not have done the show any favors in primetime during its hiatus, but Netflix could be ideal for the final months before season 5. Even though ABC has hosted Will Trent from the start, network television simply isn't as popular with mainstream audiences as it once was. The audience size that constitutes a hit on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox is inevitably going to be much smaller than what streamers like Netflix and Hulu can attract for new and existing shows. Plus, ABC airing reruns of season 4 over hiatus wouldn't do much to attract new viewers, in the grand scheme of the TV schedule. The availability of all four seasons on Netflix provides a perfect entry point for anybody who hasn't checked out the show before, and Will Trent's balance of procedural and serialized storylines makes it a good fit for binge-watching. Any newcomers have plenty of time to catch up before season 5 premieres in 2027, when it could have a much larger audience thanks to a boost from Netflix. It might not hurt that fall finale season is quickly approaching on the networks, so even viewers who still tune in to a traditional weekly primetime schedule might turn to streaming for something to fill the time over winter hiatus. The Netflix subscriber base could do much more to promote Will Trent than any amount of ABC reruns over the rest of the drama's break, and the timing could hardly be better. For any fans who suffered through the long wait to see Ramón Rodriguez and the rest of the cast back, Netflix at least has a boon in the meantime. Joining another streaming service with every episode so far can only benefit the show (and ABC) in the long run, and perhaps help drive Will Trent toward a season 6 in the new year. For now, Will Trent is available on both Netflix and Hulu, and will then return to primetime with season 5 on Tuesday, January 5 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Release Date January 3, 2023 Network ABC Directors Howard Deutch, Eric Dean Seaton, Holly Dale, Lea Thompson, Patricia Cardoso, Sheree Folkson, Bille Woodruff, Erika Christensen, Gail Mancuso, Geary McLeod, Jason Ensler, Mark Tonderai, Paul McGuigan Cast Ramón Rodríguez Will Trent Erika Christensen Angie Polaski Writers Inda Craig-Galván, Henry 'Hank' Jones, Karine Rosenthal, Adam Toltzis, Antoine Perry Creator(s) Daniel T. Thomsen, Liz Heldens