The Rookie Season 6 Release Date, Cast, Showrunner, And More Details

ABC's "The Rookie" isn't much of a rookie itself anymore. At this point, the show has been going strong for nearly half a decade, and it's showing no signs of slowing down. Early 2023 saw the finale of "The Rookie" Season 5 leave things off on what may be the procedural's most anxiety-inducing cliffhanger yet, with the fate of a certain fan-favorite character on the line. Fortunately, audiences are set to see the story of John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and his LAPD teammates continue with Season 6.

Information on "The Rookie" Season 6 is still in the process of releasing, but there are already a few juicy tidbits fans should be aware of, from the addition of a certain intriguing actor on the show's main cast to the complex situation regarding the planned release date for this next installment of the series. Here's everything fans should know about "The Rookie" Season 6 so far.

While the cast and crew of "The Rookie" were guaranteed a Season 6, it took a long time for shooting to start. Originally slated to be part of ABC's fall 2023 programming grid, work on the series was impacted by two work stoppages. In 2023, production on most scripted television programs shut down when unionized writers and then actors both called a strike. Eight days after the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which followed the conclusion to the WGA strike, ABC announced that work would resume on its slate of primetime programs. Its long-awaited fall 2023 season would debut in the early weeks of 2024, and among the returning shows was the already-renewed "The Rookie." The police drama will return to the airwaves on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at 9 PM.

"The Rookie" Season 6 is set to continue on from Season 5's nail-biter of a finale. Most crucially, it will address the ultimate fate of Tru Valentino's Aaron Thorsen (pictured), whose life is on the line after sustaining a life-threatening gunshot injury at the end of Season 5. Whether he lives or dies, Season 6 is already primed to open on a very emotional note.

In terms of its greater scope, "The Rookie" Season 6 will see the rise of a new villain played by Kristian Bruun who seems to have a personal vendetta against John Nolan and his team. Viewers who have kept up with the series have already gotten a sneak peek at Bruun's big bad at the end of Season 5, but the upcoming season will blow the door wide open on his plans, motivations, and, most importantly, his identity.

All told, it's going to be a pretty eventful season for Nolan and the rest of the gang. Still, fans should rest assured that the team will still be participating in plenty of their typical life-saving escapades as well.

Based on early indications, it appears that just about every single main cast member who starred in "The Rookie" Season 5 will be returning for Season 6. That includes Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, who wrote on Instagram that he "couldn't be happier about coming back for another season." Other actors confirmed to be coming back include Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Eric Winter as Tim Bradford, Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey, Lisseth Chavez as Celina Juarez, Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune, and Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers.

The only relative question mark on the cast is Tru Valentino's Aaron Thorsen. As mentioned prior, Aaron ends off "The Rookie" Season 5 in a life-threatening situation after sustaining a bullet wound. There's at least a slight chance that the character could mirror the exit of Titus Makin Jr.'s Jackson West, who gets killed off in the Season 4 premiere after a major cliffhanger. However, this new cliffhanger could just be a misdirect. For now, it's up in the air.

On the side of new additions to the cast, Season 6 will also feature Kristian Bruun, who reprises his role as the mysterious antagonist glimpsed at the end of Season 5. It's likely that other new actors will join the cast as well, though little information has yet to be released on this front. Perhaps "The Rookie" could even see another "Firefly" cameo, if previous seasons are anything to go by.

As with previous seasons, the showrunner for "The Rookie" Season 6 will once again be series creator Alexi Hawley. Beyond his work on "The Rookie," Hawley has extensive experience with other notable TV shows. He has served as an executive producer on "Castle" and "The Following," and he's already worked as a showrunner for "The Recruit," just to name a few credit highlights. While Hawley couldn't speak about the series during the actors' strike and writers' strike, he took to X (formerly known as Twitter) shortly after those work stoppages ended. On November 21, 2023, Hawley posted a photo of director's chair with "The Rookie" emblazoned on the back, captioning the image with, "Day 1. Let's roll!"

Seeing as "The Rookie" is a heavily serialized series and builds upon established plot threads in subsequent episodes, viewers are going to want to make sure they're completely caught up before starting Season 6. That means that all five previous seasons are required viewing, though the ending of "The Rookie" Season 5 is the most crucial to understanding where exactly Season 6 picks up.

Those that want to go the extra mile in having a full understanding of the entire universe of "The Rookie" would also do well to give the show's spin-off series "The Rookie: Feds" a watch as well. There's only one season thus far, and it's not yet clear whether the show will be receiving additional seasons, so it's far less of a time sink than watching through the mainline series. It also crosses over with "The Rookie" and its characters quite often, so there are plenty of fun bits of continuity to pick up on for diehard fans.

Fortunately, all five previous seasons of "The Rookie" are available to watch online via streaming. Fans can stream the entire series thus far on Hulu with a basic subscription. The official ABC website also hosts a rotating slate of episodes from the series for free. Currently, the last batch of episodes from Season 5 are available to watch on the site.

Fans also have the option to purchase and watch previous installments of "The Rookie" through digital storefronts. The show is hosted on sites like Amazon Prime Video, the Google Play store, on Apple TV, and Vudu. The majority of these sites offer episodes and seasons in either standard-definition or high-definition quality, and each version is priced accordingly.

For those interested in giving "The Rookie: Feds" a watch as well, it's generally hosted in the same places as the main series. That means viewers can stream it in its entirety on Hulu, catch a few episodes for free on ABC, or purchase episodes a la carte on one of the aforementioned digital media storefronts.