Posted in: ABC, Conventions, Events, NYCC, Pop Culture, TV | Tagged: NYCC, The Rookie
The Rookie Cast and EPs Set to Talk Season 9 & More During NYCC 2026
Following their trip out to SDCC 2026, ABC’s The Rookie cast and EPs will be heading out to New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2026 in October.
Article Summary
- The Rookie cast and EPs head to New York Comic Con 2026 after SDCC, with a Season 9 panel set for October 8.
- ABC’s The Rookie NYCC panel will cover the Season 9 premiere, streaming growth, and its viral rise with younger viewers.
- The Rookie boss Alexi Hawley says Season 9 opens with the team racing to find Tim and Lucy after the finale abduction.
- Hawley also confirms Miles graduates from rookie status in The Rookie Season 9 as Tim and Lucy face an uncertain future.
Earlier this summer, ABC’s The Rookieshowrunner Alexi Hawley and series stars Nathan Fillion, Melissa O’Neil, Richard T. Jones, Alyssa Diaz, Eric Winter, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, Lisseth Chavez, and Deric Augustine headed out to San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to touch base with the fans and start talking up Season 9. Earlier today, EW revealed that the cast and creative team will also be traveling to the East Coast in October for New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2026. Taking place on Thursday, October 8th, at 2:15 pm ET on the Main Stage, here’s a look at the overview that was released:
ABC’s “The Rookie”: Cast and executive producers will gather to discuss the upcoming season 9 premiere, its streaming growth, becoming a viral hit with young viewers, and much more.
The Rookie Season 9: Hawley on Tim & Lucy’s Future, Miles Graduating
The good news? After a whole lot of racing around to keep her from finding out early, Tim (Eric Winter) finally got a chance to pop the question to Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) – and she said yes! Of course, with this being a season finale, the happy couple had about 10 seconds to celebrate before big bad Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) executed his revenge plan from prison by having them abducted. During a post-season finale interview with Deadline Hollywood, Hawley addressed the big cliffhangers and what they mean for the upcoming season. But first, some great news for fans of Deric Augustine‘s Miles: the rookie will no longer be a rookie heading into the ninth season, with Hawley confirming he will graduate: “Going into Season 9, he won’t be a rookie anymore.” Here are some highlights from Hawley’s interview, along with new images from the Season 8 finale:
(Disney/Mike Taing)
ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O’NEIL
(Disney/Mike Taing)
ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O’NEIL
Season 9 Will Kick Off Focusing on Tim & Lucy’s Abduction: Regarding the ninth season, and Tim and Lucy’s abduction, Hawley is looking to start the season with the team trying to “figure out where they are, and figure out how to get them back, and whatever obstacles we can put in their way on that.” The showrunner added that viewers shouldn’t expect Tim and Lucy “to sit idly by and wait to be rescued.”
(Disney/Mike Taing)
ERIC WINTER/THE ROOKIE
(Disney/Mike Taing)
ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O’NEIL/THE ROOKIE
Hawley on Everett Kidnapping Lucy Along with Tim: “Well, she’s obviously the person that Tim cares about most, and this is about punishing him for not accepting the bribe and ultimately turning on Everett, or betraying Everett in his own weird mind. I think it’s more about inflicting maximum punishment, so taking them both felt like that,” Hawley shared. The bribe that Hawley is referencing goes back to Everett’s earlier efforts to get Tim to take a $10 million bribe this season, only to be denied.
“There’s a moment in the boat after they grabbed him where he’s looking up at Tim, and Lucy’s putting zip ties on him. So he knew it was Tim,” Hawley continued. “In my mind, the abduction is a backup plan that was put in place in case he didn’t get away, that was his reaching out, quote unquote, from the grave, so to speak. They were waiting a little bit; when he got rearrested, that got triggered.”
(Disney/Mike Taing)
MELISSA O’NEIL, ERIC WINTER/THE ROOKIE
(Disney/Mike Taing)
ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O’NEIL/THE ROOKIE
Hawley on Why Now Was the Right Time for Tim to Propose to Lucy: “They had some happiness, I think, this season there was plenty of happiness. They were cute, we did a bunch of romcom stuff with them, how fast they’re unpacking boxes and all that kind of stuff. At the end, it just felt super dramatic. I love the moment of the proposal, I feel like it’s really special. I was surprised how emotional I got just watching the directors cut of it, but then I wanted to do something dramatic.”
Hawley on Wedding Plans for Tim & Lucy (Or Anyone Else ) in Season 9: “To be honest, I’m not 100% sure what it would look like. We’ve obviously done a lot of weddings. We’re lucky enough to now, going into Season 9, have done varying versions of weddings, whether they’re off-camera, whether they’re interrupted by being taken by La Fiera, whether they’re successful, like the 100th episode with Nolan and Bailey, we’ve done a lot of them. So I’m always trying to figure out a fresh way in to stuff, and I don’t have it yet. I think what’s safe to say is that it needs to be satisfying. What that means? I don’t know yet. I would never just shortchange it but I don’t know. We got to figure it out.”
(Disney/Mike Taing)
MELISSA O’NEIL, ERIC WINTER/THE ROOKIE
(Disney/Mike Taing)
ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O’NEIL
(Disney/Mike Taing)
THE ROOKIE
Hawley on If Tim & Lucy’s Proposal and Abduction Were Always the Season 8 Finale Plans: “We always were planning to shoot the abduction. There was a very, very small part of the back of my brain that’s like, I can always just go out on the proposal, that version was available. I think as we got closer to editing it and finishing it up, it felt like I didn’t need to even put that together. But I’ve been burned before, let’s put it that way. So, yeah, I’m not gonna lie, there was a part of me that goes, that would be a satisfying ending if we had to go out that way.”
Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!
Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!
