- On The Red Carpet
‘The Rookie’ cast teases answers and a ‘bonkers’ two-part start to Season 9
The stars and creator of ABC’s hit show stopped by San Diego Comic-Con to tease what’s next for the Mid-Wilshire precinct.
ByClara Faulkner
Saturday, August 1, 2026 4:06PM
Duty calls! The cast and creator of “The Rookie” dropped major hints about the upcoming ninth season, a high-stakes two-parter, and character dynamics at San Diego Comic-Con.
OTRC
LOS ANGELES –If you are wondering how the team is going to bounce back from that wild cliffhanger, the cast of “The Rookie” has good news: answers are right around the corner.
Stopping by San Diego Comic-Con to chat with On The Red Carpet, the ensemble brought plenty of behind-the-scenes fun and major teasers for the upcoming ninth season.
Naturally, the big question on everyone’s mind is how the show will address the dramatic cliffhanger from the previous year.
As Mekia Cox pointed out, “Well, we know how season 8 ended, right? So we got to figure out what we’re doing there with the end, with the end of season 8.”
Fortunately, viewers will not be kept in the dark for long.
Richard T. Jones confirmed that the team is diving straight into the investigation, noting, “I think I can tell this part, we are definitely investigating what happened at the end of season 8… it’s going to be fun, I’ll tell you that.” Cox added that the season kicks off as a high-stakes event: “It’s a two-parter.”
Melissa O’Neil promised that while fans will find out right away what happened to everyone, the broader fallout will take time to tease out.
“We find out right away, off the top of what’s happened to the two of them and where everybody is, but what ends up happening takes a little bit of time to tease out. Which I’m grateful to see. I mean, we’ve had the first two scripts, and it’s bonkers,” O’Neil said.
Eric Winter reassured eager fans that answers are coming fairly quickly, stating, “It’s going to be, fans will get answers fairly quickly.”
Beyond the action and the mystery, that ongoing evolution is what keeps actors like Shawn Ashmore on their toes, especially as the writers continually mix things up with fresh character pairings.
“I think what keeps me interested as an actor, or us as actors, is that the characters and the relationships are constantly growing. What I think is kind of fun is that they introduce different pair-ups…” Ashmore explained.
It is no secret that the cast shares a genuine bond off-screen, a rarity in television that Jones says keeps everyone from ever wanting to leave.
“We actually have a blast. It’s one of those shows where it’s so rare to get. So it’s one of those times we actually come together, and nobody wants to leave this show because it’s very rare. These types of situations don’t happen in TV at all,” Jones shared.
Deric Augustine agreed, describing the set as feeling like an extension of his own family: “It feels good. It feels good to be back. I love working with these guys. It really feels like a family outside of a family type of thing.”
Looking at the bigger picture for the upcoming season, creator Alexi Hawley promised that the creative team continues to push boundaries.
“There are definitely things that are going to be different,” Hawley said. “We all try and shake things up from season to season…I never want to make the same season twice.”
“The Rookie” returns in 2027 on ABC. Until then, stream seasons 1-8 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
Disney is the parent company of ABC, Hulu, and this station.
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