The Rookie season 4 finale left the future pending, not only for its main character but for Chenford, the main ship of the show. With a new season just around the corner, it's time to bring the plot, the cast, and everything else we know about The Rookie season 5 to the table.
In The Rookie, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) is a 45-year-old divorcee with a construction business and one adult son. But his life takes a drastic change after he helps foil a bank robbery. John moves from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles to enroll in the LAPD as a rookie.
After his move and becoming a full-fledged police officer, John Nolan, the oldest rookie in the LAPD, has used his life experience, determination, and sense of humor to keep up with rookies 20 years his junior. Nearing the end of his training, Nolan now faces his biggest challenge as a police officer yet when he must come to terms with the choices he has made in pursuit of the truth.
The Rookie Season 5: The Plot
The season finale of The Rookie season 4 left fans on edge after Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil), aka Chenford, took their friendship to the next level. After years of waiting, the couple finally seems to have a future together. However, they will have to face their own stubbornness in not wanting to admit what they feel for each other, as well as an undercover job that may be in danger due to the swirl of feelings they are feeling. But Chenford wasn't the only one who left their possible future hanging.
Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) had a baby with James (Arjay Smith), and, after her return from maternity leave, a new challenge as a detective awaits her. This means that Aaron Thorsen (Tru Valentino) will have a new instructor in The Rookie season 5. According to what Alexi Hawley, executive producer of The Rookie, commented in an interview in Entertainment Weekly, Nyla will have a fun storyline regarding her pregnancy. He also confirmed an arc featuring Wesley Evers taking a stab at policing from the legal side.
Another character starting a new career path is John Nolan (Nathan Fillion). The actor, during The Rookie panel at Comic-Con this year, accidentally revealed that John would receive a promotion after the heroic rescue that he and Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) made in the middle of the desert. John will become a training officer in the new season and mentor a new rookie cop, which will surely bring new challenges to John and Bailey's relationship.
The Rookie Season 5: The Cast
After the season finale of The Rookie, which was a turning point for the journey of some of the audience's favorite characters, fans wondered if any member of the main cast would not return for season 5. Luckily, fans of The Rookie can rest easy as the series' main cast is confirmed for season 5.
In this way, Nathan Fillion will repeat as John Nolan, the show's leading police officer, whose weight in the series has leveled off over the seasons to benefit other characters. Season 5 also features Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey, Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, and, of course, Melissa O'Neil and Eric Winter will return as Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford, respectively, to the delight of Chenford fans.
Likewise, The Rookie season 5 also keeps Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune, Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers, and Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen. In addition, a new character will join the precinct this coming season. In August, the drama confirmed Chicago P.D. star Lisseth Chavez will appear in multiple episodes.
She will portray Celina, a new rookie who has a unique method of doing police work. Despite the high marks she received at the police academy, her unorthodox ways will become a challenge to her training officer. As for who her training officer will be, everything seems to indicate that it will be none other than John Nolan.
It also seems that Annie Wersching will reprise her role as the chilling serial killer Rosalind Dyer, who first appeared during the show's second season.
Release Date
A little before the season finale of The Rookie, ABC renewed the police drama. It was an early renewal that confirmed the success of this drama with a premise based on a true story, although different and unusual.
Since its debut, The Rookie usually premieres in the fall and ends the season in May, with around twenty episodes per season. This time around will be no exception, as the show's official Instagram announced in June that The Rookie season 5 will officially air on Sunday nights, starting on September 25, 2022, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
However, the network didn’t officially confirm the number of episodes, but taking into account the duration of the previous seasons -- the only exception is season 3, which had a lower order of episodes due to the COVID-19 pandemic --, fans can be sure they will enjoy The Rookie season 5 for, at least, twenty episodes.