Jenna Dewan Responds to ‘The Rookie’ Absence — When Will She Return as Bailey?
Jenna Dewan has been MIA from The Rookie Season 7, leaving fans wondering about the reason for her absence and when she’ll be returning to the ABC drama.
The actress confirmed the reason for her hiatus on Instagram by posting a screenshot of an article about how she was on maternity leave when the first two episodes of Season 7 were filmed. “Someone was being born,” she revealed, alongside a photo of herself holding her third child. Dewan gave birth to daughter Rhiannon — her second baby with fiancé Steve Kazee — in June 2024, which is when production began on The Rookie.
However, she made it clear that her character will return. “But keep watching…” she added, along with a red heart emoji. On the show, Bailey’s absence has been due to an overseas deployment with the National Guard. Showrunner Alexi Hawley confirmed to Screen Rant that Bailey returns at the end of episode 3.
The Season 6 finale featured Bailey’s ex-husband, Jason Wyler (Kazee), getting out of prison, just as Bailey and Nolan (Nathan Fillion) were beginning to talk about adopting a baby. “Jenna’s about to have a baby in real life, so we do have to navigate that at the beginning of [Season 7],” Hawley told TV Insider in May 2024. “So I think we’ll have to slow roll slightly [into] that, but yeah, look, especially in the adoption story, they do live dangerous lives. She’s going to have an ex-husband slash stalker out there. How does that impact them on a personal level will be interesting to explore.”
Hawley also teased that Jason would be the “most immediate problem” for the main cast. “I think obviously Jason is the one with the most specific, the most harmful intent towards anybody on our show at the moment,” he added.
But Fillion promised that Nolan and Bailey are going to be “solid” once she returns from her deployment. “There are going to be complications, there are going to be things that are problematic in their relationship as there are in all relationships,” he told TV Insider. “I think that’s reality. But this is something I don’t think that drives a wedge between them. I think this is something that brings them closer together.”
The Rookie, Tuesdays, 10/9c, ABC
Conversation7 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Comments are closed on this story.
-
G
I think she's great! And I can't wait for her to get back her and Nolan are perfect couple! The cop and the paramedic that's a wonderful grouping. These are the three people they don't know what the hell they're talking about, they must not watch too much television because they're both great actors. As for acting like brother and sister, I was married to my husband for 35 years until the day he passed away 3 years ago. And we acted like we were husband and wife brother and sister best friends everything. If you can't act like that in a marriage then there's nothing there. They have to be your everything, so for them to be acting like brother and sister they've got some chemistry there. Keep it up Nolan's you've got it made you're going to go far!!
2
-
P
Too bad her departure is not permanent 🙄🙄 Jenna Dewan great actress and so pretty but Bailey and John have zero chemistry and the Mary Sue writing for her character is cringeworthy so sorry I’m not happy about her return - it has been nice to watch the show without her
-
O
Please don't let Bailey come back to the rookie. Let her just go away please please please. She's the worst character and makes the real protagonist -- John Nolan-- unlikeable. He's literally going against everything we knew about him from the first couple of seasons just to keep Bailey happy and it's making me not want to even try to watch season 8.
-
O
Don’t like the chemistry between Nolan and Bailey. Would prefer a different actress.
1 1
-
B
No one wants her back.
1 3
-
G
I agree with Windmill Lady and can’t think of anything to add.
1 4
-
O
She is not missed by me. I think she's a lousy actress and there is absolutely no chemistry between her and Nathan Fillion. Their characters act more like brother and sister than a married couple.
11 17
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services