‘The Rookie’ Stars Hit Comic-Con 2026 — With a Special Guest (PHOTOS)

School’s out for the summer, so to speak, but The Rookie will be back in action this January on ABC with Season 9. And the ninth season premiere will be a two-parter, as creator Alexi Hawley revealed as he and the cop drama’s cast appeared at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 for a panel on Saturday.

As Hawley explained, the double-length premiere picks up after the dramatic Season 8 finale, in which Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) accepted a seaside wedding proposal from Tim (Eric Winter), just before they were abducted.

“It won’t all be resolved in one episode — there’s a lot going on,” Hawley told the Comic-Con crowd on Saturday, per Deadline. “I think it’s the best of what we do, it’s incredibly high stakes, dramatic. It’s a love story, it’s funny and unexpected.”

O’Neil also apologized to fans for Season 8’s cliffhanger. “Honestly, when I was reading it the first time, it was like, ‘I can’t believe [Hawley is] finally giving it to them, I’m in shock,’” she said. “And then the next moment, I was like, ‘See? I knew he wasn’t going to give it to them.’”

Added Winter, “I think seeing that script was surprising, and it made me laugh. Kind of like, ha ha, really bad. It was great.”

At Saturday’s panel, Hawley, O’Neil, and Winter joined costars Nathan Fillion, Richard T. Jones, Alyssa Diaz, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, Lisseth Chavez, and Deric Augustine, and fans got a surprise appearance by Jay Ellis, star of the upcoming spinoff The Rookie: North. See pics from the Comic-Con event below.

The Rookie, Season 9, January 2027, ABC