‘Will Trent’: Mark-Paul Gosselaar Finally Returns! (PHOTOS)

At long last, he’s back. Will Trent‘s fourth season has seen a number of major role reprisals already — including Julia Chan as Ava and Greg Germann as James Ulster — and that trend continues next week with Mark-Paul Gosselaar‘s Paul returning after two full seasons away.

In Tuesday’s (February 17) episode, titled “Call Paul,” Will (Ramón Rodríguez) summons his pseudo-brother for help on a twisted case. As the description tells us, “A chilling suburban murder pushes Will and Faith [Iantha Richardson] into the mind of a meticulous killer. As his empathy edges toward obsession, the return of Paul Campano, his volatile former foster brother, threatens to unravel both the case and Will’s inner balance.”

The last time we saw Paul was in Will Trent Season 1’s finale, “A Bad Temper and a Hard Heart.” In that episode, Angie (Erika Christensen) was abducted, and Paul stepped in to help sniff out — quite literally speaking — the suspect.

Gosselaar featured in four episodes of the first season but did not return for Seasons 2 and 3. At the time, he was starring in NBC’s Found, but that show came to an end in 2025 after two seasons.

Last year, TV Insider asked Gosselaar about whether he wanted to return to the ABC crime drama, and he said, “I sure hope so. Will Trent, I loved working with [executive producer] Liz Heldens. She was also on The Passage, and she was my showrunner then. Great cast. I’ve got a couple of friends on that cast, and I always had a good time. I’d love to. I loved that character, Paul Campano, it was fun playing that exaggerated version of other characters I’ve played.”

Fans had been calling for him to return to the show ever since the first season ended.

As one Redditor described the character, “Agree! Definitely gives vibes of that childhood kid from the neighborhood that you don’t necessarily like, but totally understand. Plus, I love seeing Mark Paul Gosselaar on screen anyway. Great role for him!” And as another put it, “He is a great character because you want to hate him but he ends up being more likeable. I personally love snark humor and he is one of the better actors in the show too.”

Looks like it’s finally happening on Tuesday, so tune in!

Will Trent, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC