The Rookie Showrunner Clarifies How Tim Feels After Breaking Up With Lucy & Addresses Season 7's Biggest Questions

Although the wait was long, The Rookie makes its highly-anticipated return to ABC on Tuesday, January 7 at 10 p.m. ET. Season 7, episode 1 is titled “The Shot,” and picks up in the aftermath of Oscar and Jason’s prison break. The procedural is set to undergo numerous changes, with series regular, Tru Valentino, having announced his departure in August 2024. The Rookie has opted to focus on two new trainees, adding Patrick Keleher and Deric Augustine as reoccurring guest stars.

In addition to the cast shake-up, season 7 may see Tim and Lucy’s relationship parallel their original dynamic. The duo’s slow burn romance has remained at the heart of The Rookie for years, and their opposite personalities often result in hilarious antics. Since Tim broke up with his former Boot in “Secrets and Lies,” Chenford’s once playful interactions have been heavy with tension and unresolved feelings. Showrunner Alexi Hawley shares that the premiere will see the pair enter lighter territory, with Tim wanting to fix his past mistakes.

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The Rookie Season 7’s Major Character Departure Explained By Showrunner

Exclusive: Showrunner Alexi Hawley discusses whether Aaron Thorsen could return to The Rookie and the creative reasoning behind his departure.

ScreenRant interviews Hawley about season 6’s cliffhanger, how Tim feels after breaking up with Lucy, and what to expect when The Rookie season 7 debuts.

Nolan And Bailey’s Plan To Adopt Will Be Affected By Oscar And Jason’s Escape

“We really lean into the paranoia and the fear of what it’s like to have somebody out there who is targeting you, but when and where is in question.”

Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 7, episode 1

Bailey and Nolan decide they want to adopt a child at the end of The Rookie season 6. How is Oscar and Jason being at large going to affect those plans?

Alexi Hawley: It will definitely affect those plans. Jason, especially, being out, is the existential threat given that Bailey is his target. And so having a conversation about bringing a child into that environment, obviously, is not a plan in the near future.

We really lean into the paranoia and the fear of what it’s like to have somebody out there who is targeting you, but when and where is in question. Which doesn’t mean that we don’t ultimately come back to the adoption storyline down the road, but in the near term, it gets pushed to the back burner.

We know Aaron will not be in the upcoming episodes. Is there any chance that he could return down the line?

Alexi Hawley: Of course. Tru [Valentino] is a great actor and he was a huge part of our show for several seasons, and so we’d love to have him back in some capacity. It just ultimately felt like, creatively, for where the show was going, that we needed to pivot a bit. But he’s still very much alive in our universe.

Chenford’s Relationship Status Is Up To Lucy In The Rookie Season 7

“[Tim] is the one in the wrong, and therefore, he doesn’t get to just come in and say, ‘Hey, can we get back together?’”

Tim in the LAPD parking lot in The Rookie season 7, episode 1

What can you share about the new rookies? What are they going to bring to the show in season 7?

Alexi Hawley: It’s always fun to create rookies for our show because they have to operate on two fronts. They have to be great characters, but they also really are there to serve the actors and the characters who are their training officers. So like last season with Celina and Nolan, in creating Celina as a character—she is Nolan’s first rookie. So what do we need in the 30,000 feet on that rookie to serve Nolan? And the same thing came in this season.

It’s like the fun idea of having a Texas transplant who is technically a rookie in the LAPD but has done two years as a cop in Sugar Land, Texas. What does that look like? We’ve never done that before. So having a confident cowboy come in with a drill sergeant and not be intimidated by Tim and how they both deal with that was a fun idea. And then Seth couldn’t be younger, honestly.

Patrick who plays him is just such a good actor. But just to bring in the boy scout who feels like they just walked out of high school, let alone college, and obviously, it’s a bit of a spoiler on the training officer front with Lucy, but her biggest fear is becoming Tim. And so to bring in a character who’s frustrating where he falls down was just a fun idea.

It was Tim’s decision to break up with Lucy last season, but in the finale, he tells her that he ruined everything. Is he going into season 7 thinking that Lucy no longer wants to be with him? Where is his head at?

Alexi Hawley: I think his head is in knowing that he ruined everything, wanting to fix it, both on a romantic level, but also on a personal level. Obviously, he cares very much about her, but knowing that he still has work to do and understanding that, ultimately, it’s her decision, really. He is the one in the wrong, and therefore, he doesn’t get to just come in and say, “Hey, can we get back together?” because there’s still work to do.

But we did roll into the season really wanting to sort of embrace positivity with Tim and Lucy in the sense that they have been through, hopefully, the worst of the fallout from the breakup and, therefore, what is putting a relationship back together? Putting the romantic side of it aside, what does it look like to put them back together? And the bet becomes a way to get back into fun Chenford territory.

About The Rookie Season 7 Premiere

Season 7, episode 1 is titled “The Shot”

John and the team welcome two new rookies and continue the hunt for two dangerous inmates with very personal vendettas following their prison escape.

Check out our previous interview with The Rookie director and co-executive producer, Robert Bella, as well.

The Rookie season 7 premieres Tuesday, January 7 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.