The dynamic duo of John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) has become a bedrock of ABC’s hit procedural, The Rookie. However, fans watching recent seasons noticed the absence of the resourceful firefighter lieutenant, sparking online speculation and concern about her future on the show. Jenna Dewan has since broken her silence, offering a candid explanation for her break and dropping major hints about her character’s dramatic return.
The short answer is: Jenna Dewan’s recent absence from the show was due to her real-life maternity leave. Fortunately for fans of the “Nolan” and “Bailey” pairing, Dewan is back on set and is a confirmed cast member for the highly anticipated Season 8, which is scheduled to premiere in January 2026 as part of ABC’s mid-season lineup.
From a real-life family expansion to an on-screen international adventure, here is the full breakdown of Jenna Dewan’s temporary departure and the exciting, high-stakes storylines awaiting Bailey Nune in the seasons to come.
The Real-Life Reason for the Absence: Jenna Dewan’s Maternity Leave
Jenna Dewan’s hiatus from the immediate on-screen action of The Rookie was a happy real-life reason. In June 2024, the actress welcomed her third child, a baby daughter named Rhiannon, with her fiancé, Steve Kazee.
Taking to social media to address fan questions about her missing presence in earlier episodes of Season 7, Dewan offered a humorous and heartfelt explanation, noting she was “busy welcoming someone into the world.”
The Show’s Solution: National Guard Deployment
To account for Dewan’s necessary time away from the demanding filming schedule, The Rookie‘s writers incorporated her real-life break into the storyline by having her character, Bailey Nune, deployed overseas with the National Guard. This narrative device allowed the character to be off-screen without any dramatic or permanent plot twists, a common strategy used by productions to accommodate a star’s personal leave.
Bailey Nune’s Confirmed Return and Future Storylines
Fans were relieved when showrunner Alexi Hawley confirmed that Bailey Nune’s absence would be short-lived. Jenna Dewan has since fully returned to the set, not only for the latter half of Season 7 but also for the production of Season 8, which is already underway.
A New Family Dynamic: The Adoption Storyline
A central, ongoing theme for John and Bailey is their desire to expand their family. In Season 6, the couple began exploring the process of adoption after learning Bailey would struggle with getting pregnant. This storyline is poised to be a major emotional arc upon her return.
The show has a tradition of weaving real-life events into the show’s narrative, and while Dewan’s recent pregnancy was not written into the plot, the adoption storyline allows the show to continue exploring the deepening commitment between Nolan and Bailey as they navigate the challenges and joys of building their life together.
The Jason Wyler Shadow: A Messy Past
Bailey’s past relationship with her psychologically abusive ex-husband, Jason Wyler (played by Dewan’s real-life fiancé, Steve Kazee), has been a complex and dangerous storyline. The Season 7 finale saw the dramatic resolution of Jason’s immediate threat, which, controversially, involved Bailey’s morally ambiguous actions.
- Emotional Turmoil: Dewan herself has discussed how this arc forced Bailey to confront her identity, acknowledging her vulnerability and the trauma of being a victim. This emotional fallout—and John Nolan’s reaction to it—created a significant rift that the couple is actively working to repair.
- The Healing Process: Season 8 is expected to focus heavily on Nolan and Bailey healing their relationship, showing that even solid marriages must endure deep professional and personal challenges. The writers have promised an exploration of this new, complicated honesty between the two.
Global Adventure: The Season 8 International Premiere
Perhaps the most thrilling piece of news regarding Bailey’s immediate future comes with the production details for The Rookie Season 8. Jenna Dewan has excitedly teased a major “first for the series” involving her character: an international premiere.
Dewan revealed that the Season 8 opener will take the characters, including Bailey and Nolan, to a new country, believed to be Prague, Czech Republic.
- Higher Stakes: Bailey’s background as an LAFD Lieutenant and US Army Reservist makes her a natural fit for high-stakes, international missions. This global setting suggests that the couple will be entangled in a complex, serialized plot, likely tied to the return of major villains like Monica Stevens.
- A United Front: By taking them out of their comfort zone in Los Angeles, the international mission will force Nolan and Bailey to rely solely on each other, serving as a high-octane litmus test for their marriage after the recent turmoil.
Looking Ahead: Bailey’s Role in The Rookie‘s Future
Jenna Dewan’s time away was a simple matter of maternity leave, not a sign of the character being written off. In fact, her character is slated for some of the most dramatic, high-stakes, and globally ambitious storylines the series has ever attempted.
As Nolan’s wife and a constant source of non-police-related competence, Bailey Nune remains a crucial component of John Nolan’s personal life and a strong female presence in the ensemble. Her return is set to kick off The Rookie Season 8 with a bang, promising not just a reunion, but a major evolution of her character. While fans wait for the January 2026 premiere, the confirmation of Dewan’s enthusiastic return and the dramatic scope of her upcoming storylines is a welcome reassurance that the story of John and Bailey is far from over.
