The Rookiewas renewed for season 8 a few months ago, and John Oliver mentioned this fact on a recent episode of Last Week Tonight. He also noted something about the show that fans have also likely thought about.
While fans would love to catch up with Nolan and the other funny and clever people in his life as part of ABC’s fall 2025 broadcast schedule, there’s going to be a longer wait. Season 7 premiered in January 2025, and it was recently announced that The Rookie season 8 will premiere in January 2026. In the meantime, fans will want to hear what Oliver said about the popular procedural on the episode of La,st Week Tonight which aired on Sunday, May 18th, 2025.
After The Rookie Season 8’s Renewal, John Oliver Made A Memorable Comment About The Premise
According to TV Line, John Oliver talked about the TV shows that ABC recently renewed, including The Rookie and Will Trent. He praised Doctor Odyssey, Ryan Murphy’s TV drama that premiered in September 2024 but hasn’t gotten a second season renewal. Oliver said:
“I shouldn’t complain about the other shows. I shouldn’t care that a show called and about a rookie is returning for its premise-defying eighth season, and I don’t begrudge any audience members for sticking around to find out if their favorite characters will or won’t Trent.”
As Oliver mentioned, the original premise of The Rookie isn’t exactly the same as it was when it premiered in 2018. While John Nolan starts off the show as a middle-aged rookie cop, and the other characters are younger than him, he’s no longer a rookie. Now, Nolan is an experienced police officer with the LAPD, and, most notably, rookie Miles Penn (Deric Augustine) has joined the team. Other notable characters include recent returning character Seth Ridley (Patrick Keheler), Nolan’s wife Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan), officer Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez), and sergaents Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter).
Oliver also joked about Will Trent, the ABC drama that also airs on Tuesday nights. The procedural focuses on the title character, who is played by Ramón Rodríguez and who is a special agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Both Will Trent and The Rookie have high ratings and a large fanbase, and fans definitely expected them to each be renewed.
Of course, while The Rookie‘s premise is compelling and draws viewers in, it would be tough for Nolan to remain a rookie for the entire show. The story has to move forward, and time has to pass. If he never progressed in his career, it would become frustrating.
The Rookie season 7 finale, “The Good, The Bad, and the Oscar,” aired on Tuesday May 13th, 2025, and showrunner Alexi Hawley said there would be some action scenes. The episode revolves around Nolan working with Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) to find Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave), a villain who is likely returning next season. While Nolan might not be a rookie anymore, he’s still an optimistic and smart character who fans are happy to watch on a weekly basis. Although he might not have done what he planned to do in The Rookie season 7 finale, he’s still an endearing main character, and viewers continue to enjoy Fillion’s performance. Although fans have a few notes about the most recent episode, they still like the show and eagerly await season 8.
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