Heading intoThe Rookieseason 8,John Nolan needs a new rookie to replace Celina Juarez,and there are only so many candidates to choose from. The ABC police procedural series began with Nolan as a rookie. More than seven years later, Nolan is nowone ofThe Rookie’s training officers, meaning he needs a new cop to teach in season 8.
Celina was Nolan’s first rookie. But, ever sinceCelina graduated from the FTO program in season 7,Nathan Fillion’sRookiecharacterhas failed to maintain a permanent new trainee. He attempted to work with several different police officers. Unfortunately, none of them stuck. So, if Nolan is to remain a training officer in season 8, he’ll need to find a rookie.
7Rodge Bronson
Played By: Zander Hawley
Rodge Bronson (played byThe Rookieshowrunner Alexi Hawley’smusician son, Zander Hawley) might be the last person fans expect to be Nolan’s next rookie, but it’s not entirely impossible. Yes, he’s the least likely candidate on this list. However, stranger things have happened on the ABC police procedural series.
As far as anyone knows, Rodge is actively pursuing a career in music. He is even going on tour. That doesn’t mean Rodge can’t suddenly change his mind and want to be a cop. PerhapsThe Rookieseason 8 will begin with a time jump andthe revelation that Rodge went to the police academy instead of going on tour.
Given Nolan and Rodge’s bemusing dynamic that all began with “Daddy Cop” inThe Rookieseason 5, though, one can’t deny that seeing them working together would be fun and hilarious.
It’s not likeThe Rookiehas always been 100 percent realistic and faithful to the FTO process in real life. The series tries to get everything correct. But there is only so much any TV show can do when crafting a dramatic and intriguing narrative.
Sure, some might be confused about Rodge’s sudden change of heart. Given Nolan and Rodge’s bemusing dynamic that all began with"Daddy Cop" inThe Rookieseason 5, though, one can’t deny that seeing them working together would be fun and hilarious. Plus,who better to replace Celina than her own boyfriend?
6Ashley
Played By: Molly Quinn
As mentioned above,The Rookiecan sometimes be lenient when trying to portray the realistic ins and outs of police departments. They hypothetically can make an exception forAshley (an ex-convict and Oscar Hutchinson’s daughter)if she wants to become a cop. Despite Ashley’s criminal history, she could be the perfectcharacter to replace Celina as Nolan’s rookie.
For starters,Molly Quinn famously starred as Nathan Fillion’s character’s daughterinCastlefor all eight seasons. Having her appear as Ashley in only two episodes of the newer ABC series alongside her former TV dad was exciting enough. Just imagine how thrilling it would be to see Fillion and Quinn work directly together again, but this time as a training officer and a rookie instead of as a father/daughter duo.
Plus, Oscar remains on the runafter the events ofThe Rookieseason 7 finale. So,bringing Ashley back into the fold would add more intrigue to the longstanding (overused) villain’s arc,especially if she and her dad are on opposing sides of the law. Maybe Ashley becoming Nolan’s next rookie is far-fetched, but the idea is captivating enough to place it on this list.
5Katie Barnes
Played By: Katy O’Brian
Katy O’Brian’s Katie Barnes is one oftheRookiecharacterswho has lasted the shortest in the FTO program, but to no fault of her own. She became Tim Bradford’s rookie in season 3, episode 11, after Lucy Chen graduated to P2. However, Katie soon realized that she wasn’t ready to be a cop.
Katie joined the LAPD straight out of the militaryand couldn’t separate her Army training from what she learned at the police academy. As a result, she quit. And Katie hasn’t been seen in the ABC crime drama ever since. That could change in season 8, though.
Even though Katie had decided a career in law enforcement wasn’t for her, the last time we saw her, some time away might have helped her heal and become ready to be a cop. As such,Katie could reapply to the FTO program inThe Rookieseason 8.Since Tim already has a rookie, Nolan could become Katie’s training officer instead.
4Miles Penn
Played By: Deric Augustine
Technically,Tim is Miles Penn’s training officer.However, rookies have been known to bounce around from training officer to training officer (e.g., Nolan became Nyla Harper’s rookie in season 2 whenAfton Williamson’s Talia Bishop leftThe Rookie). So, it wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibility for the responsibility of Miles' training to transfer from Tim to Nolan in season 8.
Deric Augustine
Miles Penn
Tim could get another assignmentwhenThe Rookieseason 8 premieres, meaning Miles would have to find a different training officer — enter Nolan. The protagonist isn’t currently tied down to any rookie. Consequently, if Tim is unable to teach Miles, Deric Augustine’s character could look to Nolan for guidance.
SinceMiles is already a rookie and has been promoted to series regular,his replacing Celina would be more plausible than many other characters. The only issue is that Tim is currently his training officer. Anything could happen inThe Rookieseason 8, though, that causes Miles to become Nolan’s responsibility.
3Connor Craig
Played By: David Gridley
David Gridley guest-starred as Connor Craig inThe Rookieseason 7, episode 12, andhe was Celina’s best replacement so far.Unfortunately, he only stuck around for that one episode. At the hour’s beginning, Nolan learned that Connor was his new rookie and quickly discovered why the young man was assigned to him despite already being a year into the FTO program.
Connor didn’t have many (if any) instincts when it came to being a cop. Consequently, his original training officer didn’t want to end his revered career on a “dud” like Connor. As such, Nolan had his work cut out for him.
In only the span of one episode,Nolan pulled off the impossible — he turned Connor into a halfway decent cop.However, that didn’t seem to matter because Lieutenant Grey transferred Connor to a less chaotic station atthe end ofThe Rookieseason 7, episode 12. Connor could still return to Mid-Wilshire and finish what he started with Nolan in season 8.
2Seth Ridley
Played By: Patrick Keleher
Seth Ridley was another candidate to becomeCelina’s best replacement inThe Rookieseason 7. However, his time with Nolan came to a tragic and abrupt end when he got shot in the leg while on the job (and while saving Nolan’s life).The doctors had to amputate Seth’s leg,leaving his career with the LAPD up in the air.
It’s entirely possible that we have seen the last ofPatrick Keleher’s character inThe Rookie. But,Seth could heal and undergo plenty of physical therapyto ensure that he is in shape to serve as a police officer again. Then, he could return to the LAPD (for a second time) and resume his training with Nolan inThe Rookieseason 8.
1A New Character
Played By: ?
Despite all the readily available options for Nolan’s next rookie, the most likely candidate is someone we have never met. It would be much more plausible if Lieutenant Grey brought in a new character for Nolan in season 8. Everyone else is technically unavailable in their own ways. As a result,The Rookiecast might be getting a fresh face very soon.
The Rookiewon’t return with season 8 until early 2026, when it’s set to air its 18 episodes weekly with little to no interruptions (according to a report fromTVLine).
