The Rookie season 6 is not coming to ABC in 2023

Despite originally being intended to arrive in the fall, The Rookie season 6 will sadly not be coming to ABC in 2023.

When ABC renewed the Nathan Fillion-led drama earlier this year, the plan was for the show to return as part of ABC’s fall lineup where the series has been a staple since its premiere back in 2018. However, due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes, it became apparent the show would not be able to enter production in time to allow the show to return in the fall.

As a result, ABC was forced to pivot its fall scheduling plans which led to the decision for the fall lineup to lean into reality TV. This, in turn, has led to the network’s entire scripted lineup — including The Rookie — being pushed back to 2024.

When is The Rookie season 6 coming out? (Release date predictions)

The absolute earliest The Rookie season 6 could be coming to ABC would be in February 2024; however, that would be contingent upon the show entering production this fall.

If production is able to begin in early September, there is a chance we could see season 6 premiere in early to mid-February. That said, a February release does seem like a long shot if the strike continues into October. If this were to happen, we’d likely be looking at a March start for season 6.

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Typically, networks like ABC debut their midseason lineups in late February or early March. So it seems highly likely that we could have to wait until the spring for The Rookie to finally return.

What we do know is we should have a better idea of the show’s return timeline once the strikes have ended and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have reached new agreements with the studios.

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