It’s crazy to think of a scenario in which The Rookie season 9 wouldn’t have happened at ABC, but it seems the creative team behind the hit drama was so uncertain about the show’s future they opted to film an alternate ending in case the show was not renewed. That’s right, season 8 almost did not end with the engagement and abduction of Tim and Lucy!
Speaking with People at San Diego Comic-Con, star Eric Winter revealed that The Rookie actually filmed an alternate ending to season 8 due to the fear that they might not come back for another season.
“We didn’t know when we wrapped last season if we would ever come back. We even shot an alternate ending to the show,” Winter teased.
Thankfully, ABC not only renewed The Rookie for season 9 but also greenlit yet another spinoff set within the world of The Rookie with the pickup of The Rookie: North. Still, it’s wild to think that the creative team behind the show was so uncertain about the show’s future that they opted to film a completely different ending to the season, one that would have helped tie things up had the episode become the show’s series finale.
It’s interesting to think about what this alternate ending might have looked like, and it doesn’t sound like we’ll find out anytime soon, as Winter was tight-lipped about the details of the ending. All he would tease is that the alternate ending for the season “would’ve been different,” which makes sense as we imagine the show likely wouldn’t have wanted to end with a big cliffhanger if they weren’t coming back.
Considering that Winter said it would be a “spoiler” to reveal what the alternate ending was, we have to wonder if perhaps the show jumped ahead to include a Chenford wedding. Jumping from the proposal to a flash-forward sequence in which we got the chance to see the pair’s wedding certainly would have been a rewarding ending and would have helped to send the show off with a celebratory note.
We’re definitely relieved that ABC did choose to renew The Rookie for season 9 and are eager to see what the new season has in store. Of course, we expect the season will open with the immediate fallout of Tim and Lucy’s abduction. It’s going to be an intense season opener as Nolan and the rest of the team race to find Tim and Lucy and bring them home safely.
Assuming the pair are found and brought home safely, we definitely will be hoping to see their wedding sometime in the season ahead. After eight seasons of waiting, the last thing we want is a long engagement for the pair, so a Chenford wedding is at the top of our wishlist for the upcoming season. We’re okay if we have to wait until the end of the season for the wedding, but we definitely need it to happen sometime in season 9!
The Rookie season 9 will premiere in 2027 on ABC.
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