After a surprising cliffhanger at the end of the eighth season, ‘The Rookie’ season 9 started filming last week. The team graced the Indigo Ballroom panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Lead star Nathan Fillion, who was present at the prestigious festival with his co-stars, is scheduled to join the production this Monday, while the rest began shooting without him the week before.During an appearance at Comic-Con, creator Alexi Hawley detailed the upcoming episodes and what to expect from them. Here’s a closer look at the production of ‘The Rookie’ season 9.
‘The Rookie’ Season 9: Production and Expected Release Date
Hawley revealed that the upcoming season will likely be big, intensely full of high twists and unexpected storylines. “It’s a two-parter, so it’s not going to be all resolved in one episode; there’s a lot going on,” he said, per Deadline , before adding, “I think it’s the best thing we do; it’s incredibly high-stakes, dramatic. It’s a love story; it’s fun and unexpected. I just want it all to be over by January.”” The last part that mentions ‘January’ definitely points to the release being scheduled for January, following the pattern of recent seasons. According to Collider, Hawley confirmed that ‘The Rookie’ Season 9 “began filming on Tuesday of last week. In addition, the spin-off series ‘The Rookie: North’ will begin production in August. The next season begins with the kidnapping cliffhanger. “We’re definitely going to start that way, figure out where they are and figure out how to get them back and any obstacles we can put in there,” the creator told Deadline in May. At Saturday’s panel, Alexi Hawley joined cast members including Melissa O’Neil, Eric Winter, Nathan Fillion, Richard T. Jones, Alyssa Diaz, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, Lisseth Chavez and Deric Augustine, and fans were treated to a surprise appearance by Jay Ellis, lead of the upcoming spinoff.