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The Rookie showrunner secures future with franchise in major new deal announcement
Creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley isn't going anywhere.
Disney
- James Hibbs
Published: Tuesday, 1 September 2026 at 2:08 pm
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As fans wait for the ninth season of hit police procedural The Rookie to be released, we have just got some news which looks likely to solidify the show's future moving forward.
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Creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley has officially just extended his overall deal with Lionsgate Television, the production company behind The Rookie.
This means that Hawley will continue to develop series exclusively for Lionsgate, while also working on new spin-off The Rookie: North and a new, unrelated drama series, titled The Envoy.
Of course, this new contract doesn't mean that the show is definitively renewed beyond its ninth season, which is coming in 2027, but it does show the intention for Hawley to produce more episodes of the series, and stop complications that have befallen shows such as Mr & Mrs Smith and The Boroughs.
Nathan Fillion and Lisseth Chavez in The Rookie. Foxburg Financing 2, LLC and ABC Signature
The former of those series went into limbo when showrunner Francesca Sloane's deal with Amazon MGM Studios ended, with a new showrunner having to be found.
Meanwhile, the latter arrived at a time when executive producers the Duffer Brothers were leaving Netflix to sign a deal with Paramount, and The Boroughs was cancelled after one season.
The Rookie season 9 is set to start with a bang, as a two-part special picks up after season 8 ended on a huge cliffhanger. In that finale episode, Tim proposed to Lucy at sunset on the beach, but the couple were kidnapped moments later.
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"There's a lot going on," Hawley said during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. "I think it's the best of what we do, it's incredibly high stakes, dramatic. It's a love story, it's funny and unexpected."
Meanwhile, Melissa O'Neil, who plays Lucy, said: "Honestly, when I was reading it the first time it was like, 'I can't believe he’s finally giving it to them, I'm in shock.' And then the next moment I was like, 'See? I knew he wasn’t going to give it to them.'"
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Authors
James HibbsDrama Writer
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
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