Nathan Fillion's The Rookie Now Ties A Mark Only Two Other ABC Shows Have Beaten

Published Aug 30, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. 

Nathan Fillion's crime drama, The Rookie, has just surpassed a milestone that only two other shows in ABC's history have beaten. The Rookie is a 2018 police procedural drama starring Fillion as John Nolan, a 40-year-old man from Pennsylvania going through a midlife crisis after his divorce.

With little keeping him in the Keystone State, John moves to Los Angeles, where he applies to become a part of the LAPD and gets the job. Now the oldest rookie on the force, John navigates younger superior officers and a job with its fair share of dangers and difficulties.

The Rookie season 9 just had its release window updated, with ABC saying the next installment of the series would be airing in early 2027. Not that anyone doubted that the series would be renewed, but it's affirming to know that the show is on track for its next season. With its ninth season, The Rookie is now one of five ABC primetime scripted dramas to have nine or more seasons.

Only NYPD Blue with 12 seasons and Grey's Anatomy, now on to its 23rd season, have gone on longer. With its ninth season, The Rookie has tied Dynasty and The F.B.I. for the third most seasons for an ABC primetime scripted drama, an impressive feat considering the other excellent shows on the network.

The series has grown steadily but slowly over the years, becoming a reliable drama year in and year out. Fillion's charming lead performance is largely responsible for this, but the compelling cases, smart humor, and strong extended cast are also reasons why the series has such longevity.

The Rookie Has A Good Chance At Beating Dynasty & The F.B.I. On ABC's Longest-Running Primetime Drama List

ABC (via MovieStillsDb)

With season 9 on the way, it's very likely that The Rookie will move in front of Dynasty and The F.B.I. in ABC's all-time longest-running primetime drama list. Dynasty ended in '89, and The F.B.I. ended in '74, so it's not as if either of those two shows will be coming back for another season anytime soon.

There has been no comment about The Rookie season 9 being the last for the show either, and neither the cast nor the crew have spoken about winding the show down in any way. As long as ABC is still game, it's very likely there will be at least one more season of The Rookie, pushing the series into the double digits for seasons.

After that, it would only take two more seasons to tie NYPD Blue, another series that has long been over. However, The Rookie probably stands no chance of taking away the number one spot from Grey's Anatomy. With 23 seasons and counting, the medical drama probably has the gold medal locked up for the foreseeable future.

The Rookie Still Has A Bright Future On ABC

Raymond Liu / ©ABC/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

The Rookie is looking to continue its legacy for more seasons as well. There is a spinoff series in the works which is supposed to debut around the same time as The Rookie season 9. The Rookie: North is the second spinoff in the franchise, after the short-lived The Rookie: Feds.

The Rookie: North stars Jay Ellis as Alex Holland, who, after suffering a home invasion, decides to fulfill an old dream and become a police officer in Washington State. Just like John, Alex is the youngest rookie on the force. The Rookie: North may not end with as many seasons as The Rookie, but as long as it has more than The Rookie: Feds, it's trending in the right direction.

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  Melissa O'Neil

  Lucy Chen