The Rookie season 8 aired its season finale on May 4 on ABC.
Fans were concerned about Richard T. Jones’ future on the show as Lieutenant Wade Grey.
The Rookie creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley shares the truth about Richard’s future ahead of season 9.
This story contains spoilers from The Rookie season 8.
The Rookie is done airing season 8, but there’s a big question we still have about one of the characters.
After the finale, it’s clear things have definitely changed at LAPD Mid-Wilshire. Between Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) finally getting engaged before getting abducted in the final moments of the season, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) figuring out their long-distance marital issues, and Lieutenant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) leaving the police station for undercover work, it seemed like so much was happening all at once.
And speaking of Grey, he had left LAPD Mid-Wilshire to get involved in a task force that’s set on finding Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), who’s been working alongside dangerous criminals. And given how the seasons-long chase of finding her resulted in her untimely death in the penultimate episode, it leaves viewers wondering about what Grey’s future will be as a police officer. What’s more, we—and other fans—can’t help but wonder: is Richard T. Jones leaving The Rookie?
Since fans know The Rookie is returning for season 9, it makes sense that creator/showrunner Alexi Hawley would know more about Richard’s future on the show. When speaking with Deadline about this, he assured fans that Richard isn’t going anywhere, but this does give way for a new trajectory for Grey, given how his storyline this season changed rapidly.
“The task force is all but over,” he told the outlet on May 4. “It was based around Monica ... Now that she’s gone, the task force has no center. I do think part of early writers room for Season 9 is going to be figuring out exactly what Grey’s next chapter is.”
Regardless of what Grey (and subsequently, Richard) will end up doing at LAPD Mid-Wilshire, Alexi knows how much fans love seeing the character appear on The Rookie. Furthermore, he’s well aware of the fact that Richard is essential to the success of the show after almost a decade of being on TV.
“No, we’re status quo. We like everybody, we’re making it work,” Alexi added. “Richard is a hugely important piece of the puzzle of our show. Again, without treading water, what are we going to do? As long as we treat it as an opportunity, I think we’ll figure out something fun to do, for sure.”
Well, this has us excited for what’s to come, and we’re ready to see Richard back on our TV screens very soon!
