With still months to go beforeThe Rookieseason 8 premieres,fans can pass the time by watching a six-season show with a similar plot.The ABC police procedural TV series is in the midst of a lengthy hiatus. Unfortunately, followingThe Rookieseason 7 finale(which contained a couple of cliffhangers), the break between seasons has been rather restless.
The Rookiewon’t return with season 8in fall 2025. As such, there is plenty of time to check out other shows, especially those that can fill the void left by Nathan Fillion’s series. Fans have a plethora of police procedurals to choose from, buttheir best option is one that ended a decade ago and has six seasons under its belt.
Rookie Blue Is The Perfect Replacement For The Rookie
Rookie Blue Premiered In 2010
As one can infer by its name,Rookie Blueisthe best replacement forThe Rookie. The Canadian police procedural series (which aired on Global in Canada and on ABC in the United States) debuted in June 2010, serving as one of the network’s summer shows.Rookie Blueran for six seasons and 74 episodesbefore ending in July 2015.
Matt Gordon
Oliver Shaw
Instead of airing between the fall and spring months,Rookie Bluehelped ABC fill out its schedule while its other TV series were on hiatus.One could say that it was the ultimate replacement show. And it could be that for fans ofThe Rookiewho are anxiously waiting for season 8 to premiere in early 2026 (likely in January).
Rookie Bluebegins with a set of rookies' first day as police officers,just like inThe Rookiepilot. However, instead of taking place in LA, the oldercop showis set in Toronto. Over the course ofRookie Blue, the characters struggle to prove themselves at work while also dealing with problems in their personal lives. The two often overlap, though.
Rookie Blue Deserves Much More Praise
The Canadian Police Procedural Is Underrated
Despite lasting for six seasons and almost 75 episodes,Rookie Bluedoesn’t get the attention it deserves.The fact that it was a summer TV show certainly hurt its popularity. Nevertheless, the crime drama deserves much more praise.Rookie Blueis intense, intriguing, and features a set of dynamic characters who viewers sometimes hate to love and love to hate.
Rookie Blueisn’t perfect, of course. It certainly has its flaws, and it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. For example, it can be overly dramatic at times (bordering on soap opera territory), which may turn some people away. However, for those who have always wantedThe Rookieto be morelikeGrey’s Anatomy,Rookie Blueis the ideal TV show.
SinceRookie Bluehas many episodes to get through, it’s the perfect TV series to help fans ofThe Rookiebide their time in between seasons 7 and 8.
Outside of the fact thatRookie Blueis a police procedural focusing on rookie cops, it has much in common withThe Rookie. Perhaps there are a few more office romances and hookups, but the Canadian TV series' central relationship is quite similar toTim and Lucy inThe Rookie. So,Chenford fans can have another couple to root for.
Rookie Bluemight take itself more seriously thanThe Rookie.Still, if you are a fan of one show, you will likely be drawn to the other. SinceRookie Bluehas many episodes to get through, it’s the perfect TV series to help fans ofThe Rookiebide their time in between seasons 7 and 8.
Where The Rookie Has Gone Wrong In Recent Seasons
Seasons 6 & 7 Have Been Disappointing
Rookie Bluecan also help those who lovedThe Rookieat the start but are getting tired of it as of late. Sadly, they certainly wouldn’t be alone in this line of thinking. TheABC crime drama has been on a slow decline since season 6,and based onthe ending ofThe Rookieseason 7, it’s not getting better anytime soon.
Season 5 ofThe Rookiewas one of its better seasons. Afterward, though, seasons 6 and 7 have been rather disappointing. Yes,season 6 was affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023,resulting in a rushed 10-episode outing with an overstuffed, convoluted finale. Then, season 7 failed to make up for its predecessor’s mistakes.
The Rookiereturns with season 8 in early 2026, consisting of 18 episodes that will reportedly air weekly with little to no breaks. The only exceptions would be “presidential addresses or other unavoidable preemptions,” according toTVLine.
The Rookieseason 7’s first half contained a handful of good episodes. In fact,The Rookieseason 7, episode 8was one of the show’s best. However, following the midseason finale, the police procedural struggled to get back on track.Tim and Lucy’s story was mishandled,as were the villains' arcs, and the season ended on a predictable, dull note.
The hope is thatThe Rookieseason 8 can right the ship. The writers and producers have time to rediscover what makes the ABC series great, after all. Until then, though, fans ofThe Rookiecan watchRookie Blueto either help pass the time or to discover a similar, intriguing TV show.
