Nathan Fillion joins the production this week. (Image credits: Instagram)
After a stunning cliffhanger in the eighth season finale, ‘The Rookie’ Season 9 began filming last week. The team charmed the panel in the Indigo Ballroom at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Lead star Nathan Fillion, who was present at the prestigious festival with his colleagues, is scheduled to join production this Monday, while the rest started filming without him the week before.During the Comic-Con appearance, creator Alexi Hawley detailed the forthcoming episodes and what could be expected from them. Here’s a closer look at ‘The Rookie’ Season 9 production.
‘The Rookie’ Season 9: Production and expected release date
Hawley revealed that the upcoming season would likely be supersized, intensely filled with high-stakes turns and unexpected stories. “It’s a two-parter, so it won’t all be resolved in one episode; there’s a lot going on,” he said, per Deadline, before adding, “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. I just wish everything up to wait till January to see it.” The last part mentioning ‘January’ certainly points to the release being scheduled for January, following the pattern of the last couple of seasons. According to Collider, Hawley confirmed that ‘The Rookie’ Season 9 “started filming on Tuesday this last week. Moreover, the spin-off series ‘The Rookie: North’ will begin production in August. The upcoming season begins with the kidnapping cliffhanger. “We’re definitely gonna start that way, figure out where they are, and figure out how to get them back, and whatever obstacles we can put in their way on that,” the creator had said to Deadline in May. At Saturday’s panel, Alexi Hawley was joined by the 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 got a surprise appearance by Jay Ellis, lead of the upcoming spinoff. Go to Source
