Even though it’s a long wait for The Rookie season 8 and Will Trent season 4 premiere, fans can pass the time by checking out ABC’s other critically acclaimed police procedurals. Unfortunately, the network is holding both The Rookie and Will Trent for midseason for their 2025–2026 programming schedule. That means that their new seasons won’t premiere until early 2026.
Both The Rookie season 8 and Will Trent season 4 are expected to have 18 episodes each, which will reportedly air weekly with little to no expectations, similar to their previous seasons.
It will have been around eight months since ABC released the finales of The Rookie season 7 and Will Trent season 3. While the network hasn’t announced an official date for their upcoming premieres, one can assume that they’re coming in January 2026, based on The Rookie season 7 and Will Trent season 3’s debuts. In the meantime, fans can watch similar shows.
8
High Potential
2024–Present
If you’re searching for a short binge while waiting for The Rookie season 8 and Will Trent season 4, look no further than ABC’s new series High Potential. It only has 13 episodes and was one of the biggest shows of the 2024–2025 season. There’s a reason why it has garnered so much praise, making it a must-watch for any fan of police procedurals.
High Potential centers around Kaitlin Olson’s Morgan Gillory, a nighttime cleaner for the LAPD. One night, she accidentally stumbles upon a case and uses her abilities as an HPI (high potential intellectual) to help solve it. Afterward, Morgan is rewarded with an offer to serve as a consultant for the LAPD, and she accepts.
High Potential is certainly worth watching as it not only explores intriguing cases, but it also features an overarching mystery that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats. Plus, the release date for High Potential season 2 is just around the corner. Morgan and co. are set to return on Tuesday, September 16, at 10 pm ET on ABC.
7
NYPD Blue
1993–2005
NYPD Blue is simply a classic and is arguably one of (if not the) best cop shows of all time. And it just so happened to have aired on ABC. NYPD Blue premiered in 1993 and ran for 12 seasons and 261 episodes, ending in 2005. At the time, it was ABC’s longest-running primetime one-hour drama series, but Grey’s Anatomy later broke its record.
Given its length, NYPD Blue will serve as the best replacement for The Rookie and Will Trent during their respective hiatuses. Its 261 episodes are sure to make the time waiting for The Rookie and Will Trent go faster. It also doesn’t hurt that NYPD Blue is a great show and a must-watch for any fan of police procedural TV series.
NYPD Blue has been praised for its accuracy regarding law enforcement and its tendency to push boundaries, unwilling to shy away from important and serious subject matters. Essentially, NYPD Blue was groundbreaking while it was airing and went on to inspire several other cop series. If it weren’t for NYPD Blue, the landscape of the police procedural genre would look very different today.
6
9-1-1
2018–Present
While 9-1-1 isn’t strictly a police procedural, it is a procedural that features police officers. Yes, the ABC series mostly revolves around the firefighters and paramedics of Station 118, but one of 9-1-1‘s most important characters (Athena Grant, played by Angela Bassett) is a cop. So, it earns an easy spot on this list, especially because it’s still on the air.
9-1-1 season 9 will premiere on Thursday, October 9, at 8 pm ET on ABC.
9-1-1 is heading into its ninth season, meaning fans of The Rookie and Will Trent will have a lot of episodes to catch up on while waiting for the two cop shows. The procedural drama has released 124 episodes as of the writing of this article. Then, 9-1-1 will produce even more once it returns with season 9 in the fall of 2025.
5
Castle
2009–2016
Castle is the perfect police procedural to watch while waiting for The Rookie season 8, specifically. It’ll also satisfy Will Trent fans, but Castle has the advantage of having Nathan Fillion, who also stars in The Rookie. If viewers love his newer show, they’ll appreciate his older one. Fillion plays a completely different character in Castle, but it fits the bill nonetheless.
In Castle, Fillion portrays the titular character. He’s a crime writer who (similar to High Potential‘s Morgan) becomes a consultant to the NYPD when a serial killer brings one of his books to life. Well, Castle is supposed to only be shadowing Detective Kate Beckett and her team while prepping his next novel, but he gets more involved than anyone thought (or wanted).
Castle ran for eight seasons and 173 episodes, meaning it’s another long binge. The good news is that The Rookie season 8 and Will Trent season 4 won’t premiere until 2026, giving fans more than enough time to watch the entirety of Castle before their returns.
4
Columbo
1968–1978, 1989–2003
Just like NYPD Blue, Columbo is a classic police procedural series that must be seen. The crime drama follows Peter Falk as Lieutenant Frank Columbo, an LAPD homicide detective and arguably one of the greatest network TV cops. Many regard Columbo as the best detective to ever grace the small screen, and no one will ever come close.
NBC released Columbo‘s first pilot in 1968, but its first season wouldn’t air until 1971. Then, it ran for seven seasons on the network before coming to an end in 1978. Eleven years later, though, ABC revived Columbo, and it ultimately concluded (for good this time) in 2003. Overall, Columbo released 10 seasons and 69 episodes.
Columbo is unlike most police procedurals on network TV. Most cop shows are structured as “whodunits,” whereas Columbo can be described as a “howcatchem.” Basically, its episodes begin with the audience knowing the criminal’s identity and follow with Lieutenant Columbo trying to solve the case, accompanied by his trademark tan raincoat, Peugeot 403 car, and his “just one more thing” catchphrase.
3
Moonlighting
1985–1989
Even though ABC doesn’t classify The Rookie or Will Trent as comedies, they certainly have their fair share of humor (more so The Rookie than Will Trent). But the two aren’t the first police procedural comedies, as Moonlighting exists. It’s considered TV’s first successful dramedy (aka comedy drama) and went on to influence many other shows.
Moonlighting follows Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd’s characters, who run a private detective agency, solving cases in every episode. The 1980s ABC TV series ran for five seasons and 67 episodes, ultimately ending in 1989. Given that it’s neither short nor long, Moonlighting might just be exactly what The Rookie and Will Trent fans need to get them through this long hiatus.
2
Stumptown
2019–2020
On the other hand, Stumptown is a quick binge. However, unlike High Potential, it didn’t last past its first season, despite how good it was. The ABC crime drama, consisting of 18 episodes, centers around Cobie Smulders’ Dex Parios, a Marine veteran turned private investigator. Stumptown features Dex working through her personal problems while also trying to distract herself with her work.
Stumptown has a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with its Critics Consensus reading, “Simple, but strong, Stumptown moves at a brisk pace and packs a serious punch thanks in large part to Cobie Smulders’ star-making performance.”
Stumptown is an underrated detective show that should have gotten a second season. In fact, it technically did. ABC renewed Stumptown for season 2 in May 2020, but the network reversed the decision a few months later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we’ll never get to see Dex’s full story. However, what we still have of it is pretty great.
1
Twin Peaks
1990–1991, 2017
Even if someone doesn’t watch The Rookie or Will Trent, Twin Peaks is a must-watch for any TV lover. David Lynch’s ABC surrealist mystery-horror drama chronicles FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper’s (played by Kyle MacLachlan) investigation into Laura Palmer’s (played by Sheryl Lee) death. While that’s only a simple description, Twin Peaks is an innovative police procedural that begs to be seen.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a prequel film, premiered in 1992 and received widespread acclaim years after its release.
Twin Peaks ran for two seasons and 30 episodes in the early ’90s on ABC. Almost three decades later, it returned with a third season on Showtime. Ultimately, every work in the Twin Peaks franchise is elite and will certainly take fans’ minds off of The Rookie and Will Trent while waiting for their respective new seasons.
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