Newbie Creator Alexi Hawley and the cast, led by Nathan Fillion, returned to Comic-Con with some news about the upcoming ninth season of the ABC series. Production began this week without Fillion, who will join others on set Monday, but was reunited with his co-stars during Saturday’s Comic-Con panel.
Hawley said that the premiere of the ninth season will be large-scale. “This is a two-part movie, so everything won’t be resolved in one episode—there’s a lot going on,” he said. “I think that’s the best thing about what we do, it’s incredibly high stakes, dramatic. It’s a love story, it’s funny and unexpected. I just want it to get to January to see it.”
That last part is a reference to the fact that, just like the last couple of seasons,Newbie will reopen its season in January.
RELATED: ABC Fall 2026 Schedule: No ‘The Bachelor,’ ‘High Potential’ and ‘Switching Gears’ Mid-Season with ‘The Rookie’ and ‘Will Trent.’
The long wait could be excruciating for fans who, two and a half months later, are still reeling from the stunning Season 8 finale, in which Tim (Eric Winter) and Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) were kidnapped moments after she accepted his romantic proposal on the beach at sunset.
Fans in the Indigo Ballroom were vocal when O’Neill asked what they thought of the final rollercoaster scene during the panel, prompting series star Nathan Fillion to chime in: “Show of hands – who had a rage in their living room?”
Seeing the sea of hands, O’Neill felt bad.
RELATED: ‘Rookie: North’ Picked Up for ABC Series; Mid-season spin-off will work alongside Mothership and prepare crossovers
“Oh no! We’ll send you some magnesium to calm you down, have some tea,” she joked, adding: “We’re really sorry about that, but also thanks for coming on the trip with us.”
The ninth season will begin after a thrilling kidnapping story.
“We’ll definitely start there and figure out where they are and figure out how to get them back and what obstacles we can put in their way,” Hawley told Deadline in May. “And then seeing Tim and Lucy wherever they are, I don’t think they’re going to sit back and wait to be rescued.”
At Comic-Con, O’Neil was asked about her reaction when she first read the beach scene in the final script, written by Hawley.
“Honestly, when I read it the first time, I was like, ‘I can’t believe he finally gave it to them, I’m shocked,’” she said. “And the next moment I thought, ‘See? I knew he wasn’t going to give it to them.” And also, I admit, my heart went out to everyone who was deeply invested in this, because I thought, “This is going to be hard.” So thank you for investing like that. But I’ve been on a roller coaster with you guys. That was great”.
Regarding filming the scene, she said: “The filming that day was very rushed, although very unceremonious. We were chasing the light.”
Winter added, “Yeah, we timed it for sunset. It was interesting, it was fast-paced. We had to knock it out. But I think seeing that script was amazing and it made me laugh. Like, haha, too bad. It was great.”
Here’s the video:
The Rookie’s Melissa O’Neil and Eric Winter are “apologetic” and “regretful” for the wild emotional rollercoaster that was the Season 8 finale at #SDCC. pic.twitter.com/xBG7vGzOFQ
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 25, 2026
Below are Fillion’s comments about the joy of working on Newbie where “my worst day is a great day.”
Nathan Fillion says he’s looking forward to the fun he’ll have (and thanks fans for their support) when he begins filming Season 9 of The Rookie on Monday. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/l5JxzpAOAf
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 25, 2026
The panel was crashed by Jay Ellis, the star of the upcoming spin-off. Newbie: North, Which will also premiere in January on ABC. Being new to the franchise, he asked: Newbie seek advice.
Fillion: “Learn everyone’s name. It will make it much easier to apologize if you’re late.”
Shawn Ashmore: “Warm up before performing stunts.”
Richard T. Jones: “Padding. Don’t be too manly, use knee pads.”
Destiny Jackson contributed to this report.