The Rookie ended Season 8 with a cliffhanger finale! The episode had a frantic final few minutes and left the future of three characters—Lucy, Tim, and Grey—hanging in the balance. And while we’re on the edge of our seats for Chenford, it’s Grey who has us most worried.
Is Richard T. Jones Leaving The Rookie in Season 9?
In the Season Finale, Tim offered Grey his job back. Now that Monica is gone, the task force is destined to disband. After all, it was created to pursue the criminals she reported on. However, Grey left the door open to not returning after the task force is completely dismantled.
Grey isn’t sure what his next move will be, but it doesn’t seem likely to be getting his Watch Commander job back—unless Tim needs him to do it while planning his wedding. And that set off alarm bells in our heads. If Grey doesn’t want his job back, does that mean Richard T. Jones will be leaving The Rookie?
Fortunately, The Rookie creator, executive producer, and showrunner Alexi Hawley was quick to answer this question in an interview with Deadline, clarifying that “part of the early writers’ room for Season 9 is going to be figuring out exactly what Grey’s next chapter is. Richard is a hugely important piece of the puzzle of our show. Again, without giving anything away, 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.”
So we can breathe easy, Jones isn’t going anywhere! Our favorite former Watch Commander will be back in Season 9. Now the question is, in what role?
Chenford’s Season 9 Cliffhanger Could Change Everything
After that conversation between Tim and Grey, everything went upside down. Tim finally popped the question to Lucy. And she said “yes”… only for them to be drugged and kidnapped by Everett’s minions two seconds later. So it’s clear that the start of The RookieSeason 9 will find the entire team working tirelessly to rescue Chenford.
But the world keeps turning, and the precinct needs a Watch Commander. The most logical assumption is that Grey will fill that role until Tim and Lucy are rescued—note that is a “when,” because we’re confident they’ll make it out of this together. However, Hawley, in the same interview with Deadline, seems to indicate that this won’t be the case.
In his words, “I am always looking for a fresh way. I don’t think going backwards is necessarily the way to go, but I also want it to be satisfying and dramatic. So one of the first things we got to figure out is what we are going to do with him that feels like growth.” Could this indicate that Grey won’t be acting as Watch Commander while they work to rescue Chenford?
Well, if you ask us, we think The Rookie Season 9 will use its first episode to rescue our favorite ship, and that’s what they’ll focus on. So we’ll see Grey working with the rest of the team and the FBI in a leadership position alongside Garza, but without officially regaining his Watch Commander position.
And what will happen when Tim returns to his job? The truth is, it’s still too early to have a clear theory about this, but perhaps we’ll see Grey promoted or even lead his own task force? We’d love that, and it would fit with what Hawley indicated in the interview about feeling that Grey is growing.
There’s still some time to find out if our guesses are right, but the good news is that we’re certain neither Grey nor Jones are going anywhere. And you want to know the best part? We also don’t need to worry about the fate of Eric Winter or Melissa O’Neil because Hawley confirmed to Deadline in the same interview that no cast member or series regular is leaving the show ahead of Season 9. In fact, he made it clear that they “are making it work.”
So, in case you had any doubts, Chenford is safe!
The Rookie Season 9 will premiere soon on ABC.
