When it comes to television shows, one of the most expounded upon niches is that of first responders, with a ton of shows emerging over the years. While some have failed over the years, others have made a significant impact, with the most prominent names being the One Chicago universe, created by Dick Wolf and Derek Haas, airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock, and the 9-1-1 franchise built by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, with its home on ABC while streaming on Hulu. Other first responder franchises and shows exist, and ABC has one of the most beloved titles. With eight seasons under its belt, The Rookie remains one of ABC's most popular shows. Centered around the Los Angeles Police Department, the show launched in 2018 with the focus on a rookie (played by Nathan Fillion) who, in the mid-stages of his life, decides to join the force. Despite nearly a decade onscreen, the police procedural which has since evolved into a high-octane show, seems to be gaining even more momentum while consistently depicting fresh talent joining the LAPD. Season 8 of The Rookie ended on Monday, May 4, with the finale titled "The Bandit." During the course of the season, the show took viewers outside the confines of Los Angeles, while also bringing an end to one of the show's long-running villains. The fan-favorite Chenford couple of Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil) also continued to offer up an emotionally satisfying dynamic between them. However, by the time the Season 8 finale aired, one of the villains thrown into The Rookie mix, Heath Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise), had kidnapped our beloved Chenford. It is a decision that is sure to draw the ire of the LAPD as we head into Season 9. The new season is expected around January next year, but fans have some news to get excited about. Series creator Alexi Hawley recently sat with TVLine, and while no major bombshells were dropped regarding the Chenford situation. The creator did reveal that The Rookie starts shooting Season 9 today, Tuesday, July 21, with a premiere script he described as "super fun and romantic and emotional [with] a lot of action." Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse. Your partner doesn't talk much, doesn't need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you've finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You'll never need to ask if he has your back. You'll just know. Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it'll take you a moment to remember what's actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You'll never be bored. You'll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing. Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar's eye and a brawler's instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn't matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you'll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them. Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren't so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay. Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you've finished reading the briefing, and the plan he's settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn't exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway. The connection between The Rookie and its expanding fanbase is a bond that is continually growing stronger. This is evident in the recent decision to release an extended cut of Season 8, Episode 10, "His Name Was Martin." The extended cut includes five and a half extra minutes and was released on July 20. Hawley, when speaking on the decision, described it as a way of rewarding the show's fanbase who are set for even more joy when ABC expands The Rookie franchise beyond its original series. Having failed with the spin-off The Rookie: Feds, back in 2022, the network has turned its hopes towards its next spin-off, The Rookie: North, which stars Jay Ellis (Top Gun: Maverick and Running Point) as its lead.