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The Rookie Star Eric Winter Teases Season 8 Finale Alternate Ending

The Rookie star Eric Winter touched on what the show had planned if it wasn't renewed for Season 9. Yup, they filmed an alternate ending.

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Article Summary

  • The Rookie star Eric Winter reveals Season 8 filmed an alternate ending in case ABC didn’t renew the series for Season 9.
  • Winter teases the unused finale would have ended differently, but keeps the details secret to avoid spoiling The Rookie.
  • Alexi Hawley says The Rookie Season 9 premieres in January with a high-stakes two-part return full of drama and humor.
  • The Rookie Season 8 finale set up Tim and Lucy’s abduction after the proposal, launching Season 9’s biggest cliffhanger.

By the time ABC's The Rookie showrunner Alexi Hawley and series stars Nathan Fillion, Melissa O'Neil, Richard T. Jones, Alyssa Diaz, Eric Winter, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Jenna Dewan, Lisseth Chavez, and Deric Augustine wrapped up their time at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, fans were left with a whole lot to process regarding the deep dives into the Season 8 finale and what was teased about the 2027-debuting ninth season. But not all the interesting intel was shared during the panel, with Winter following up with PEOPLE on something Hawley had alluded to previously: an alternate ending to Season 8 was filmed in case a Season 9 green light didn't become a reality.

That means there might have been a more definitive conclusion to Lucy (O'Neil) accepting Tim's (Winter) proposal, rather than the kidnapping storyline we got. "We didn't know when we wrapped last season if we would ever come back," Winter shared – and it's understandable. Given how well the show does on ABC and Hulu and its jaw-dropping demo numbers, it would seem like a no-brainer that it would be renewed. But network and streaming rules have changed, meaning shows are sometimes canceled for reasons unrelated to viewing numbers. "We even shot an alternate ending to the show. It would've been different," Winter added, taking a pass on offering any details, saying it would be a "spoiler" to say more. But Winter's happy it wasn't an option they had to go with: "I'm very happy that we get to come back [for season 9]," he noted.

The Rookie
(Disney/Mike Taing) ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O'NEIL

Before we get to the original image gallery that was released, here's a headline-grabber from Hawley: the ninth season returns in January with a two-parter. "It's a two-parter, so it won't all be resolved in one episode; there's a lot going on," he shared. "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 Rookie
(Disney/Scott Kirkland)
DERIC AUGUSTINE, JENNA DEWAN, ERIC WINTER, LISSETH CHAVEZ, ALEXI HAWLEY, MELISSA O'NEIL, NATHAN FILLION, RICHARD T. JONES, SHAWN ASHMORE, MEKIA COX, ALYSSA DIAZ

Here's a look at some highlights from today's SDCC panel presentation – including Jones claiming the title of "Most Grumpy" (though Fillion makes a case for himself), Winter and O'Neil letting the "Chenford" fans know that they feel their pain when it came to Season 8's emotional rollercaster, and Fillion sharing how he's feeling about starting work on Season 9 on Monday.

And then, The Rookie: North star Jay Ellis joined the panel to talk up the spinoff and tap the original series's stars for some advice on being the best on-screen cop that he can be:

The Rookie Season 9: Hawley on Tim & Lucy's Future, Miles Graduating

The good news? After a whole lot of racing around to keep her from finding out early, Tim (Eric Winter) finally got a chance to pop the question to Lucy (Melissa O'Neil) – and she said yes! Of course, with this being a season finale, the happy couple had about 10 seconds to celebrate before big bad Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) executed his revenge plan from prison by having them abducted. During a post-season finale interview with Deadline Hollywood, Hawley addressed the big cliffhangers and what they mean for the upcoming season. But first, some great news for fans of Deric Augustine's Miles: the rookie will no longer be a rookie heading into the ninth season, with Hawley confirming he will graduate: "Going into Season 9, he won't be a rookie anymore." Here are some highlights from Hawley's interview, along with new images from the Season 8 finale:

Season 9 Will Kick Off Focusing on Tim & Lucy's Abduction: Regarding the ninth season, and Tim and Lucy's abduction, Hawley is looking to start the season with the team trying to "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 showrunner added that viewers shouldn't expect Tim and Lucy "to sit idly by and wait to be rescued."

Hawley on Everett Kidnapping Lucy Along with Tim: "Well, she's obviously the person that Tim cares about most, and this is about punishing him for not accepting the bribe and ultimately turning on Everett, or betraying Everett in his own weird mind. I think it's more about inflicting maximum punishment, so taking them both felt like that," Hawley shared. The bribe that Hawley is referencing goes back to Everett's earlier efforts to get Tim to take a $10 million bribe this season, only to be denied.

"There's a moment in the boat after they grabbed him where he's looking up at Tim, and Lucy's putting zip ties on him. So he knew it was Tim," Hawley continued. "In my mind, the abduction is a backup plan that was put in place in case he didn't get away, that was his reaching out, quote unquote, from the grave, so to speak. They were waiting a little bit; when he got rearrested, that got triggered."

Hawley on Why Now Was the Right Time for Tim to Propose to Lucy: "They had some happiness, I think, this season there was plenty of happiness. They were cute, we did a bunch of romcom stuff with them, how fast they're unpacking boxes and all that kind of stuff. At the end, it just felt super dramatic. I love the moment of the proposal, I feel like it's really special. I was surprised how emotional I got just watching the directors cut of it, but then I wanted to do something dramatic."

Hawley on Wedding Plans for Tim & Lucy (Or Anyone Else ) in Season 9: "To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what it would look like. We've obviously done a lot of weddings. We're lucky enough to now, going into Season 9, have done varying versions of weddings, whether they're off-camera, whether they're interrupted by being taken by La Fiera, whether they're successful, like the 100th episode with Nolan and Bailey, we've done a lot of them. So I'm always trying to figure out a fresh way in to stuff, and I don't have it yet. I think what's safe to say is that it needs to be satisfying. What that means? I don't know yet. I would never just shortchange it but I don't know. We got to figure it out."

Hawley on If Tim & Lucy's Proposal and Abduction Were Always the Season 8 Finale Plans: "We always were planning to shoot the abduction. There was a very, very small part of the back of my brain that's like, I can always just go out on the proposal, that version was available. I think as we got closer to editing it and finishing it up, it felt like I didn't need to even put that together. But I've been burned before, let's put it that way. So, yeah, I'm not gonna lie, there was a part of me that goes, that would be a satisfying ending if we had to go out that way."

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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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