While most police procedural dramas follow special agents and high-profile cases, The Rookie sets itself apart by following beat cops and the detectives of Los Angeles. With Season 4 premiering this September, here's what we know so far.

What Is the Story Going into The Rookie Season 4?

The Rookie’s Season 3 plot primarily revolved around current events, addressing issues like police brutality, racism and overfunding. Unfortunately, whether that was the reason or not, Season 3’s Rotten Tomato score is significantly lower than the prior two seasons. Season 1 and 2 had 93 and 96 percent, respectively, while Season 3 only managed 24 percent. Although The Rookie did a decent job of addressing important and relevant issues, it was sometimes too blatant for its style. Hopefully, Season 4 can address the same problems while taking more of a subtle approach where the message is shown through the characters’ actions more so than their words.

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From a plot standpoint, the latter half of Season 3 revolved around Detective Angela’s pursuit of La Fiera, the leader of the most prominent drug cartel in Los Angeles. They respected each other for a while, but all of that ended when Angela insulted La Fiera’s mothering skills as she was arrested in the season finale. Then, in the closing minutes of the episode, Angela was about to marry Wesley when she mysteriously went missing. La Fiera had escaped from prison and had made a move against her nemesis.

The promo for Episode 1 "Life and Death" shows that Season 4 will pick up right there. Somehow Wesley has found out that La Fiera is holding Angela at a compound outside of Guatemala City. So, everyone goes down to rescue one of their own. While fans are certainly fearful for Angela, showrunner Alexi Hawley did make an effort to quell that fear by saying, “I don’t want to give it away, but [La Fiera] definitely [needs something from Angela],” Hawley said. “This is not the end of Lopez, but an escalation in this dynamic that they’ve had for basically the whole season.” So, it doesn't seam like Angela will die, but there is another cast member that might be in trouble.

Who Is in The Rookie Season 4's Cast?

The Rookie Season 4 Poster

The Rookie hasn’t announced any major casting changes for Season 4. However, series regular and original cast member Titus Makin Jr. -- who plays Officer Jackson West -- is notably missing from both the "Life or Death" promo and the promotional material. The teaser might even offer a dark clue. At one point, Officer Chen and Sgt. Gray’s have black stripes across their badges, indicating a loss at the LAPD, and at another point in the promo, it sounds like Officer Chen saying, "We have an officer down." So, speculation points to something happening to Officer West in the Episode 1.

Other than that, Nathan Fillion is back as LAPD Rookie John Nolan, the show’s leading man and namesake character. Season 4 should see Nolan complete his disciplinary extra training and begin the next step in his policing career. The other two rookies that entered the program have already graduated and been given their assignments. Titus Makin Jr. -- who plays Officer Jackson West was one of them. He is currently focusing on social justice reform in the department with an eye on SWAT in the future, but his future could be in jeopardy. The second former rookie is Melissa O’Neil's Lucy Chen, who has been flirting with undercover work.

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The same training officers are also back for Season 4. Mekia Cox plays Police Detective Nyla Harper, who is responsible for teaching Nolan and a former undercover specialist. Eric Winter is also back as Officer Tim Bradford, a former combat veteran who taught Chen before her graduation. Finally, Alyssa Diaz will once again play Detective Angela Lopez. She has recently been promoted to detective, is pregnant and was taken captive by La Fiera on her wedding day in the Season 3 finale.

Rounding out the cast are Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers and Richard T. Jones as Sergeant Wade Grey. Wesley was engaged to Detective Lopez throughout Season 3 and has acted as Nolan’s lawyer in the past. Sergeant Grey is in charge of their respective department in the LAPD.

The Rookie Season 4 Promo

ABC recently released a promo for The Rookie's Season 4 premiere, "Life and Death." It teases the LAPD's mission to Guatemala City to rescue captive Detective Angela Lopez, while also giving hints about the possible death of series regular Officer Jackson West.

What Is The Rookie Season 4 Release Date

 

Season 4 of The Rookie will premiere Sunday, Sept. 26, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. The later time slot seems to be working for the show, because it has found a steady following, with viewers increasing over the first three seasons.

The Rookie Season 4 will premiere Sept. 26 on ABC.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available

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