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'The Rookie' Season 9 resets Miles Penn's future after a season of uncertainty

Show creator Alexi Hawley dropped a major update on Miles Penn's (Deric Augustine) future in the series.

One of the unexplained plotlines in 'The Rookie' series was that of Miles Penn (Deric Augustine). The 'Swagger' star's character had a major arc in the recently concluded Season 8. To quickly recap, Penn was assigned to Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) before he was assigned to John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) as his rookie. In the new season, Bradford served as the watch commander, following Wade Grey's (Richard T. Jones) move to the Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan) task force. This made all of Penn's actions his responsibility, especially after going rogue, running an off-book surveillance op, and getting kidnapped. After rescuing Penn, a disappointed Bradford flat-out tells the former he is out of the LAPD. While this raised questions about his future on the show, the creator, Alexi Hawley, dropped a major update on Augustine's future in the series.

Speaking to Deadline at length about 'The Rookie' and its future, Hawley was asked about Penn and his failure to graduate. "But he will. Going into Season 9, he won't be a rookie anymore." He also added the need to bring in a new rookie. "Obviously, we've had rookies that have flamed out quickly before. Greg Grunberg fired his gun at roll call, on morning one. We had a great episode where Katy O'Brien, before she blew up, we were lucky enough to get her, and I thought her episode was really great with Tim. So, there's always a possibility that what we start with might not be the whole season. There's still some stuff to figure out, but you're not wrong. Going into Season 9, we would need a new rookie, at least one. I want to figure that out," he said.

Hawley's comments on Penn's character suggest that he will play a key role in season 9. With the show following a pattern of developing characters throughout the season, it remains to be seen what is in store for Penn and his equation with Bradford. On the cast front, the regular names are all expected to return. Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, Melissa O'Neil returns as Lucy Chen, Alyssa Diaz continues as Angela Lopez, and Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers. At the time of writing, there is no official word on the exact date when Season 9 will premiere. While the wait for the new season continues, fans can rewatch previous seasons of 'The Rookie' available for streaming on Hulu.