‘The Rookie’ Season 8 finale sparks fear of Wade Grey’s exit after surprising twist — and fans are concerned
As 'The Rookie' closed the curtains on Season 8 on May 4, one character's fate hangs in the balance. The show's eighth installment premiered on January 6 and witnessed a major shift as Richard T. Jones's character, Wade Grey, was seen leaving his position as the Watch Commander at LAPD’s Mid-Wilshire Station after seven seasons. Tim Bradford, played by Eric Winter, took over his role so Grey could join the new task force between the FBI and the LAPD, run by SSA Matthew Garza, as the senior liaison.
After the task force fulfilled its objectives in the finale, Grey is seen at a crossroads, with no clear path forward. Tim asks Grey about his plans once the task force shuts down, "The task force’s ending, I assume you’d want your job back." However, Grey shares that, "Closing up the task force is gonna take months. After that, I’m not sure what my next move is." He adds, "Unless you’re asking me to step in while you’re planning the wedding. In that case, I’m happy to help out," referring to Tim's engagement to Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) in the finale.
After the finale aired, 'The Rookie' creator, Alexi Hawley, spoke to Deadline to discuss Grey's future following his stint with the task force. "The task force is all but over. It was based around Monica (Bridget Regan); it was sort of our 'Blacklist' homage. Now that she's gone, the task force has no center. I do think part of early writers room for Season 9 is going to be figuring out exactly what Grey's next chapter is." Moreover, he noted that Grey may consider new prospects instead of returning to his old job at the station when the hit ABC drama returns with Season 9, confirmed in April. "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 are we going to do with him that feels like growth," he said.
Furthermore, Hawley, who also serves as the show's executive producer, assured fans of the cop drama that Jones' fan-favorite character would not be killed off in Season 9. "Richard is a hugely important piece of the puzzle of our show. Again, without treading water, 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," he said. Until the next chapter of the police procedural drama series returns to ABC, viewers can catch up with all seasons of 'The Rookie' on Hulu and Disney+.
