‘The Rookie’ Showrunner Says Jason Will Be ‘Biggest Threat’ in Season 7: ‘He Is a Threat to the Family’

The Rookie season 7 will pick up right where the previous season left off — with lots of drama and shocking revelations.

Showrunner Alexi Hawley teased what’s to come in the show’s latest season and which characters are going to be at the center of the show.

“Jason will ultimately pose the biggest threat in the first half of the season; he is sort of the existential threat because he is a threat to the family, Bailey especially,” he said in an interview with TVLine on Thursday, January 2. “But we’ll also lean into some of the trauma of Bailey’s relationship with Jason that maybe she hasn’t processed yet, the abusive relationship she was in with this guy.”

“That percolates up in the fear of the reunion, because part of the drama of the first half of the season is, ‘When is he going to show up?’ And that sense of always being afraid is not healthy, obviously,” he continued.

Alexi revealed that the timeline of season 7 will pick up just a few weeks after where season 6 stopped.

“It’s been a few weeks, time enough for Nolan to heal up [from being shot in the butt] – though whether he’s healed up enough or not is a bit of a debate in Episode 1,” he explained. “He’s trying to get back on that horse more quickly than he should. But he’s feeling very pressured, because [Bailey’s escaped convict ex-husband] Jason is out there, as is Oscar, but Jason is more of the existential threat to Nolan’s family.”

“We come in with that sense of, ‘We have to catch this guy before he comes for my wife and myself,’ only to — spoiler! — get thwarted by the fact that they have bad information,” he revealed.

Jason is a recurring character played by Steve Kazee. He’s become one of the show’s biggest villains throughout the seasons after the demise of his marriage to Bailey. His real-life partner, Jenna Dewan, stars as Bailey on the show. On top of that, Alexi confirmed that Bailey will appear in episode 3 of season 7 after much speculation grew about her appearances due to the fact that Jenna, 44, was pregnant when filming took place.

The logline for the premiere episode says, “Now recovering from a gunshot wound and feeling the effects of his age, John and the team welcome two new rookies and continue the hunt for two dangerous inmates with very personal vendettas following their prison escape.”

Additionally, there will be some new rookies this season, which fans are very excited about.

In an interview with TV Insider, Alexi called the season 7 premiere “a bit of a purposeful re-pilot. We’re introducing two new rookies [played by Deric Augustine and Patrick Keleher] — which means our front row in roll call will now be full for the first time sinceseason 3. We definitely came into this season determined to keep moving forward, telling new stories, shaking things up where we could, while keeping the show as fun to watch as ever.”

The Rookie season 7 is set to premiere on Tuesday, January 7, on ABC at 10 p.m. ET.