Will Trent Season 3 Held for Midseason; Does This Mean the Show Will Be Canceled?

Summary

• ABC has released its schedule for the fall of 2024.
• Two popular shows, The Rookie and Will Trent, are not on the list.
• The decision was made to give both shows more coverage and a continuous run.

Following last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that halted production on most movies and shows, we thought the 2024 TV season would be packed with high-octane releases. Instead, we're faced with the disappointing news of highly popular series being canceled. Unfortunately, some of the ABC projects have also been axed, including two popular dramas, The Good Doctor and Station 19.

It is only natural that fans are extremely anxious, praying that their favorite series will not repeat the fate of the above-mentioned two. And so, ABC recently announced the schedule of shows that will premiere in the fall of 2024.

In addition to new seasons of the mainstays, there are new projects, but there are also some concerns: fans of the popular police procedural Will Trent will not see its third season this fall. What does this mean for the show and is it in danger of being canceled?

ABC Has Released the Fall 2024 Schedule

Last week, it was officially revealed what shows will be coming to ABC this fall. In addition to new series like High Potential, Scamanda, The Golden Bachelorette and Doctor Odyssey, two mainstays, Abbott Elementary and Grey's Anatomy, will return to the network with new seasons.

But when ABC viewers heard the news, instead of celebrating, they sounded the alarm. After all, the schedule did not mention two of the network's biggest hits, police procedurals Will Trent and The Rookie.

As it turned out, both were on the bench, as the new seasons would have to wait until mid-season.

Will Trent Is Not on the List. What Does That Mean for the Show?

While Will Trent launched in midseason, The Rookie has started every season in the fall, with the exception of two years due to Covid-19 and Hollywood labor disputes in 2023. All of this has understandably concerned viewers, as such an unconventional scheduling shift could indicate ABC executives' desire to cancel the show altogether.

For Will Trent, however, a fall premiere could guarantee the new show's status as ABC's flagship, but unfortunately that won't happen anytime soon.

But does all this mean we should expect the two shows to be canceled? As Disney TV Group president Craig Erwich pointed out, keeping the shows through midseason was a deliberate decision to give them more of a platform and a run that would not be limited by time and resources.

'We held the return of these shows till midseason so they can have truly an uninterrupted run for that season, which I think is a very powerful weapon in terms of watching our shows. And with New Year's Rockin' Eve and all of our events that we have in December, January is one of the best times to launch new shows.'

It's also worth noting that the stars of both shows, The Rookie's Nathan Fillion and Will Trent's Ramón Rodríguez, were featured in Disney's big hit presentation, so neither ABC nor its parent company is going to count out Will Trent and The Rookie, and we should expect January 2025 for one of the network's strongest starts.

'So this idea of bringing back Will Trent and The Rookie and basically going without repeats, we felt was the best way to continue the strength of both of those shows,' Erwich added. 'They both perform extraordinarily well, and I anticipate they'll be on the schedule for a long time.'

Meanwhile, there's only one episode left in Will Trent's sophomore season. The final episode will air on Tuesday, May 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.

Source: Deadline.