We've got some good news and bad news for Will Trent fans. The bad news is that the show won't return until early 2026, but the good news is that ABC will run it uninterrupted (pending anything unavoidable), meaning viewers won't have to wait for any weekly hiatuses.
This system is the same thing that ABC did with the most recent season. Per Deadline, Disney Television Group's Craig Erwich praised Will Trent as being "one of the only broadcast shows that actually grew year over year." He credits that with the "momentum" it gained from airing in January and running episodes weekly without any hiccups.
Additionally, Will Trent will stick with its lineup buddy The Rookie, renewed for its eighth season. The two series will hold down their spots on Tuesday nights along with High Potential, coming back with more episodes next season. Erwich thinks they're poised to have a winning night of television with these three running back-to-back. High Potential is getting a larger episode order for its sophomore season so its run will stretch from its fall debut to midseason.
“And when you bring in High Potential to that Tuesday night, it just creates a powerhouse night. Television, in many ways, is still about nights. People ask, What am I going to watch tonight? And ABC has had so many signature nights of television. Over the last 20 some odd years, it’s been Thursday night — now with Grey’s and 9-1-1 — and Tuesday night has become really a must-see destination night of television for our viewers.”
Most of the ABC scheduling will be similar to the 2024-2025 season, with a few shakeups. The network will keep 9-1-1 on Thursday nights followed by new spinoff 9-1-1: Nashville and then Grey's Anatomy.
Will Trent is a police procedural series that started in 2023 and is based on the series of detective novels written by Karin Slaughter. Ramón Rodríguez plays the lead character, Wilbur "Will" Trent, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) special agent with dyslexia. His keen observational skills make him an excellent investigator.
He also has an on-again off-again relationship with homicide detective Angela "Angie" Polaski (Erika Christensen), who he's known since he was a kid in foster care. Although their relationship has been more "off" lately given that Angie has a new love interest in Scott Foley's character Dr. Seth McDale. At the end of this season's penultimate episode it was even revealed that she is pregnant with his baby.
The season 3 finale aired on Tuesday, May 13, so Will Trent fans are officially entering a lengthy waiting period now before the fourth season will finally debut next year. I won't spoil what happens in the finale but it does up the stakes and leave a few characters' fates ambiguous, which I'm sure won't make the waiting time between seasons any easier.
The show's fourth season will have 18 episodes just like it did for season 3 and shooting will likely get underway later this year. Stay tuned to GeekSided for more updates!