The Rookie season 5

The fifth season of the American police procedural crime drama The Rookie premiered on ABC on September 25, 2022 and concluded on May 2, 2023 with 22 episodes.

The Rookie
Season 5
Starring	Nathan Fillion Shawn Ashmore Mekia Cox Jenna Dewan Alyssa Diaz Richard T. Jones Melissa O'Neil Eric Winter Tru Valentino
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 25, 2022 (2022-09-25) – May 2, 2023 (2023-05-02)
Season chronology

Cast and characters

Main article: List of The Rookie characters

Main

• Nathan Fillion as John Nolan
• Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers
• Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper
• Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune
• Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez
• Richard T. Jones as Wade Grey
• Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen
• Eric Winter as Tim Bradford
• Tru Valentino as Aaron Thorsen

Recurring

• Lisseth Chavez as Celina Juarez
• Michael Trucco as Sean Del Monte
• Dylan Conrique as Tamara Colins
• Kanoa Goo as Chris Sanford
• Arjay Smith as James Murray
• Angel Parker as Luna Grey
• Brent Huff as Quigley Smitty
• Brandon Jay McLaren as Elijah Stone
• Bridget Regan as Monica Stevens
• Jan M. Janssen as Officer Jan

Guests

• Annie Wersching as Rosalind Dyer
• Juan Javier Cardenas as Lyon
• Susan Chuang as Chief Coleman
• Chastity Dotson as Deputy Megan Suriel
• Lucy Walters as Beth Veston
• J.P. Pitoc as Roy Hajek
• Peyton List as Gennifer Bradford
• Fiona Rene as Detective Misha Porter
• Jesse Luken as Walt Lindbeck
• Danny Vasquez as Abel Lawton
• Julian Zane Chowdbury as Pavi
• Thomas Dekker as Jeffrey Boyle
• Melissa Marty as Kayla
• Freya Adams as Tracy Urtega
• Helena Mattsson as Ashley McGrady
• Rose Portillo as Emilia Lopez
• Julio Macias as Damian Lopez
• Cristian Gonzalez as Benny Lopez
• Shiloh Fernandez as Cruz Lopez
• Cody John as Rob Lukasey
• Jake Tapper as Himself
• Jack Tapper as Himself
• J. August Richards as Xavier Lind
• Carsyn Rose as Lila Town
• Walter Perez as Winslow Harris
• Luciana Faulhaber as Macy Tomkins
• Jacqueline Obradors as Mrs. Mitchelssen
• Brigitte Kali Canales as Shana Quelli
• Nicole Chanel Williams as Vina Cordon
• Elijah M. Cooper as Tabin Cordon
• Brianna Brown as Abby
• Cherinda Kincherlow as Althea Cordon
• E.R. Ruiz as Callis Caputo
• Jed Rees as Richard Dormer
• Mark Famiglietti as Henri Parsons
• Tim Ransom as Creighton Mitchell
• Leonora Pitts as Pam Winfield
• Matthew Alan as Ryan Davis
• Jade Payton as Dominique Grey
• Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson as Marta
• Kayli Tran as Gertrude
• Wilmer Calderon as Ralph Stevens
• Shelli Boone as Detective Olivia Terry
• Vincent Ventresca as Todd Shelf
• Ashli Auguillard as Amy Wright
• Jack Mikesell as Roger Armistead
• Drew Fuller as Oliver Paoletta
• Amanda Leighton as Kyra Cook
• Aaron Behr as Moses Warden
• Al-Teron as Quinlan Wright
• Harvey J. Alperin as Malcolm Walker
• Kelly Clarkson as Herself
• Matthew Glave as Oscar Hutchinson
• Molly C. Quinn as Ashley
• Audrey Marie Anderson as Dr. Charlene Bernard
• Austin Woods as Duke
• Alysia Reiner as Lieutenant Pine
• Marlene Forte as Karla Juarez
• Drew Powell as Eric 'Knuckles' Mills
• Brandon Black as Bobby
• Veronica Cartwright as Beatrice O'Malley
• Joel Steingold as Kevin Hicks
• Benito Martinez as Judge Daniel Rivas
• Assaf Cohen as Deon Laetner
• Nick Gomez as Mad Dog
• Julie Ann Emery as Stacy
• Gigi Zumbado as Abril Rodas
• Drew Rausch as Sheriff Steve McNeese
• Mike Capozzi as Josh Cherry
• Nisalda Gonzalez as Daylin Morales
• David Bianchi as Wyatt
• Felicia Day as Dr. Morgan
• Kyle Schmid as Noah Foster
• Kyle Davis as Vince Jameson
• Preeti Desai as Charlie Bristow
• Augie Duke as Raelynn Jameson
• Jaime Paul Gomez as Edwin Guzman
• Jaydon Clark as Jordy Yates
• Lance Bass as Himself
• Josh Hopkins as Charles Baudelaire
• Cameron Cowperthwaite as Jesse Long
• Alexi Hawley as Interviewer
• Christine Lakin as Camille Baudelaire
• Adam Karst as Emir Sadik
• Carmireli Rodriguez as Lisa Miller
• Don McManus as Joel Chambers
• Henri Lubatti as Drew Heslov
• Colleen Foy as Olivia's Mother
• Miguel Perez as Detective Dave Delgado
• Vivian Stein as Olivia Vargas
• Flula Borg as Skip Tracer Randy
• Mircea Monroe as Isabel Bradford
• Casey Biggs as Ed Teska
• Alison Thornton as Dara Teska
• Michael Rooker as Frank Teska
• Ben Levin as Scott
• Bob Glouberman as Larry Ellis
• Nick Alvarez as Mark
• Kristian Brunn as Boyd Taylor
• Chet Grissom as Luke Moran
• Hans Obma as Hamza Young

Crossover cast

• Niecy Nash as Simone Clark: A trainee FBI agent who has the same priorities as John Nolan, and the protagonist of the spin-off series The Rookie: Feds. She is also the oldest NAT ever at Quantico.
• Britt Robertson as Laura Stensen, Simone Clark's FBI colleague on The Rookie: Feds.
• Felix Solis as Matthew Garza, the FBI Special Agent in Charge and leader of Simone Clark's team on The Rookie: Feds.
• Kevin Zegers as Brendan Acres, Simone Clark's friend and FBI colleague on The Rookie: Feds.
• James Lesure as Carter Hope, a career FBI special agent assigned to SSA Garza's Special Investigative Unit on The Rookie: Feds.
• Thomas Dekker as Jeff Boyle / Eli Reynolds on The Rookie: Feds

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
77	1	"Double Down"	Tori Garrett	Alexi Hawley	September 25, 2022 (2022-09-25)	501	3.36
As a reward for his heroic stand down at the border, Nolan is offered a "Golden Ticket", his choice of assignment in the LAPD. His fellow officers (and Bailey) all have suggestions for him but the chief urges him to think it over before deciding. While Tim and Lucy continue their undercover assignment with Roy's crew, Nolan and Grey assist with securing the courthouse for the trial of Rosalind Dyer. With the help of her attorney, Rosalind escapes. Grey gathers the loved ones of his officers at the station for protection while he, Nolan and Harper help with the manhunt. Tim and Lucy learn of the escape while en route to Las Vegas but Lucy insists on continuing with the assignment. They rendezvous with Lopez and Aaron at a casino and make a plan to take down Roy's crew and their employer but their cover is blown by an ex of Tim's doppelganger, Jake. Fortunately, Lucy manages to subdue and arrest the crew. Rosalind is able to escape LA after robbing and murdering her attorney's parents and then slitting Chris' wrists and leaving him for dead in Lucy's apartment, where she and Tim find him before they can confront their feelings for each other.
78	2	"Labor Day"	Rob Seidenglanz	Elizabeth Davis Beall	October 2, 2022 (2022-10-02)	502	2.93
Chris recovers from his injuries. Lucy is offered to go to undercover school, but is hesitant despite encouragement from those closest to her. Nolan passes his TO exam and is scheduled to attend a certification course, and Grey allows him to be Aaron's TO as a trial run. The two respond to a welfare check and discover the corpse of a deputy sheriff. The ensuing investigation reveals that the deputy and a group of his colleagues worked undercover against drug dealers, but instead took the cash from the ones they were meant to arrest. The deputy who died left recordings of his interactions with his colleagues, which proves their corruption. Harper is in maternity leave and is due to give birth, but becomes suspicious of her and James' neighbors. Once gun shots are heard, Smitty arrives and investigates, but doesn't find any evidence of her claims. Harper later sees the neighbors putting a corpse in a car trunk and reports her suspicions to Grey. The night she is due to give birth, the neighbors break into her house and one of them figures James just as Grey arrives. Harper manages to tackle the second man on her own and gives birth to a baby girl. Due to the deputy investigation, Nolan expresses that he didn't feel he taught Aaron much, but he assures Nolan that his tactic was beneficial.
79	3	"Dye Hard"	Bethany Rooney	Natalie Callaghan	October 9, 2022 (2022-10-09)	503	3.12
One month later, Nolan has finished his TO certification, Lucy has finished her undercover course and Harper has returned to work. Nolan is assigned rookie Celina Juarez, and the two come off to a rocky start after a traffic stop gone awry. The vehicle is revealed to contain a blood stained carpet, but since the evidence was obtained illegally, it can't hold up in court. The carpet is also revealed to be linked to the disappearance of Jill Baskin, whose case Harper has taken on. Together with Lopez and Harper, Nolan and Celina work undercover to follow Jill's suspected abductor Tyler Harvin, but he escapes. While looking through evidence, Celina has a dream about where Jill could possibly be held. Nolan decides to give her a chance after refreshing their working relationship, and the two search a property in the woods, where they find Jill. Celina pursues Tyler and ends up in a fight with him before Nolan locates her and arrests Tyler. Lucy patrols solo and is locked inside an old warehouse while conducting a welfare check. She has an epiphany after looking through a document from the Dye Hards, an online group Chris joined looking into Rosalind Dyer. After Tim and Aaron finds her, she and Chris approach the FBI with the suspicion of Rosalind being a user in the group, which they track to an address in Seattle. Lucy joins the team to the city and find a blood written message from Rosalind on a wall at the address, saying "Better luck next time". Britt Robertson (Laura Stensen) and Felix Solis (Matt Garza) are credited as Special Guest Stars.
80	4	"The Choice"	Bill Roe	Fredrick Kotto	October 16, 2022 (2022-10-16)	504	3.08
While responding to a supposed medical emergency, Bailey falls into a booby trap in the floor of an old house. Her entrapment leads to a more challenging rescue mission for the fire and police departments, all the while Nolan receives a call from Rosalind. She asks him to come and meet her one last time, and if he tries anything, Bailey will get hurt. The rescue team discover obstacles at every turn in order to rescue Bailey, and the tank begins to fill up with water. Nolan leaves clues for his colleagues, but his trail ends after he is asked to drive a van to Rosalind's location. Harper, Lopez and Aaron, together with Laura Stensen and Brandon Acres from the LA FBI office, investigate a warehouse where an acolyte of Rosalind, Jeffrey Boyle, has stored materials for building booby traps for her victims. The former three spot Jeffrey and chase him, but he triggers explosives which detonate the warehouse. Luckily all of them make it out in time. With notes of how the traps work, the rescue team manage to disarm other traps while activating a last one before Bailey is finally recovered from the tank. Nolan arrives at Rosalind's meet up location and the two have a last supper before he is meant to kill her. But living up to his moral, Nolan doesn't kill her and decides to bring her in. However, as he calls it in, a sniper shoots and kills Rosalind. This episode begins a crossover event that concludes on The Rookie: Feds season 1 episode 4. Britt Robertson (Laura Stenson) and Kevin Zegers (Brendon Acres) are credited as Special Guest Stars. This episode also marks the final appearance of Rosalind Dyer and the last appearance of (Annie Wersching) who died from cancer on January 29, 2023, at the age of 45.
81	5	"The Fugitive"	Cherie Nowlan	Diana Mendez Boucher	October 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)	505	3.40
Lopez finds her mother at the door, who explains that she was attacked by someone claiming that one of her sons should be cautious. Harper takes the case, and Lopez calls in all of her brothers all but one who is studying in New York. Neither of them admits to having any knowledge to their mother's assailant, but Lopez later learns that one of them, Damian, cheated with the wife of a former gang member working at his church. She and Harper also discovers that another one of her brothers, Benny, was in debt after putting money into the stock exchange and a loan shark came after him. They head out and arrest the loan shark for attacking Lopez's mother. Nolan and Celina respond to a car accident, but the driver escapes from the ambulance upon arriving at the hospital. The driver, revealed to be Rob Lukasey, burgled a house and was shot by a man in self defense. The hospital is put on lockdown as Rob tries to find a way to heal himself. He disguises himself as a medical officer and then a doctor before taking Celina hostage. She however manages to subdue him with morphine under the guise of treating his injuries. While helping at the hospital, Tim is hospitalized with after effects of a previous bullet wound. He has a surgery and successfully recovers, but his girlfriend Ashley breaks up with him. Grey is also hospitalized with food poisoning after eating at a restaurant with colleagues, leaving Smitty and Lucy in charge of the station with Lucy managing to successfully keep everything running despite the station being down on half of its personnel.
82	6	"The Reckoning"	Lanre Olabisi	Leland Jay Anderson	October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30)	506	3.52
Nolan and Celina respond to a money dispute at a bank, which is later revealed to have been burned following a robbery. Celina herself suspects that the money is cursed after the woman, Macy Tompkins, they met at the bank, is found dead at a luxury flat. This is after Harper and Lopez launch an investigation in cooperation with the DEA after it's revealed that the money once belonged to drug smuggler Winslow Harris. Celina has another dream where she gathers that Winslow would depart by boat, which the DEA agent confirms from his older cases. Together with Nolan and Celina, they apprehend Winslow at the marina, who also explains that he killed the agent's partner by accident. While helping a movie director with some props, Tim loses his radio. The director returns it to Lucy, who puts Tim and Aaron out on a hunt for it. She eventually returns it, hoping it would help him move on from the breakup with Ashley. Wesley and Sean Del Monte proceed with the case against Elijah Stone, and Wesley is surprised to learn that his ex-girlfriend Monica is Elijah's defense attorney. She tries to portray both Wesley and the LAPD as incompetent and goes out of her way to make the case personal for Wesley. Despite his warnings to her that Elijah is manipulative, she also blackmails Del Monte into dropping the case. Elijah later meets Wesley outside the office and warns that he hasn't seen the last of him yet.
83	7	"Crossfire"	Jon Huertas	Glen Mazzara	November 6, 2022 (2022-11-06)	507	3.02
Elijah launches a lawsuit against the LAPD, specifically targeting Wesley, Lopez, Nolan, Grey and Harper for their participation in freeing Lopez from La Fiera. He also files a restraining order against Wesley and orders him to publicly apologize in front of a press corps. Nolan and Celina investigate the murder of doctor Alvin Mitchelsen, who was already dead when he was shot by a former patient. Initially they discover that he was stabbed, but medical examination further adds that he was poisoned. His former patient reveals that she shot Alvin due to his mistreatment of her father's drugs, while his wife reveals he had heart problems before his death. Nolan and Celina deduce this as a cover-up of her actually having killed him with poisoning. Aaron connects with a young boy, Tabin Cordon, after he and Bradford respond to a noise complaint, but Tabin is later revealed to be the brother of Vina Cordon, a member of the female gang Double R led by Shana Quelli, who Harper, Lopez and Lucy are investigating for a murder. Lucy goes in undercover and makes connections with Shana, while Tabin is temporarily reunited with his sister. During debt collecting, Shana alludes to Vina having murdered the victim Harper and Lopez were investigating, and Vina is later arrested at her family's doorstep.
84	8	"The Collar"	Robert Bella	Paula Puryear	December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04)	508	3.75
Aaron gets to tag along with Harper and Lopez as a part of following his desire to become a detective. The two gives him an old case to solve and limits him to ask them five questions. Nolan and Celina attempt to stop a speeding driver, Pam Winfield, but she is revealed to have a collar around her neck. The police guide Pam to a secure spot and the bomb squad attempts to rid her of the collar, but the bomb goes off after she tries to open her door, killing her. Tim and Lucy discover another driver, Creighton Mitchell, also with a collar around his neck. However, he panics, grabs some garden shears, and manages to get the collar off. He later identifies the assailant as Richard Dormer, a colleague at an oil company they both work for. He also reveals Richard's motives stems from his sister Susan dying in captivity abroad and the company unsuccessfully negotiated her release. Nolan, Celina, Harper, Lopez and Aaron arrest Richard at his home without resistance. His last target is the company CEO Henry Parsons, who he wants to livestream an apology. The police evacuate the company building and Nolan works to disarm Henry's collar. Henry delivers an apology, but Celina deduces that Richard wants to see him dead despite the apology; and instructs Nolan to cut the collar's red cable, disarming the bomb. Chris proposes house hunting to Lucy, which takes her aback and she struggles with keeping up with him and sorting out her feelings for Tim.
85	9	"Take Back"	David McWhirter	Alexi Hawley	December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04)	509	3.65
Grey and his wife visit their daughter Dominique in New York but become concerned when she does not meet them and contact the NYPD, who advise that it is too soon to worry. The couple investigate and learn from her room-mate that Dominique has made some possibly dubious new friends. They trace her movements, which lead to a Uber driver who appears helpful but Grey spots his taxi has a broken tail-light, a trick he taught Dominique. They follow him and rescue her from her abductors. Celina fights and apprehends a bank robber, Ryan Davis. Placed in a cell, he is injured in a fight with other prisoners. He later dies in hospital of a ruptured spleen. There is an investigation to determine whether Celina or the prisoners caused his death. Nolan supports her as her union rep during questioning by Wesley and Chris. An autopsy and camera footage proves her innocence. Lucy agonizes and rehearses scenarios with Aaron for her break-up but when the time comes blurts out Tim’s blunt advice and asks Chris to “hand in his playbook”. Nolan assists Tim’s sister, Genny, to recover her lucky-charm bracelet, thrown away by her son Tyler, furious at her divorce. Lucy breaks up with Chris and starts a relationship with Tim.
86	10	"The List"	Robert Bella	Vincent Angell	January 3, 2023 (2023-01-03)	510	4.69
Tim and Lucy go out on their first date, but find themselves tackling a dispute between a cook and chef. Grey warns them against a relationship, and has them separated on duty. While taking out money at a bank, Harper and James find themselves in a middle of a robbery committed by serial robber Todd Shelf and three associates. Harper has an employee trigger the silent alarm and the police arrive. Todd and Roger Armistead escape, but Todd leaves him behind. The FBI are called in, and the LAPD works with Simone Clark (Niecy Nash) and her superior/training FBI Special Agent Carter Hope (James Lesure). They track an unusual money wiring to Taylor Barnes, who reveals he hacked the FBI's undercover agents and informant list to sell to the highest bidder. Taylor is shot by a sniper before he can reveal the buyer's identity. Tim and Lucy and their reinforcements surround Roger taking a hostage in a neighborhood. Bradford hatches a plan to distract him and Roger is subsequently arrested. At a hospital, Todd's third associate, Amy Wright, escapes and reunites with Todd. They push Tim and Aaron's patrol car off a parking garage roof, but the two narrowly escape. Shortly after, Nolan and Celina finds Todd dead in the truck he and Amy stole. This episode begins a crossover event that concludes on The Rookie: Feds season 1 episode 10. Nancy Nash-Betts (Simone Clarke) and James Lesure (Carter Hope) are credited as Special Guest Stars.
87	11	"The Naked and the Dead"	Chi-Yoon Chung	Steph Garcia	January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10)	511	4.03
Lopez is approached by her brother Damian, who asks her to look for a kid gone missing from his local shelter. She and Harper take the case, and learns that the kid, Matteo, was involved with the gang run by Quinlan Wright. They meet with Nolan and Celina and search an abandoned building were Matteo's phone last pinged. In a walk, they discover his body packed liked a cocoon along with other bodies. Harper and Lopez question Moses Warden, Quinlan's rival who denies any wrongdoing. Just then, Quinlan's men arrive and shoot up the workshop. Facing contradicting information, Lopez and Harper has Damian bring in the gang's informant Ricky, who reveals that Elijah Stone told him to inform the police about a drug bust. With this in mind, they conclude that Elijah orchestrated a gang war in order to clear his name. Lucy is tasked with hosting the Citizen Academy at the station. She suspects one of the attendees, Kyra Cook, is facing domestic abuse after she raises a question about it. She convinces her to go to a shelter, but she leaves it after an incident with staff. Kyra calls her again when she again faces abuse from her boyfriend Oliver. Lucy arrives at their house and fights Oliver and arrests him before Kyra holds her at gunpoint. Lucy manages to talk her down before arresting her as well. Tim also acts as a baseball coach for his sister's son, and gets help from Lucy.
88	12	"Death Notice"	Tori Garrett	Brynn Malone	January 17, 2023 (2023-01-17)	512	4.78
Oscar Hutchinson has prison leave to donate a kidney to his estranged daughter, but Nolan and Celina have their hands full trying to protect the ever-manipulative Oscar – whom makes constant attempts to delay the procedure so he can stay out of prison longer – from attempts on his life by past victims of his crimes. Lopez has a tense exchange with Harper while investigating one of Elijah's associates before apologizing and admitting the stress of her unexpected pregnancy weighing on her. Tim and Lucy continue struggle to keep their budding romance from interfering with their work, especially when they're assigned to ride together for a single day, until a transfer opportunity arises for each. Ultimately Tim decides to ask for a transfer. Nolan, Celina, Tim, and Lucy end a plot to block Oscar's surgeon from performing his surgery.
89	13	"Daddy Cop"	Anne Renton	Fredrick Kotto	January 24, 2023 (2023-01-24)	513	4.37
A heat wave is causing rolling blackouts across the city, but the precinct has a backup generator. Nolan's trainee Celina misses a question from Sgt. Grey, causing him to be her partner for the day. They foil a robbery in progress, and Grey puts her on command post duty. She is overwhelmed, but the assignment was meant to teach her to ask for help, which she does when she can't get in contact with her mother. When the backup generator at the station fails to come on, Nolan and Aaron discover two people pretending to be cops to try and break a friend out of jail. They rat on a ghost gun seller who Lopez takes down in an undercover operation. The gun seller rolls on a fentanyl dealer processing raw product in a home. Surveillance shows there to be a child in the building. Celina is exposed while rescuing her, but resuscitated by a dose of Narcan. Lucy sets dominoes in motion to get Tim transferred to Metro, back on the street where he belongs. Celina carefully checks in with her mother from the hospital, who thinks she only does desk duty. A side story has most of the cast spending time at Nolan's, who installed a backup generator and has air conditioning.
90	14	"Death Sentence"	Faye Brenner	Diana Mendez Boucher	January 31, 2023 (2023-01-31)	514	4.77
Tim starts work with Metro and experiences some initial setbacks during training, but eventually proves himself and is welcomed to his team. Bailey is in an ambulance that gets shot at, the start of a rage killing spree of firefighters and EMT workers. Nolan finds the perpetrator and arrests a fired firefighter. Wesley loses a routine preliminary decision related to Elijah, which makes him suspect that the judge working the case is on the take. He confronts the judge, who hints at the truth and then dies mysteriously. He warns Monica that Elijah could be targeting her next. Tamara is working multiple jobs to try and move out of Lucy's place to give Lucy and Tim privacy. The parents at her babysitting gig act strangely, leading to the police investigating the mother's kidnapping due to the father's illegal activity. Tim participates in the rescue as part of Metro. Over the course of his day, Nolan receives calls from his mother, who wants to be paid for staying away from his wedding. He looks away from her tricks, until finally learning that she was hospitalized and later died.
91	15	"The Con"	Bill Roe	Leland Jay Anderson	February 14, 2023 (2023-02-14)	515	4.10
With help from Matthew Garza's team at the FBI, Lopez puts everything on the line to help Elijah Stone take down Abril Rodas in exchange for her safety as part of an elaborate operation. Garza's team moves to utilise Abril's girlfriend Daylin as bait for Elijah. But the night he arrives to execute her, he withdraws at the last minute due to a unintended distraction caused by Aaron. Unbeknown to both the LAPD and FBI, Elijah approaches Abril and offers to work with her. Nolan and Bailey travel to Nolan's mother's now-vacant home in Foxburg, Pennsylvania, and must deal with the secrets and shady dealings his late mother left behind including someone masquerading as Nolan, drug dealers, and a foreclosed mortgage. Britt Robertson (Laura Stenson), Felix Solis (Matthew Garza) and Kevin Zegers (Brendon Acres) are credited as Special Guest Stars.
92	16	"Exposed"	Ryan Krayser	Paula Puryear	February 21, 2023 (2023-02-21)	516	4.15
The Mid-Wilshire station works with Victorville PD detective Noah Foster to stop a militia group from using sarin gas in a terrorist attack in the city. When a member of the militia turns up dead due to the gas, they bring in his sister for more info, but she plays dumb. However, a tap on her phone reveals that the group is targeting Union Station. A road block with spike strips is set up while Aaron and Harper force the truck with sarin gas towards it. Blocking the truck in, they order the driver out and arrest him. Bailey, Celina and Harper work with the CDC to secure and quarantine three men returning from Nigeria who are suspected to be exposed to Ebola. Though all of them cooperate, the third forces an entire bus into quarantine due to potential exposure. Lucy detects animosity from Tim, which she learns is due to him learning that she was behind his transfer to Metro. She convinces him that it was the best move, despite not informing him beforehand. Lopez and Wesley increase their residential security by hiring a private security specialist. They receive a Valentine's Day "gift" from Elijah Stone – dead roses crawling with insects.
93	17	"The Enemy Within"	Lanre Olabisi	Vincent Angell	February 28, 2023 (2023-02-28)	517	4.11
Elijah begins to question Monica's loyalty, but is convinced after she forms a plan to double play the LAPD on his trail. She approaches them under the guise of finally helping, but Grey and Harper quickly deduce her play. The second time Monica reports on Elijah moves, the police manage to decode the real location at the Port of Los Angeles. A shootout ensues and Elijah subdues Harper, but Lopez wounds him and she and Harper arrest him. Monica contacts Abril and offers her assistance. Nolan re-opens Celina's sister Blanca and with Celina discovers a new lead which fractures the previous alibi. Nolan learns from a witness that Celina's mother that they were taking opioids together while Blanca and Celina were left home alone, during which Blanca disappeared. Her mother is eventually brought in for questioning, and admits the truth to Celina. This episode begins a crossover event that concludes on The Rookie: Feds season 1 episode 17.
94	18	"Double Trouble"	Jon Huertas	Caroline Bible & Glen Mazzara	March 21, 2023 (2023-03-21)	518	3.95
Tim's look-alike Jake Butler is out of prison, so he and his girlfriend Sava go on a new crime spree. Their plan is to take jobs such as handyman or nanny for a rich and/or famous family, then steal from the family. After an initial score on Lance Bass, they move on to the Boudelaire family with a stash of very expensive and often illegal antiquities in a secret room. Jake goes missing and is later found dead, while the family's nanny is also found dead in their garden house. Mid-Wilshire question one of their previous handymen, who admits that had accidentally killed the nanny. Sava receives threats from Turkish dealer, who the CIA had connected with an Iranian weapons deal. A video from Jake and Sava's stolen car leads the police to her friend Lisa Miller, who Jake had an affair with and took a historic gun from the Boudelaires and killed him. Nolan is shot during her arrest, but survived thanks to his bullet-proof vest. The story is told as an in-work documentary, with character interviews interspersing the action.
95	19	"A Hole in the World"	T.K. Shom	Brynn Malone	March 28, 2023 (2023-03-28)	519	4.47
Celina visits her sister's grave on the anniversary of her abduction. Lopez finds that the abduction fits a pattern of cases dating back years before, all of the abductions happening on the same day of the year and all the victims being from drug-addicted parents. Then Nolan and Celina get a call about a missing child, starting the cycle over again. An older officer shows up at the scene who Celina recognizes from her case, and he makes Nolan suspicious by asking to enter the scene. Grey asks an old investigator about anything that didn't make it into Celina's sister's kidnapping, which leads the team to a serial sex offender suspected, but unable to be tied to the case. Harper asks the police officer about details in the Juarez case, and he's caught in a lie raising suspicions higher. They release him with a tail, but he uses his police skills to break it. Lucy finds a recent case the officer worked on where he cleared a house of squatters just a couple miles from the abduction. The team surrounds the house and talks the officer into letting the victim go, but when the team moves in, the officer raises his gun against Tim, who shoots him. Lucy offers to help Tim get through the experience, and he offers to help her study for her detective exam.
96	20	"S.T.R."	C. Chi-Yoon Chung	Natalie Callaghan	April 18, 2023 (2023-04-18)	520	3.61
Tim's ex Isabel approaches him, asking for assistance in finding a missing girl, Dara Tesca, whom she looked after during a past assignment. Together with Lucy, they determine that Dara fled home and went into hiding in a motel Isabel used to bring her to for safety. Upon securing Dara, Isabel and Lucy are forced to reveal their real identities in order to help her escape hitman sent by her uncle Ed to also kill her father. After securing her, they learn that her father had her uncle killed, and Isabel promises to stay in touch. Grey assigns Aaron to assist Lopez during her day due to her second pregnancy, but he ultimately asks her to stay at home until the baby is born. Harper and Nolan assist skip tracer Randy when he stumbles upon a dead body after breaking in. The victim had a prior history of trolling people online, which Randy had been asked to investigate. His constant interference with their investigation, forces them to take him along, but holding him at bay. Randy deduces that a friend of his with prior history has been cryptically threatening him through emojis, and he decides to row him up in order for Nolan and Harper to arrest him. Meanwhile, Bailey's friend from college, Libby, is crashing with them and is dragging her around L.A. in an attempt to relive their college days and avoid her own problems, culminating in a meet-up with an untrustworthy man that leads to Bailey's arrest when she gets into a fight with the man and then runs away. When all is said and done, Libby decides to return home, but not before accusing Bailey of being an alcoholic, both to continue avoiding her problems and to avoid taking responsibility for her recent actions.
97	21	"Going Under"	Anne Renton	Alexi Hawley & Brynn Malone	April 25, 2023 (2023-04-25)	521	3.55
Lucy goes undercover as a sales agent in order to gain Frank Tesca's interest following his release from prison. Once he approaches her, he asks her to take some under payment in favor for products from her company. Frank learns that his brother's crew is after him, while some of his own men has also turned on him. After a drive-by shooting, he determines a close associate was behind it, but Lucy stops him from killing him as Tim and the police descend on their location. Frank concedes that he has lost control over his crew after his prison time and wishes to reconcile with his daughter, which Lucy encourages him to do. Aaron assists Lopez with detective work while she is at home, and questions a reluctant witness of a robbery, which leads to a vehicle with a dead body and workshop with a decreased suspect. He manages to solve the case in addition to seven other tie-ins. Harper, Nolan and Celina tackle a cold case favor which involves a severed torso. Further searching wounds up a arm belonging to it and two friends of the victim. Video footage in their possession reveals that they accidentally shot their friend and cut his body up and hid the parts. This episode begins a crossover event that concludes on The Rookie: Feds season 1 episode 21.
98	22	"Under Siege"	Bill Roe	Alexi Hawley	May 2, 2023 (2023-05-02)	522	4.33
Aaron and Celina are ambushed by masked assailants after investigating a suspected disturbance, and are seriously wounded. When hospitalized, Celina recounts a riddle to Nolan said to her by one of the assailants. Mid-Wilshire is put on high alert, and even further when Nolan and Bailey are attacked and Harper's child is temporarily abducted. Lopez works with Wesley and Luna Grey in deducing the riddle. The police look into past run-ins, identifying one with a prior record and finding him dead in his boobytrapped house. They further narrow his possible prison encounters, with Tim and Lucy visiting Luke Moran. An army of masked men with police shields pursue them, but they're swiftly taken out with reinforcements on-scene. With Luke caught and surrounded, he makes one last stand before being shot down. As further reinforcements roll in, an unknown man in a passing vehicle praises how well Luke served as a distraction.

Production

Development

On March 30, 2022, ABC renewed the series for a fifth season which premiered on September 25, 2022.

Casting

On July 21, 2022, Tru Valentino was promoted to series regular.

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Rookie season 5

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Double Down"	September 25, 2022	0.3	3.36	0.3	2.99	0.6	6.35
2	"Labor Day"	October 2, 2022	0.3	2.93	0.3	2.88	0.6	5.81
3	"Dye Hard"	October 9, 2022	0.3	3.12	0.4	2.94	0.6	6.05
4	"The Choice"	October 16, 2022	0.4	3.08	0.4	2.96	0.7	6.05
5	"The Fugitive"	October 23, 2022	0.4	3.40	0.4	2.89	0.7	6.28
6	"The Reckoning"	October 30, 2022	0.3	3.52	0.4	3.01	0.6	6.53
7	"Crossfire"	November 6, 2022	0.3	3.02	0.3	2.93	0.6	5.95
8	"The Collar"	December 4, 2022	0.4	3.75	0.3	2.58	0.7	6.33
9	"Take Back"	December 4, 2022	0.4	3.65	0.3	2.84	0.7	6.49
10	"The List"	January 3, 2023	0.6	4.69	0.3	2.57	1.0	7.26
11	"The Naked and The Dead"	January 10, 2023	0.5	4.03	0.3	2.60	0.8	6.63
12	"Death Notice"	January 17, 2023	0.6	4.78	0.3	2.46	0.9	7.23
13	"Daddy Cop"	January 24, 2023	0.5	4.37	—	—	—	—
14	"Death Sentence"	January 31, 2023	0.5	4.77	—	—	—	—
15	"The Con"	February 14, 2023	0.5	4.10	—	—	—	—
16	"Exposed"	February 21, 2023	0.6	4.15	—	—	—	—
17	"The Enemy Within"	February 28, 2023	0.5	4.11	—	—	—	—
18	"Double Trouble"	March 21, 2023	0.5	3.95	—	—	—	—
19	"A Hole in the World"	March 28, 2023	0.5	4.47	—	—	—	—
20	"S.T.R."	April 18, 2023	0.4	3.61	—	—	—	—
21	"Going Under"	April 25, 2023	0.4	3.55	—	—	—	—
22	"Under Siege"	May 2, 2023	0.5	4.33	—	—	—	—