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ABC‘s The Rookie is in the middle of airing season 5, but as we get closer to spring, many fans wonder how many episodes will be in the season. The first two seasons featured 20 episodes, a COVID-delayed season 3 resulted in 14 episodes, and season 4 brought the total up to 22. So with a wide discrepancy in episodes between the seasons, where does that leave the fifth one?

Nathan Fillion, in character as John Nolan in 'The Rookie' Season 5, wears his dark blue police uniform.
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan | ABC/Gilles Mingasson

‘The Rookie’ Season 5 Episode 17 airs tonight

With 16 episodes under its belt before March, it is safe to say that The Rookie Season 5 is in it for the long haul. And there are many more to come, starting tonight.

The Rookie Season 5 Episode 17, “The Enemy Within,” airs tonight, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The synopsis for “The Enemy Within” reads, “Now that Elijah and Abril have become allies, the team must rely on Monica, Elijah’s lawyer, to uncover their plans. Meanwhile, Officers Nolan and Juarez reopen her sister’s case and discover a discrepancy that leads them on a new trail.”

The upcoming hour will be the first part of a crossover with The Rookie: Feds. The spinoff will also air its seventeenth episode, “Payback,” tonight directly after The Rookie.

The synopsis for “Payback” reads, “Garza and team are on the hunt for a ruthless gang leader on a mission for revenge. Atlas comes to town to reconnect with Laura, but the two cannot seem to see eye-to-eye, and Simone and Carter grapple with letting go of old grudges.”

‘The Rookie’ star Eric Winter revealed how many episodes are in season 5

Since episode 17 drops tonight, and we know it’s not the finale, The Rookie Season 5 will contain more than 17 episodes. But while ABC hasn’t revealed the season’s official episode total, thanks to Eric Winter, we have an answer for fans.

On Winter’s podcast, He Said, Ella Dijo, which he co-hosts with his wife, Roselyn Sanchez, The Rookie star spoiled how many episodes are in the current season.

“We’re on our second to last episode of filming The Rookie, 521,” Winter shared on Feb. 19. “And then we have episode 522 starting up in a week.” Sanchez asked, “Which is the last one?” And he replied, “Yeah, and then we’re going to be done.”

There will be 22 episodes in total of The Rookie Season 5. So after tonight, only five episodes will remain. And if ABC wants the finale to air in May as usual, fans should prepare for the show to take some breaks as it enters its final season 5 episodes.

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‘The Rookie’: 2 Characters Missing in Season 5 — Where Are They?

Will ABC renew or cancel ‘The Rookie’?

As of the writing of this article, ABC hasn’t made a decision regarding the future of The Rookie after season 5. Well, the network at least hasn’t announced if it has renewed or canceled the procedural series. But we have reason to believe that The Rookie Season 6 is imminent.

The show is one of the highest-rated dramas on ABC, and it experienced a boost in viewers and ratings when it moved from Sundays to Tuesdays. It wouldn’t make sense for ABC to cancel The Rookie. So fans should expect to see plenty more of Eric Winter and the rest of the cast on their screens in the fall.

New episodes of The Rookie Season 5 air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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