Patrick Keleher, who joined the ABC series in season 7 as rookie Seth Ridley — who turned out to be a pathological liar scheming to get through training — returned in the Tuesday, Jan. 20 episode of season 8.

 

 

Miles (Deric Augustine) paid Seth a visit to see how he was recovering after he had his leg amputated following taking a bullet for Nolan (Nathan Fillion), but things were tense between them. Later, during a second visit, Miles and Seth seemed to patch things up — or to at least be on the right track to mend their relationship.

His return was met with mixed reactions from fans, as one person wrote in a post on X that they “would’ve preferred a funeral scene” if they had to see Seth on-screen again. “Genuinely what was the point of bringing Seth back in The Rookie,” wrote another fan.

Creator Alexi Hawley told Deadline that he wanted to bring Seth back in season 8 because his storyline last season “was really provocative and interesting.”

“Can you redeem a character who really has not just f—ed up, but really crossed the lines? That was what was interesting to me,” Hawley told the outlet. “And then to not have it be easy, it’s not as easy as just calling people and apologizing, and you get forgiven, and everything’s good.”

In bringing Seth back, Hawley said he wanted to set up something of a redemption arc for the character.

“Seth still has a lot of maturing to do, and he needs to understand, ultimately, that some trauma that you’ve inflicted on other people you’ll never be forgiven for, and you have to figure out how to walk that path,” he told the outlet.

“Seth is still very defensive and a victim. I think we see a lot of that, sadly, in the world right now, the sense of victimhood. Not to get political, but somehow you’re always the victim of stuff that happens to you, as opposed to, sometimes you do stuff that’s bad, and you should pay for it.”

Hawley confirmed that Seth will return “a few more times this season” but did not get into the specifics of what fans can expect. “We’re starting a conversation with this episode, but he will be back.”

Augustine had teased previously that season 8 would feature a surprising return of a character, as he told PEOPLE that the return would allow fans to “really see the true dynamic of their relationship.”

“You’re going to see them come together and really air it out,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s such a huge spoiler that I can’t even indulge more in it, but that’s going to be a phenomenal scene, and scenes, to really look at and to appreciate the craft of acting.”

ABC is a happy camper. High Potential, The Rookie, and Will Trent all scored steady gains with their first outings of 2026, as the dramas dominated during the network’s midseason premiere week (January 5).

Both High Potential and Will Trent were standouts as the top two scripted programs of the week among viewers. Both lead the return of NBC’s One Chicago lineup and the midseason crossover event for Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In its new earlier timeslot at 9/8c, High Potential drew 12.33 million viewers — a gain of about 3% — surpassing the show’s fall season average and exceeding its fall finale, which delivered 11.52 million.

The combination of broadcast and streaming success has made High Potential, starring Kaitlin Olson, one of ABC’s standout dramas this season, and strong enough to justify its earlier timeslot move and midseason narrative pacing.

Meanwhile, the Season 4 debut of Will Trent attracted 8.9 million viewers, a rise of over 12% from last season’s finale episode, which marks the show’s strongest performance in nearly a year.

The Rookie also held strong, as the Nathan Fillion–starrer returned with 9.35 million viewers. According to Nielsen, the Season 8 premiere posted its strongest performance in years, delivering its best numbers among both total viewers (9.35 million) and adults 18–49 since its Season 2 premiere.