Eric Winter is hoping for the safe return of The Rookie’s Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen — a.k.a. Chenford — following season 8’s kidnapping cliffhanger.
“The cliffhanger for season 8 was huge,” Winter, who plays Tim Bradford, exclusively told Us Weekly at the 2026 Disney Upfront event in New York City on Tuesday, May 12.
He explained that when season 9 premieres, he wants fans to see “how Tim recovers with that situation” and how the team “gets together and responds to save, hopefully, [both of] them.”
Eric Winter. Arturo Holmes/Getty ImagesWinter, 49, noted it “would be great” to see the couple come out of the situation unscathed, especially after Tim finally proposed to Lucy (Melissa O’Neil).
As fans of The Rookie know, during the season 8 finale, which aired on May 4, Tim asked Lucy to marry him on the beach after they took down notorious criminal Heath Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise).
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Lucy said, “Yes,” but their engagement celebration was cut short when a man and woman approached them on the sand and injected them with something.
The finale ended with Tim and Lucy grabbing for each other’s hands before they were kidnapped. The assailants confirmed they were working on behalf of bad guy Everett, who has had a vendetta against Tim for some time.
Eric Winter as Tim Bradford and Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen. Disney/Mike Taing“They’re gonna be in a dungeon somewhere, whether literally or figuratively, I don’t know yet,” showrunner Alexi Hawley teased to TVLine after the finale. “But yes, it was a shining moment of joy and happiness, and then of course, I had to screw that up.”
Hawley noted that Tim and Lucy will face “uncharted waters” next season after they rekindled their romance during season 7 following a split one season prior. (Tim asked Lucy to move in with him during the season 7 finale, but she was asleep and didn’t hear him. The pair were back to being fully together when season 8 began.)
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“I played the long game with it, but we did go back and forth about whether he should be taken or she should be taken,” Hawley shared. “But ultimately it felt like this is a journey they’re both on together, and so it’s much more frustrating and satisfying to have them both in jeopardy together.”
Winter, for his part, told Us on Tuesday that he wants to see Tim and Lucy’s romance grow during season 9 — assuming they are both alive and well.
“As long as we keep stringing things out, which we have, in a genuine manner and exploring new topics of a relationship [fans should be happy],” he shared. “I think [that] is what’s important.”
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Hawley, meanwhile, told TVLine earlier this month that if Tim and Lucy come away victorious, viewers will see a happily ever after.
“I’m going to say this, and then people are going to freak out: As long as everybody survives, there’s a wedding,” the showrunner revealed. “We’re all very invested in them, both individually and together. The writers are equally invested in them.”
He added: “I don’t know, exactly. We haven’t started [writing season 9] yet. I haven’t really plotted out where season 9 goes. Seeing them held wherever they’re held, however they’re held, together, will be dramatic and interesting.”
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