ABC's 2026 premiere and return dates: The Rookie, High Potential, 9-1-1, Will Trent, and more round out the schedule

ABC has confirmed the 2026 premiere dates for our favorite network shows, Will Trent, The Rookie, and the season two midseason premiere of Kaitlin Olson’s High Potential. All three will air Tuesday, January 7, with Will Trent‘s season four premiere opening the evening at 8/7c. High Potential will air at 9/8c, and The Rookie 10/9c. The following day will see anthem comedies Shifting Gears and Abbott Elementary back with their midseason premieres, as Thursday, January 8, will see the midseason returns of 9-1-1, new spin-off 9-1-1: Nashville, and Grey’s Anatomy.

Elsewhere, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune will resume its sixth season on Friday, January 9, followed by 20/20, and NBA Saturday Primetime returns for select Saturdays beginning January 24 with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Dallas Mavericks. Two days later, on Monday, January 26, American Idol will drop its season 24 premiere with Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie all returning as judges. ABC has also confirmed the Scrubs reboot will premiere on Wednesday, February 24, 2026. Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, and John C. McGinley will all return to the show, alongside new cast members Vanessa Bayer and Joel Kim Booster.

The Rookie season eight will open with Officer John Nolan not in Los Angeles but in Prague, Czech Republic. “When I first said, hey, I want to go to Prague for season eight, I got some looks, because that’s not a normal network television thing to do,” showrunner Alexi Hawley told fans at San Diego Comic Con in July. “But I’m like we can absorb it, because we’ve gotten really good at making the show.” Nathan Fillion, who stars as John Nolan, added: “It felt like we were making Casino Royale.” Jenna Dewan, who plays John’s wife Bailey Nune, was also in Prague for the arc that is expected to involve the return of series antagonist Monica Stevens.

Will Trent season three ended on several cliffhangers, with Angie finding out she is pregnant, and Amanda in the hospital. Will has also just discovered that Sheriff Caleb Roussard is his biological father, and star Ramon Rodriguez teased in an interview with the LA Times: “There’s just so many questions that we will get to explore — I mean, is there new love in Will’s life?”