An old villain is seemingly making a return in The Rookie Season 8, set pictures reveal

Shooting for Season 8 of The Rookie is in full swing, and new behind-the-scenes photos indicate that one of the series' best-known villains is returning. Bridget Regan, who portrays Monica Stevenson, recently shared footage from the set dressed in a black suit, drinking matcha. She captioned it, "An Innocent Woman Sips Her Matcha."

Monica Stevenson, a crooked lawyer, was last seen during Season 7 getting out on her own after negotiating through an immunity agreement following the use of stolen secrets she took from an NSA installation. At the end of the season, she had escaped on foot, frustrating law enforcement.

With production well underway for a 2026 debut, this teaser suggests Monica will be active again, picking up where she had left off.

Showrunner Alexi Hawley has also indicated that Monica's return will fuel fresh conflicts for the new season.

"I do think that it's enraging and many other things to our cops who have been trying to get her for a full season now," he stated.

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Monica Stevenson's escape and return in The Rookie

The Rookie Season 7 ended with a number of villains having succeeded in escaping. Monica Stevenson, who had spent most of the season fighting the LAPD and FBI, escaped serving time behind bars when she cut a deal that made her unassailable for past offenses.

Her Season 8 set Instagram post confirms that she's still very much a part of the narrative. In the video, she looks poised and unbothered, smiling at the camera with a drink in hand. The caption,

"An Innocent Woman Sips Her Matcha" recreates Monica's long-standing method of coming across as faultless even when she's clearly in the wrong.

This is in keeping with her character development to date. Monica is famous for playing the situation to her benefit, staying one step ahead of the law. Her return is sure to try the patience of both the LAPD and FBI agents who have been on her tail.

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How her return affects the Mid-Wilshire team

Monica's return is going to make her hold a loose card in The Rookie's core team. Showrunner Alexi Hawley discussed how her immunity agreement alters the stakes in Season 8.

"The fact that she's now immune for all the things she did before is really really frustrating," he said.

He went on to say that the challenge facing the team will be to deal with this new reality:

"I think coming into season eight, it's going to be the frustration of the fact that she got away with it, and also, potentially, what are the pieces of the immunity deal that can give us story to tell, which I think is partly what we're trying to work out now in the room."

This frustration is also likely to affect several characters, including John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and FBI Agent Matt Garza (Felix Solis), who have both encountered Monica previously. Her dodging of consequences brings an added layer of depth to their quest for justice.

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What to expect from The Rookie Season 8

With production already in motion, Season 8 is poised to delve into how Monica's legal immunity will enable her to keep shaping outcomes. Her past indicates that she will continue to push limits, potentially giving rise to new alliances and conflicts.

The Rookie Season 7 also featured Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave) breaking free from custody, so several recurring villains complicating the story will be no surprise. But Monica's immunity means she is also hard to halt, and the team has to resort to other measures to thwart her actions.

While the specifics of the plot are being kept under wraps, Hawley's remarks suggest that the showrunners are taking Monica's return as a springboard for future stories.

“What are the aspects of the immunity deal that could give us story to tell,” he explained, pointing out that her immigration status provides new narrative possibilities.

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The Rookie's Season 8 premieres in midseason in 2026. In the meantime, previous episodes are still up to stream on Hulu, which enables viewers to catch up with Monica's story so far.