ABC is not winning the broadcast season in total viewers; that honor goes to CBS, which has been the leading network for 17 consecutive seasons. But that doesn’t mean ABC is not winning in other areas. The network’s scripted programming roster has become a favorite destination for younger viewers as people rediscover the upsides of network television. High Potential, The Rookie, and 9-1-1 are some of ABC’s shows that have attracted younger viewers, especially Gen Z. This has led to a rising demand for the traditional 22-episode season because viewers are craving something streaming cannot offer: comfort.
Broadcast has long been labeled as comfort TV, as viewers get to know the numerous characters that populate broadcast shows. A longer season offers a longer runway for a relationship to develop between viewers and a character, and no show has exemplified this phenomenon more than The Rookie. The Nathan Fillion-led procedural has seen an uptick in popularity with the younger crowd, especially through the show’s social media presence. Intriguing characters, comedy, action, and ‘ships have made the show perfect appointment TV. The Rookie‘s creator Alexi Hawley attributed the show’s popularity to the number of episodes available for viewers. “You can disappear in a show that has 100-plus episodes, rewatching whole seasons or jumping around from favorites to favorites,” he said.
The Rookie has a global fanbase, with many international and local streamers licensing it for their subscribers. From Netflix to Norwegian TV2 and Canada’s Crave, the show is constantly ranking among the top shows in the countries where it is available. Meanwhile, there is enough demand that The Rookie is appearing in PVOD charts. This last week alone, the show has been in the top ten on iTunes’ global streaming chart, peaking at #5. This presence on multiple streamers is a testament to the show’s popularity even as fans await the upcoming ninth season.
Collider Exclusive · Taylor Sheridan Universe Quiz Which Taylor Sheridan Show Do You Belong In? Yellowstone · Landman · Tulsa King · Mayor of Kingstown
Four worlds. All of them brutal, complicated, and built on power, loyalty, and the price of survival. Taylor Sheridan doesn’t write heroes — he writes people who do what they have to do and live with the cost. Ten questions will reveal which one of his worlds you were made for.
🤠Yellowstone
🛢️Landman
👑Tulsa King
⚖️Mayor of Kingstown
01
Where does your power come from? In Sheridan’s world, everyone has leverage. The question is what kind.
02
Who do you put first, no matter what? Loyalty in Sheridan’s universe is always absolute — and always costly.
03
Someone crosses a line. How do you respond? Every Sheridan protagonist has a line. What matters is what happens after it’s crossed.
04
Where do you feel most in your element? Sheridan’s worlds are as much about place as they are about people.
05
How do you feel about operating in the grey? Nobody in a Sheridan show has clean hands. The question is how they carry the dirt.
06
What are you actually fighting to hold onto? Every Sheridan character is fighting a war. The real question is what they’re defending.
07
How do you lead? Authority in Sheridan’s world is never given — it’s established, maintained, and constantly tested.
08
Someone new arrives and tries to change how things work. Your reaction? Every Sheridan show has an outsider disrupting an established order. Sometimes that outsider is you.
09
What has your position cost you? Nobody gets to where these characters are without paying for it. The bill is always personal.
10
When it’s over, what do you want people to say? Sheridan’s characters all know the ending is coming. The question is what they leave behind.
Sheridan Has Spoken You Belong In…
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
🤠 Yellowstone
🛢️ Landman
👑 Tulsa King
⚖️ Mayor of Kingstown
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
‘The Rookie’ Will Return, but There’s a Long Wait
Production for The Rookie Season 9 began on Tuesday, July 21. Hawley teased in an interview with TVLine that the Season 9 premiere is “super fun and romantic and emotional [with] a lot of action.” However, it won’t be until 2027 when fans can see the episode because ABC held the show for a mid-season premiere, just like they did last season. Delaying the show this long is a controversial and upsetting decision for fans, but the upside is that the season will air uninterrupted by major holidays. In the meantime, the exploits of Mid-Wilshire are available to relive by streaming The Rookie on Hulu in the U.S.
