Jenna Dewan Responds to ‘The Rookie’ Absence — When Will She Return as Bailey?

Jenna Dewan has been MIA from The Rookie Season 7, leaving fans wondering about the reason for her absence and when she’ll be returning to the ABC drama.

The actress confirmed the reason for her hiatus on Instagram by posting a screenshot of an article about how she was on maternity leave when the first two episodes of Season 7 were filmed. “Someone was being born,” she revealed, alongside a photo of herself holding her third child. Dewan gave birth to daughter Rhiannon — her second baby with fiancé Steve Kazee — in June 2024, which is when production began on The Rookie.

However, she made it clear that her character will return. “But keep watching…” she added, along with a red heart emoji. On the show, Bailey’s absence has been due to an overseas deployment with the National Guard. Showrunner Alexi Hawley confirmed to Screen Rant that Bailey returns at the end of episode 3.

The Season 6 finale featured Bailey’s ex-husband, Jason Wyler (Kazee), getting out of prison, just as Bailey and Nolan (Nathan Fillion) were beginning to talk about adopting a baby. “Jenna’s about to have a baby in real life, so we do have to navigate that at the beginning of [Season 7],” Hawley told TV Insider in May 2024. “So I think we’ll have to slow roll slightly [into] that, but yeah, look, especially in the adoption story, they do live dangerous lives. She’s going to have an ex-husband slash stalker out there. How does that impact them on a personal level will be interesting to explore.”

Hawley also teased that Jason would be the “most immediate problem” for the main cast. “I think obviously Jason is the one with the most specific, the most harmful intent towards anybody on our show at the moment,” he added.

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But Fillion promised that Nolan and Bailey are going to be “solid” once she returns from her deployment. “There are going to be complications, there are going to be things that are problematic in their relationship as there are in all relationships,” he told TV Insider. “I think that’s reality. But this is something I don’t think that drives a wedge between them. I think this is something that brings them closer together.”

The Rookie, Tuesdays, 10/9c, ABC

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