‘The Rookie’ Meets ‘Criminal Minds’ in Netflix’s New Near-Perfect Crime Series

Giovana Gelhoren is a High-Trending Topics Writer at Collider, covering the most-talked-about stars, movies, and TV shows. Before joining Collider, she was a Digital News Writer at People Magazine and served as Associate Editor at SheKnows, where she honed her expertise in celebrity coverage and entertainment journalism.

A proud Latina from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Giovana graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She has interviewed countless celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Brenda Song, and is known for her encyclopedic knowledge of film, TV, and pop culture.

When it comes to network TV, ABC has been dominating with consistent, chart-topping shows for many years now. Between High Potential, starring It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Kaitlin Olson as the hyper-intelligent single mother Morgan Gillory, and the newcomer R.J. Decker, led by Scott Speedman as an ex-con photographer turned P.I., the network has found critical acclaim and strong viewership alike.

But while High Potential and R.J. Decker are certainly a few of the latest successes from the network, Will Trent, which was first released in January 2023, has also been going strong since its release. With Season 5 of the series already confirmed, the crime series has proven to have a killer procedural formula, one that draws in viewers with episodic cases while still developing major storylines for the main characters. And while it might not be getting the same attention as other ABC shows right now, it’s the perfect binge for crime fans and ABC shows alike.

‘Will Trent’ Has Been a Growing Hit for ABC

Will Trent, based on Karin Slaughter‘s bestselling series of crime novels, follows the titular special agent (Ramón Rodríguez) at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Abandoned at birth and growing up in the harsh environment of Atlanta’s overburdened foster care system, Trent parlayed his experience into a unique perspective on crime that has helped him post a remarkable clearance rate and become renowned for his dedication. Along the way, he’s still had to wrestle with his past and other personal challenges in the pursuit of justice.

Throughout its run, Will Trent has seen massive, and growing, success. Season 4 was the most-viewed installment of Will Trent to date, becoming the first series on the network since Scandal to grow in ratings every single year it’s been on the air. In fact, it’s the first broadcast show across all networks to accomplish the feat in nearly 14 years, according to Nielsen’s measure. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series also received critical acclaim, reaching an impressive 89% from critics in Season 1. While the following seasons have yet to earn a critics score, reviews say it all. “Will Trent continues to go deeper into its characters’ lives and psyches, transforming the show from an average crime procedural to one of the best character-driven dramas on any broadcast network,” writes one critic review from Season 4, which premiered on January 6, 2026.

Four criminal masterminds. One of them was always going to be yours.
Here is who comes for you, why they picked you out of everyone available, and what they want from
the encounter.

Your nemesis does not want to beat you. He wants to know you
completely, and he is patient enough to wait for it. The frightening part is how good the
conversation is.

• Lecter is the most dangerous kind of opponent: the one who finds you interesting. He
  never raises his voice, because he has never needed to.
• You keep a great deal to yourself and you are careful about what you show. That reserve
  is exactly the door he would knock on.
• The films understood something other thrillers missed. The horror is not the violence.
  It is being perfectly understood by the wrong person.
• He would be unfailingly polite about all of it. That is the worst part.

Your nemesis is not after money, territory or revenge. He is
after a demonstration, and you are the person he has chosen to prove his point on.

• The Joker only picks opponents who believe in something. Your decency is not a defence
  against him. It is the entire reason he showed up.
• He has no plan you can predict and nothing you can take away, which removes every tool
  you would normally reach for.
• His whole argument is that you are one bad day away from being him, and you would spend
  the rest of your life proving him wrong.
• He would call it a magic trick. You would call it the worst night of your life.

Your nemesis respects you, which sounds flattering until you work
out what it means. He chose you because nobody else was worth his time.

• Moriarty is the original criminal mastermind, the template every later one borrows from:
  a mind the equal of the hero’s, pointed the wrong way.
• You enjoy being the cleverest person in the room. He is counting on exactly that, and he
  has already built the room.
• This is the rare nemesis who would be genuinely disappointed if you lost badly. He needs
  the game to be worth playing.
• It ends the way these things always end. Two people, one problem, and only one way down.

Your nemesis has no personal interest in you whatsoever, and that
is precisely what makes him unsurvivable. You are not a rival. You are a stop on the way.

• Chigurh does not negotiate, gloat or explain. He arrives, he asks one question, and the
  answer was decided long before you opened your mouth.
• You trust yourself to handle things. He is the one problem in the world that has no
  interest in how capable you are.
• No Country for Old Men rewrote the screen villain by removing the thing audiences
  quietly rely on: the sense that talking might work.
• Call it. He will wait.

‘Will Trent’ Has Major Plans for Season 5

Season 5 of Will Trent, which will be premiering on January 6, 2027, already revealed some major plans for the new season. Among them is the addition of The Pitt actress Alexandra Metz, who has been tapped to play Birdie Palmer, the newly appointed Deputy Director of the GBI. Reports say that Birdie is confident and ambitious, but she is “deeply guarded after a traumatic event in her past.”

Metz’s arrival comes at a pivotal point after the unexpected and controversial death of Amanda (Sonja Sohn) in the Season 4 finale. Speaking with Variety, showrunner Karine Rosenthal explained why Amanda’s death creates such a major reset for the show. “Amanda has been the character who has protected Will for as long as she has known him. So this gives us the opportunity for a completely new dynamic in the GBI, because her replacement will not have that same relationship with Will,” she said. “Her death had the most impact on the most amount of characters. It really sets everybody reeling from this enormous loss. So it’s such a reset for our characters in a way that is painful but exciting for Season 5.”

With all that said, while that cliffhanger from Season 4 had some fans reeling, the fans’ dedication to the show continues to prove how much of a hit Will Trent is on ABC. With a hardened yet endearing lead who audiences can’t help but to root for, and episodic cases that keep viewers guessing, the series is another home run for ABC, as well as an easy, satisfying binge for anyone who hasn’t been tuning in.

Will Trent

Special Agent Will Trent was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Determined to make sure no one feels as he did, he now has the highest clearance rate.