The latest episode of the Nathan Fillion led show brought back Patrick Keleher as the conniving Seth Ridley, who fans had last seen at the end of season seven

he Rookie isn’t one to shy away from bidding farewell — and later bringing back — some of its characters, beloved or not.

The show proved as much during its latest season eight episode, which brought back none other than Seth Ridley, the pathological liar rookie cop introduced last season, played by Patrick Keleher.

The last fans saw Seth was at the end of season seven, when many of his lies had been exposed, which he tried to redeem himself for by taking a bullet for John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), getting shot in his leg and having it amputated in the process.

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Patrick in season seven

Weighing in on Seth’s return, and his continued redemption arc, creator Alexi Hawley, speaking with Deadline, first said: “Patrick is such a dynamic actor, and I felt that his storyline last season was really provocative and interesting,” adding: “The dial between Boy Scout and guy that feels a little creepy was really fine-tuned to get there, which was interesting to me, but yes, what does it take to redeem?”

“Can you redeem a character who really has not just [expletive] up, but really crossed the lines?” he went on. “That was what was interesting to me. And then to not have it be easy, it’s not as easy as just calling people and apologizing, and you get forgiven, and everything’s good.”

“Seth still has a lot of maturing to do,” Alexi emphasized, adding: “He needs to understand, ultimately, that some trauma that you’ve inflicted on other people you’ll never be forgiven for, and you have to figure out how to walk that path.”

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The actor will be back for at least a few more episodes in season eight

As for how much we’ll see Patrick this season, Alexi promised that “he’s back a few more times this season, at least,” maintaining: “We’re starting a conversation with this episode but he will be back. We’ll seek the continuation. I don’t want to give you a number but yes, this story’s not over yet.”

And, will Seth ever become a cop again? The creator shared: “Technically, he could, yes. If he can pass the physical part, he could come back. It’s just all the other stuff.”

Patrick had previously opened up about his role when he first said goodbye to Seth in season seven, and at the time, he told ScreenRant he had “no idea” whether he would be returning.  Nonetheless, he did have some ideas for his character should he return.

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Nathan with on-screen wife Jenna Dewan

Considering what might be next for him, he reflected: “I remember reading [about the amputation], and I was like, ‘God.’ I have no idea. I still don’t know what that means for Seth to be legless. What does that mean as a cop with the LAPD?”

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Nathan and show creator Alexi in July 2025

“I remember when I came to set one day, I was talking to one of our ex-LAPD officers on set. And he’s like, ‘Yeah, man. You lose a leg, you’re out.’ But you never know. You never know what’ll happen,” he added.

He also shared: “[Ridley] wants to be a good cop. That’s why he started being a cop in the first place. He wants to make a difference. But God, lying is just deep in his roots, and I wonder if we’ll ever go into Seth’s past, if we’ll ever see him as a child. What happened to him? So I think he’s always trying to do the right thing, but it just gets mixed up.”