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Will Trent season 4 is happening but not in 2026 (and this is a good thing)

Will Trent season 4 isn't part of the fall 2025 schedule, but it's coming in the midseason.
ByAlexandria Ingham|
WILL TRENT - “Listening to a Heartbeat” - Unleashed by a domestic terrorist group, a mysterious biological attack runs rampant in Atlanta. As Will and his team race to contain the threat and save countless lives, he’s forced to confront the complex dynamics of his own family. TUESDAY, MAY 13 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Zac Popik) RAMÓN RODRIGUEZ, IANTHA RICHARDSON
WILL TRENT - “Listening to a Heartbeat” - Unleashed by a domestic terrorist group, a mysterious biological attack runs rampant in Atlanta. As Will and his team race to contain the threat and save countless lives, he’s forced to confront the complex dynamics of his own family. TUESDAY, MAY 13 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Zac Popik) RAMÓN RODRIGUEZ, IANTHA RICHARDSON

ABC has released its fall schedule, and there are a couple of current scripted dramas missing from it. One of them is Will Trent, which we know was renewed for season 4 back in April 2025. So, what’s going on?

First of all, don’t panic! This isn’t a sign that Will Trent is actually being canceled. As you’ll remember from fall 2024, the series wasn’t in the lineup and it was held for midseason. The same thing is happening again.

IANTHA RICHARDSON, CORA LU TRAN
WILL TRENT - “Why Hello, Sheriff” - While investigating a murder in a rural town and clashing with the local sheriff, Will uncovers surprising truths about his past. Meanwhile, Angie makes an unexpected discovery, and Ormewood continues to struggle with his diagnosis. TUESDAY, MAY 6 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Zac Popik) IANTHA RICHARDSON, CORA LU TRAN

Will Trent is seeing positive results with a midseason start

There’s no denying that holding Will Trent season 3 for the midseason was a good thing for it. It’s the only show that showed gained in the linear ratings from the second season. Very clearly, people are tuning in, and holding off for the midseason when the bulk of the fall shows have started and are out of the way is a good idea.

So, ABC is doing the same with Will Trent season 4. The earliest we’ll see the series is in January 2026. The third season premiered early on in the month, so we could expect something similar to happen with the fourth season.

I know that initially it sounds like a bad thing for the series. Nobody likes to wait until the midseason, and that’s usually a sign that the series is dying. However, it’s the opposite for this one, as ABC has found something that works.

RAMÓN RODRIGUEZ, SONJA SOHN
WILL TRENT - “Listening to a Heartbeat” - Unleashed by a domestic terrorist group, a mysterious biological attack runs rampant in Atlanta. As Will and his team race to contain the threat and save countless lives, he’s forced to confront the complex dynamics of his own family. TUESDAY, MAY 13 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Zac Popik) RAMÓN RODRIGUEZ, SONJA SOHN

Will Trent season 4 will have consistency like season 3

Disney Television president Craig Erwich noted at the upfronts (as reported by Deadline) that the straight run through is something that helped Will Trent. There were no breaks in the schedule — except the odd Tuesday off due to politics — and that meant better momentum. Consistency is key for storytelling, as people need to remember everything that happened in the previous episode.

“Will Trent was one of the only broadcast shows that actually grew year over year. I think one of the reasons for that was, when we start in January, we’re able to run all of the episodes straight through, and it creates this kind of momentum.”

When it comes to the winter hiatus, reruns are often used to remind viewers of where the storyline ended in November to come back in January. One week off isn’t going to affect the memory too much, and having 18 episodes run from January to May is a great thing.

That looks to be the plan for Will Trent season 4. It looks like we’ll get 18 episodes again, allowing for deeper storytelling as well as some fun and tricky individual cases.

Will Trent is available to stream on Hulu.

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