ABC Renews Hit Series for Season 3

As this shortened network TV season trudges on, ABC already seems focused on renewing its biggest shows for returns in the fall. The network renewed hit comedy early in its third season, and recently handed new installments to long-running dramas 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy. On Wednesday, it was Will Trent‘s turn for some good news.

The popular detective series, starring Ramon Rodriguez, has been enjoying a good ratings run in its second season, and ABC has clearly seen enough to bring ig back for a third go-round. This is the second season in a row that Will Trent has been handed an early renewal by ABC.

Will Trent is based on the popular book series by Karin Slaughter, telling the story of a special agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

ABC Renews 9-1-1

One of the other shows to get a renewal from ABC this week is 9-1-1, the hit first responder drama that actually started at Fox. The series was acquired by ABC ahead of its seventh season, which just recently began its run.

The renewal for Season 8 comes right before 9-1-1‘s 100th episode, which airs on Thursday. That new episode will feature a pretty surprising crossover, as the characters will run a call to the Bachelor mansion and cross paths with the most recent Bachelor, Joey Graziadel.

“The whole crossover episode came about because Jennifer Love Hewitt called me after she went to one of the finales of The Bachelor,” 9-1-1 showrunner Tim Minear told Entertainment Weekly. “She’s a huge fan of The Bachelor and she said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the 118 responded to a call at the Bachelor mansion?’”

“I reached out to ABC and they reached out to The Bachelor people and we got onto a Zoom,” Minear added. “We just started talking about what the possibilities were. The Bachelor people were unbelievably supportive and helpful. They volunteered to show us the ropes about how they make the show, and then when we shot it. We actually brought in the Bachelor crew to shoot the first part of that case, so that it really was The Bachelor. And then we go into 9-1-1 world when they have to call 9-1-1. So, that’s how it came about. It just seemed like a great idea.”