‘Will Trent’ Renewed for Season 5!!

ABC has built itself quite a collection of colorful crime solvers of late. 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 the titular ex-con photographer turned P.I., the network has found critical acclaim and strong viewership alike, with the former being the most-watched premiere of ABC’s fall slate. Before either took the spotlight, however, Will Trent had been holding down the fort with great success, most recently ranking as the top show in Live+Same Day viewership for the banner. Unsurprisingly, that status has now earned Ramón Rodríguez a fifth season.

Will Trent has spent four seasons now pulling from Karin Slaughter‘s bestselling series of crime novels following the titular special agent 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, though, he’s still had to wrestle with his past and other personal challenges in the pursuit of justice. Fans have been on board since the very beginning for the funny, endearing procedural, giving the series a strong 82% Rotten Tomatoes score.

This renewal might have been the easiest decision yet for ABC‘s hit crime drama. Season 4 has been the most-viewed run for 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. It also helps that the higher-ups at ABC are also big fans. For Will, these episodes have hit especially hard, with him starting to build a relationship with his biological father, dealing with the return of serial killer James Ulster (Greg Germann), who murdered his mother, and facing other new, frightening villains.

‘Will Trent’ Is the Latest Among Many of ABC’s Renewal Decisions

In addition to Rodríguez, Will Trent also stars Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, Jake McLaughlin, Sonja Sohn, and Kevin Daniels. With its renewal and High Potential‘s Season 3 order last month, the only one of the network’s three crime comedy-drama series still awaiting its fate is RJ Decker, though it seems like a strong bet to return after a record-breaking premiere. Additionally, the Nathan Fillion-led proceduralThe Rookie was picked up this morning, while Abbott Elementary, Grey’s Anatomy, and both 9-1-1 series were previously confirmed to return for new seasons. ABC‘s fall slate is slowly taking shape, and further decisions are likely to come before too long.