The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s top crime solver has secured a spot on ABC’s 2024-25 primetime lineup.
Will Trent has been renewed for Season 3 at the Alphabet network, TVLine has learned. The pickup comes just five episodes into the crime drama’s sophomore run.
Will Trent opened Season 2 — and christened an earlier Tuesday time slot — with 4.8 million total viewers (in Live+Same Day), up sharply from its freshman average to easily mark a series high. In three out of the four episodes since, the series has matched its demo high rating of 0.4, and its March 5 outing set a new audience high of more than 4.8 million viewers.
Out of the five dramas that ABC has aired this TV season, Will Trent ranks No. 2 in audience (trailing only 9-1-1) and third in the demo (behind 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy).
Based on Karin Slaughter’s best-selling novels and led by TVLine Performer of the Year finalist Ramón Rodríguez, the hour-long drama centers on Special Agent Will Trent of the GBI. Having been “abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system,” Will now uses his “unique point of view in the pursuit of justice and has the highest clearance rate in the GBI,” according to the official logline.
In addition to Rodríguez, the ensemble includes Erika Christensen (as Angie Polaski), Iantha Richardson (as Faith Mitchell), Jake McLaughlin (as Michael Ormewood), Sonja Sohn (as Amanda Wagner) and Bluebell the Chihuahua (as Will’s sweater-clad, canine companion Betty).
Will Trent joins a growing list of ABC renewals. The network previously committed to more 9-1-1 (renewed for Season 8), Abbott Elementary (renewed for Season 4) and Grey’s Anatomy (renewed for Season 21) — all of which will return during the 2024-25 TV season.
New episodes of Will Trent air Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC (and stream next day on Hulu).
Is Angie Leaving Will Trent? What THAT Twist Means For Season 3
Will Trent keeps raising the bar for itself with every passing episode, and that was certainly the case with the season 2 finale, which featured Angie Polaski, played by Erika Christensen, finding herself in a lot of trouble, jeopardizing her season 3 status. The ABC police procedural crime drama television series, created by Liz Heldens, Karin Slaughter, and Daniel T. Thomsen, is based on Slaughter’s Will Trent book series. However, the show takes many creative liberties and doesn’t religiously follow the novels, allowing it to frequently surprise the audience as it did in the last episode of season 2.
Christensen’s Angie is Ramón Rodríguez’s Will Trent’s oldest friend (and on-again, off-again girlfriend) in the ABC series. Will and Angie met when they were children in foster care, and from then on, they were each other’s safe space. As they grew up, Will and Angie’s dynamic turned romantic, but with their individual issues and trauma bond, it has been difficult for them to maintain a healthy relationship. Toward the end of Will Trent season 2, it seemed like Will and Angie had finally figured out how to make their relationship work until everything came crashing down around them.
Erika Christensen’s Angie Is Not Expected To Leave Will Trent After Season 3
Angie Is A Part Of The Writers’ Season 3 Plans
Although Will Trent season 2 concluded with Angie under arrest for lying about Lenny’s death, Erika Christensen is expected to return in season 3. After all, the viewers must see how Angie’s arrest (and perhaps her subsequent trial) plays out and if Will can make amends with Angie. The season 2 finale didn’t give her character any closure, which she deserves, especially given Angie’s importance in the ABC series and Will’s story. Plus, Will Trent co-showrunners Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen teased their season 3 plans for Angie while speaking with TVLine. Thomsen explained:
“One of the things that I’m very interested in examining is that, in real life, the way that cops go through the judicial system is different from normal people, especially when there’s righteous behavior involved. I think we want to spend some time and try and figure out what this would look like for somebody [like Angie] who was in this kind of situation [involving Lenny]. I mean, Liz, you can tell me if I’m wrong, but I don’t know that it would be like a long court trial. That’s probably not the area that we want to mine. But I think that this is going to mark a very significant departure in Angie’s life.”
Additionally, Heldens said that the writers were keeping their options open regarding Angie’s law enforcement future, whether she has a viable path back to working at the APD, or if Angie could pursue a career as a private investigator if she can’t return. Whatever the case, fans can expect to see Christensen reprise her role as Angie when Will Trent season 3 releases in 2025. But the character’s circumstances, including her career, personal life, and mental state, will certainly be different in the upcoming episodes.
