‘Rookie Blue’ season 5 will have 22-episode order

How is this for something exciting for “Rookie Blue” fans? After being pegged by and large as a “summer series” only, the Canadian drama (which airs on ABC in America) is going to be extending its reach to the same sort of length that all other shows have as a part of the typical broadcast model: 22 episodes.

This great news was confirmed in a message on Twitter by none other than Ben Bass, but there are still some pretty significant mysteries floating around with it. For example, when are all of these 22 episodes going to air? They would have to start at the beginning of May and run straight through to the end of September if they wanted to cram all 22 episodes into one summer, and that seems unlikely since you’d be breaking into parts of the regular season.

What we see as a little more likely for the future of “Rookie Blue” is this: The show airing a block in the summer, and then another block in the winter. While we are only speculating, ABC would surely have no problem with getting something to air during their “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” hiatus this time of year. The network previously tried to air “The Assets,” and that flopped and was canceled after only two episodes. This is not a ratings smash, but it fares decently. The show is pretty successful in its home country, and that is one of the many reasons why it is an easy and cost-effective option for ABC to pick up.

With all of this being said, it does feel almost as though the trend of picking up Canadian shows has died down somewhat compared to where we were at a few years ago. “Rookie Blue” is the most prominent one, unless you are counting some cable shows like “Lost Girl” in there.

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Photo: ABC