Rookie Meets Criminal Minds: Netflix’s Near-Perfect Crime Series Is Will Trent

A procedural with lasting momentum

Will Trent premiered in January 2023 and is based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling crime novels. The ABC series combines episodic investigations with longer storylines about its central characters.

Season 5 has been confirmed. The show may draw less attention than some of ABC’s newer successes, but its steady performance has made it a strong choice for crime fans.

The agent behind the cases

Ramón Rodríguez plays Will Trent, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Abandoned at birth, he grew up in Atlanta’s overburdened foster care system. His experiences gave him a distinctive perspective on crime and helped him build a remarkable clearance rate. The series also follows his efforts to confront his past while pursuing justice.

Ratings and critical response

Season 4 was Will Trent’s most-viewed installment to date. Nielsen’s measure found that the series increased its ratings every year it had been on air, making it the first network series to do so since Scandal and the first broadcast show across all networks in nearly 14 years.

Season 1 earned an 89% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Later seasons had not yet received critics’ scores in the reporting, though a review of Season 4 praised the show for becoming a character-driven drama beyond an average crime procedural.

ABC’s broader crime lineup

ABC has also found success with High Potential, starring Kaitlin Olson, and R.J. Decker, led by Scott Speedman. Both shows have earned critical acclaim and strong viewership. Will Trent offers a different draw: a procedural structure that keeps cases moving while developing its characters. That balance helps explain its continued audience growth.