3 weeks ago
The Rookie is simply a franchise again. Spinoff aviator The Rookie: North, starring Jay Ellis, has been picked up to bid by ABC conscionable hours earlier nan web is group to unveil its 2026-27 schedule connected Tuesday, May 11. I perceive nan bid is for 10 episodes, pinch nan series, from The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley and lead workplace Lionsgate Television, expected to premiere successful midseason.
That will group up crossover opportunities pinch nan mothership series, starring Nathan Fillion, which has a full-season bid and will erstwhile again premiere successful January, I hear. As Deadline revealed past week, that will footwear disconnected correct disconnected nan bat as The Rookie: North pilot features an quality by Fillion arsenic his Rookie character John Nolan. Fillion besides executive produces some series.
While nan woody betwixt ABC and indie workplace Lionsgate TV did not adjacent until Sunday night, a bid order for The Rookie: North had looked apt for weeks. (Pickup and renewal negotiations betwixt networks and extracurricular studios going down to nan ligament are a storied upfront tradition.)
With The Rookie: North ordered, ABC officially is expanding its scripted portfolio adjacent play arsenic it already had renewed each of its existent scripted series, including R.J. Decker, whose Season 2 pickup came connected Friday.
As Deadline has reported, it came down to nan freshman bid starring Scott Speedman and The Rookie: North, pinch a pickup for some possible, apt pinch mini concessions connected section orders for immoderate ABC series.
“The Rookie: North” introduces Alex Holland (Ellis) who believed his midlife wasn’t worthy of a crisis. But aft a convulsive location penetration ignites a dormant purpose, Alex battles a life of grounded commitments by joining nan Pierce County Police Department arsenic a rookie. Policing from nan municipality seashore to nan agrarian wood wherever backup isn’t conscionable 5 minutes away, Alex must beryllium to his skeptical training officer, his chap rookies and himself, that he’s yet recovered thing worthy of nan fight.
Ellis stars alongside Chris Sullivan, Karen Fukuhara, Froy Gutierrez, Janet Montgomery, Mya Lowe and Malik Watson.
Like nan mothership series, The Rookie: North is produced by Lionsgate Television successful business pinch 20th Television. Hawley serves arsenic executive shaper and writer, pinch Fillion, Mark Gordon, Bill Norcross and Michelle Chapman besides executive producing. Ellis is simply a producer.
This is nan 2nd spinoff in The Rookie franchise, following The Rookie: Feds, starring Niecy Nash, which aired for 1 play successful 2022-23.
Crossovers proceed to do good arsenic trading stunts that thrust up viewership. On ABC, 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Nashville did 1 this season; Grey’s Anatomy and spinoff Station 19 as good as The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds besides staged aggregate crossovers during their associated runs.
Hawley teased to Deadline that he is looking astatine “maybe a mates episodes, aliases 2 aliases 3 episodes a season” for stories that transverse complete between The Rookie and The Rookie: North.
“It’s harder obviously, pinch nan Vancouver aliases nan Pacific Northwest of it each and LA,” he said. “Feds was designed connected intent pinch a batch of crossovers.”
The Rookie is group and films successful Los Angeles. The Rookie: North is group successful nan Pacific Northwest and films successful Vancouver. Like The Rookie, The Rookie: Feds was based successful Los Angeles.
Like he did pinch The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds, Hawley will service arsenic showrunner connected some The Rookie, headed into its ninth season, and The Rookie: North.
“I person done it before; location was a play wherever I was doing Rookie and Feds and The Recruit at nan aforesaid time,” he told Deadline past month, referencing his Netflix bid The Recruit, which was besides changeable successful Vancouver. “It’s a batch but I person a really bully team.”
