John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) in uniform and surrounded by other cops in The Rookie
By
Matthew Rudoy
Published 59 minutes ago
Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025.
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The Rookie's upcoming spinoff is officially happening at ABC after receiving a pilot order and revealing its lead star. Created by Alexi Hawley, The Rookie is a police procedural show that has been a major hit for the network. The spinoff, which is also created by Hawley, is titled The Rookie: North.
ABC has now announced that it has picked up The Rookie: North's pilot episode, with Running Point and All Her Fault star Jay Ellis cast in the main role. Along with being the spinoff's creator, Hawley is also the director, writer, and an executive producer of the pilot episode. Original series star Nathan Fillion will be another executive producer, and Ellis is also attached to produce.
The Rookie: North's story is similar to the main series, with Ellis playing Alex Holland, a middle-aged man who joins his local police force and is the oldest rookie among his peers. Check out the official logline for the series below:
Alex Holland (Ellis) believed his mid-life wasn’t worthy of a crisis. But after a violent home invasion ignites a dormant purpose, Alex battles a lifetime of failed commitments by joining the Pierce County Police Department as its oldest rookie. Policing from the urban coast to the rural forest where backup isn’t just 5-minutes away, Alex must prove to his skeptical training officer, his fellow rookies, and himself, that he’s finally found something worthy of the fight.
Finalizing Ellis' deal reportedly came with some scheduling challenges due to the steadily expanding number of projects that he stars in. Along with a recurring role in Running Point season 2, the Insecure and Top Gun: Maverick star will be a series regular for the Hulu comedy show Not Suitable for Work. The final deal ensures that if The Rookie: North pilot is followed by a full series order, he will be able to do the spinoff and the Hulu comedy.
Jay Ellis in uniform and in a cockpit in Top Gun: Maverick
In September, Hawley gave a Rookie: North filming update, sharing that the plan was to film the pilot in the late winter or spring of 2026. With ABC now having picked up the pilot and the main star cast, the spinoff is seemingly on track for this production start date.
A full series order would make this the second spinoff in the police procedural franchise, following The Rookie: Feds being canceled after one season in 2023. The Rookie: Feds was co-created by Hawley and starred Niecy Nash-Betts and Frankie Faison.
Before the new spinoff, The Rookie season 8 will make its ABC debut on January 6. This premiere date ensures that the popular series avoids the mid-season hiatus that many network shows go through and will have minimal interruptions with its weekly release schedule.
The Rookie season 7's unanswered questions are poised to be addressed in the fast-approaching season 8 premiere, but the stories of John Nolan (Fillion), Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neill), are not the only way that the franchise can explore now that The Rookie spinoff's pilot is moving forward.
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The Rookie
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Crime Drama Comedy Release Date October 16, 2018 Network ABC Showrunner Alexi Hawley Directors Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro Writers Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
7 Images
Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 4ABC via MovieStillsDB
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in an episode of The RookieMike Taing / ©ABC/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection
The Rookie CastABC (via MovieStillsDB)
Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen pointing at something with Eric Winter as Tim Bradford by her side in The Rookie season 1 episode Greenlight
Titus Makin Jr as Jackson West, Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen, and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 1, episode 16
Jackson West in The Rookie season 3, episode 7
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 7, episode 2Close
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Nathan Fillion
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The Rookie
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