Nathan Fillion as John Nolan. Disney/Gizelle Hernandez
The Rookie universe is branching out with a second spinoff in the works, Us Weekly can confirm.
Lionsgate Television and 20th Television are in early development on a spinoff series at ABC and the show will be written by The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley.
The spinoff will be set in Washington state and follow a male cop who is entering a new chapter of his life. The premise parallels the idea of the OG series, which also centers around a midlife change with Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan switching up careers and landing a role as the oldest rookie in the LAPD.
Executive producer and showrunner Hawley will also serve as executive producer of the spinoff alongside Fillion and other The Rookie executive producers Bill Norcross and Michelle Chapman. Lionsgate Television will co-produce with 20th Television.
The OG series, which premiered in 2018, is based on the true story of Norcross, who was a real LAPD officer and joined the department in his mid-40s after moving to Los Angeles in 2015.
This is the second spinoff for The Rookie franchise, which previously launched The Rookie: Feds. The series debuted in September 2022 and followed FBI agents but was canceled after by ABC after one season.
The news of another The Rookie spinoff comes one month before The Rookie will air season 7 in January. The upcoming season will consist of 18 episodes.
As fans anticipate the season 7 premiere, star Eric Winter, who portrays Tim Bradford, exclusively told Us in October that viewers should be ready for bigger “everything.”
“It’s more action, it’s more comedy,” he teased to Us. “The stakes are always high and you’re going to learn so much about all of us even more.”
At the end of season 6, Tim ended his relationship with Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) — but Winter said to expect “a lot of twists and turns” in the next season.
“It’s been one of my favorite seasons, to be honest,” he told Us. “We’re already a character driven procedural. It’s all about us. But I feel like every year we just dive in more and more with these characters.”
He credited Hawley for listening to viewers’ feedback and creating a “beautiful story” for Tim and Lucy.
The Rookie cast have become bona fide stars, including Nathan Fillion, Jenna Dewan, Alyssa Diaz and Richard T. Jones, and fans are obsessed with their love lives — on and off camera. The ABC series follows the story of John Nolan, a recently divorced 40-something, who decides to pursue a career as a police officer […]
“It plays out and the ebbs and flows in the long burn,” he added. “So it’s hard to live up to their expectations because it is their baby in a way too. But we’re getting there and I think they’re going to love it. I think they’re going to love where we’re headed.”
The Rookie season 7 premieres on ABC Tuesday, January 7, at 10 p.m. ET.
