Although The Rookie‘s upcoming spinoff was always going to be exciting, the show’s latest update is great news for anyone who was worried about the series failing to find its feet. After Nathan Fillion’s early vehicle Firefly famously failed to take off for more than a mere 14 episodes, it is fair to say that the cult icon truly earned the long-awaited mainstream acclaim that met his 2018 ABC procedural The Rookie.
The Rookie‘s quirky premise saw Fillion’s 40-year-old “rookie” John Nolan join the LAPD despite his advanced age, much to the amusement of his colleagues. Eight seasons and 144 episodes later, it is clearer than ever that Fillion’s Nolan was no joke after all, as ABC’s police procedural has managed to turn an unconventional one-line elevator pitch into one of the best ensemble cop shows on TV.
Merging the humor and charm of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with the fast-paced action of the NCIS franchise, The Rookie has been a reliable ratings winner for ABC throughout its run. As such, it was no shock when the show spawned a one-season spinoff, The Rookie: Feds, back in 2022. Even though the show only lasted one outing, that did not stop ABC from green lighting a second spinoff, The Rookie: North, that is set to debut in 2027.
The Rookie North’s Cast Gets Along Well
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Set in Washington State and filmed in Vancouver, The Rookie: North‘s location change will substantially shift the show’s vibe in comparison to its predecessor. Viewers might understandably be wondering whether a new cop show set in Washington State means The Rookie: North will owe something to David Lynch and Mark Frost’s iconic ABC murder mystery Twin Peaks, but its starry lineup makes the show’s format sound more akin to The Rookie‘s case-of-the-week setup.
Top Gun: Maverick supporting star Jay Ellis plays The Rookie: North‘s hero, Alex Holland, a new Pierce County Police Department officer whose comparatively advanced age raises some eyebrows amid the institution’s top brass. Like Nolan, Holland will need to prove himself in The Rookie: North, but the show’s star told a New York Comic Con panel audience that his co-stars won’t be short on screen time either.
Per Ellis, “we’ve bonded in a way really, really quickly,” (via TVLine) which will be great news for viewers considering how much the original show relies on its ensemble cast. Like the similarly successful Karin Slaughter adaptation Will Trent, The Rookie‘s title obscures just how much the series is more of an ensemble cop drama, in the vein of a CSI, NCIS, Law & Order, or FBI show, than a character-centric series.
Why The Rookie North’s Ensemble Is Vital To Its Success
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This means the show can always focus on another character when one actor is busy, which often comes in handy for the creators of The Rookie. However, it also means that The Rookie: North‘s ensemble cast will play a pivotal role in seeing whether the spinoff sinks or swims, which is why the upcoming show is lucky to have such an impressive lineup.
While The Rookie itself will welcome The West Wing‘s Dule Hill and Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario in season 9, The Rookie: North‘s cast includes The Boys star Karen Fukuhara, Scarpetta‘s Janet Montgomery, The Knick‘s Chris Sullivan, and Froy Gutierrez of Cruel Summer and I Love L.A. fame. This lineup is truly impressive, and the news that they gelled well early on in filming is exciting.
If Fillion’s major guest role in DC’s True Detective replacement Lanterns is any indication, The Rookie: North may well push its stars into the small-screen stratosphere in the next couple of years. As such, The Rookie‘s spinoff needs to be sure that any member of The Rookie: North can lead an episode, making the cast’s early chemistry a promising start.
The Rookie
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