The eighth season of ABC’s The Rookie concluded in May, but the Nathan Fillion-led police drama will return for a new season in 2027. When it does, it won’t be alone on the schedule, as it will be joined by a spinoff. The Rookie: North received an official season order, and series creator Alexi Hawley revealed it will differ from the franchise’s last short-lived series.
After years playing a comedic sheriff on Reno 911, Niecy Nash took on the role of Simone Clark, who, similar to Fillion’s John Nolan, was the oldest recruit at the FBI Academy. These characters were introduced in the main series, with the spinoff including numerous crossovers. The reasons behind ABC’s cancellation of The Rookie: Feds are complex, but Hawley appears to be adjusting his approach for the next show.
The Rookie: North Will Not Feature as Many Crossovers as Feds
About a year after ABC canceled Feds, reports of another The Rookie spinoff emerged, set in Washington State. Hawley cast Jay Ellis as Alex Holland, who survives a violent home invasion and joins the Pierce County Police Department as its oldest rookie.
Whereas Nolan ran a successful contracting business, Holland apparently struggled with discipline and commitment. Beyond filming in Vancouver (for a tax break), the rural setting adds a wrinkle not found in Los Angeles. Emergency services, SWAT, and other backup aren’t often close by.
Feds was filmed in Los Angeles, which allowed for more crossover opportunities. Many of the series regulars continue to appear on The Rookie when the FBI works with the LAPD. “I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say, there’s a bit of crossover with Nathan in the pilot,” the series creator stated. Beyond that first episode, he admitted “it’s harder…with the Vancouver” location, but if “organic opportunities” arise, the characters and stories could intersect.
This is not to suggest the crossovers on The Rookie: Feds weren’t earned or justified. After all, The Rookie differs from other network police franchises because it’s not a typical procedural. Since both groups of characters operated in Los Angeles, it would have been strange if they didn’t cross paths.
This remains true, at least considering how often Felix Solis reprises his role as Agent Garza. Still, that kind of storytelling is more at home on the old Arrowverse, whereas crossovers on Law & Order, NCIS, CSI, or other shows are more of a special event.
The Rookie: North Will Distinguish Itself From The Rookie
The rural setting for The Rookie: North isn’t just about a tax break, either. There will be an entirely new dynamic both for the police drama and the extended cast. The show will be “visually very different” and “definitely stake its own identity,” Hawley stated. He made it clear that the spinoff is “still a patrol show,” promising “anything can happen” each week.
The calls Holland and company take, however, will be markedly different than what Nolan and the Mid-Wilshire Police Division experience on the streets of L.A. This is arguably the most important detail that could help North succeed where Feds did not.
While nonetheless a criminally underrated procedural, The Rookie: Feds was not as untraditional as the main show. Ironically, the titular premise for these series is not what draws in the viewers. Even with a (somewhat contrived) extension of his training period, Nolan was no longer a rookie starting in Season 4.
It’s not even the ensemble, because most shows boast talented casts of compelling characters. What sets The Rookie apart is its beat-cop approach. It avoids falling into a “case-of-the-week” formula, making it almost an anthology series.
One week, the whole team can rally around a citywide crisis. The next episode will feature multiple cases, ranging from the absurd to the heartbreaking. The FBI lacks that kind of workplace variety. Like Nolan, Simone was good at her job, so her mistakes weren’t a major source of drama.
This meant Feds needed to lean into crossover, such as the somewhat mysterious friendship between Lucy Chen and Agent Brendon Acres. The best asset The Rookie: North has that Feds didn’t is a similar level of narrative freedom. The rural setting will further help it step out from behind the original series’ shadow.
Like Feds, the Biggest Threat to The Rookie: North Is the Entertainment Business
Unlike many of its police drama peers, even when The Rookie gives in to its worst impulses, it does so with heart. The show often tackles social issues, particularly around hot-button issues. So, the claim that The Rookie: Feds turned off viewers because of its focus on issues of race, systemic injustice, or other such topics is dubious.
The ratings were respectable, given DVR and streaming viewership. What ultimately ended the spinoff was, likely, cost-cutting in the wake of the 2023 Hollywood strikes. This austerity footing most networks and studios still maintain is possibly why The Rookie: North season pickup isn’t a foregone conclusion.
Just like both of its predecessors, there’s a diverse cast heading to The Rookie: North, too. The rural setting will surely involve the kinds of social issues both the original series and Feds tackled. These shows aren’t about catching a case and then catching a criminal. Allegorical stories are unavoidable, given the street-level focus, because the patrol officers face the victims as often as the criminals.
Not only that, but what happens after an arrest is completely out of their control. This kind of human drama is a feature, not a “bug.” If The Rookie: North can successfully capture these elements, it will be as “good” as the main series. Yet, it is more difficult than ever for a new show, especially on network TV, to find its audience. If North can establish itself separately from The Rookie, it will have a better shot than Feds did.
When ABC sealed The Rookie‘s fate for Season 9, the show now ranks among the five longest-running series on the network. So, it would be a shock if the network didn’t at least pick up The Rookie: North for a single season. However, the spinoff will have to capture an audience like any other new series. Even if it does, something outside of the show’s control could get in its way, like with Feds.
This is the most important part of Hawley’s strategy. While crossovers can help draw attention to the new series, The Rookie: North has to carve out a place in pop culture on its own. A story about “the oldest rookie” in a law enforcement agency is a good hook. Yet the diversity of the stories it tells in that first season is what will make or break its future.
The Rookie is expected to return for a new season in 2027 on ABC, and Seasons 1-8 are currently streaming on Hulu.
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- Release Date
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October 16, 2018
- Showrunner
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Alexi Hawley
- Directors
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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
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Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
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The Rookie: Feds
- Release Date
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2022 – 2023-00-00
- Showrunner
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Alexi Hawley, Terence Paul Winter
- Writers
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Alexi Hawley, Terence Paul Winter
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