A new spinoff of “The Rookie” is in the works at ABC, Variety has confirmed.
The untitled project hails from “The Rookie” creator Alexi Hawley. Per the official description, the show is set in Washington state and “follows a male cop who is stepping into a new phase of life in his second act.”
The project is co-produced by Liongate Television and 20th Television. Lionsgate acquired the show upon the completion of their acquisition of eOne in late 2023, while ABC Signature had been the other studio on the show before it was absorbed into 20th TV as part of a restructuring at Disney. Hawley will write and serve as executive producer with “The Rookie” star Nathan Fillion also executive producing alongside Michelle Chapman, and Bill Norcross.
The news comes as “The Rookie” is preparing to launch its seventh season in January. The show has been a consistent performer for ABC since its original debut back in 2018.
Should the new show go forward, it would be the second spinoff of “The Rookie” to date. ABC previously ordered a two-part backdoor pilot during “The Rookie’s” fourth season that introduced Niecy Nash Betts as Simone Clark, a woman in her 40s who becomes a Special Agent with the FBI. The subsequent spinoff, “The Rookie: Feds,” aired for just one season on ABC starting in 2022.
When the Season 7 renewal was announced back in April, ABC said that the Season 6 premiere had delivered 11.9 million viewers across all platforms in the Live+35 ratings, the show’s best viewership since 2018. Along with Fillion, the cast of the mothership series includes Mekia Cox, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O’Neil, Eric Winter, Jenna Dewan, Shawn Ashmore, Tru Valentino, and Lisseth Chavez.
Deadline first reported the development news.
