The Rookie Spinoff Gets A Promising Update

The Rookie season 7 ended this past spring, and as fans wait for season 8, which will premiere in January 2026, there is some encouraging news about the spinoff.

The Rookie has followed “rookie” police officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) since the start of his journey in the pilot episode, and as he has gotten more experience, other rookies have joined the LAPD. That includes Miles Penn (Deric Augstine), who is now part of the main cast and who had several notable storylines in season 7. In May 2025, showrunner Alexi Hawley told TV Insider that he was “hopeful” that The Rookie spinoff would become a reality. He said ABC gave him notes on the script, but didn’t share more at the time. This would be the second spinoff in the universe, following The Rookie: Feds, which aired in 2022 but was canceled after one season. Since the original series has been a big hit since it premiered in 2018, and the series has such a memorable and compelling premise, there’s room to tell different stories about characters in similar places in their lives.

The Rookie Spinoff Is Called The Rookie North And Could Get A Pilot Order Soon

Deadline reported that ABC is thinking about which TV pilots to order, and it’s possible that they could order one for The Rookie spinoff when an actor has been chosen for the main role. The show is casting right now, which is exciting to hear about.

Deadline also reported that the spinoff is called The Rookie North and the main character is reportedly named Alex. He is a “former overachiever” who finds himself on a path that he didn’t anticipate, and that leads him on the journey that he’s on now of joining the police force. The spinoff will have a similar premise to the original show, which features John Nolan, a middle-aged cop who has made a career shift after some challenging times. While The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds are both set in Los Angeles, as the first spinoff centers around The FBI Los Angeles Field Division, The Rookie North will be set in Washington state.

According to Deadline, ABC is also thinking about giving pilot orders to several shows: Mittens, Do You Want Kids? which stars Rachel Bloom, and the reboot of Scrubs.

The Rookie season 7 finale, “The Good, the Bad, and the Oscar” aired on May 13th, 2025 and teased the action, comedic storylines, and challenges to come in season 8. Last season continued the ABC procedural’s tradition of featuring talented guest stars regularly, from Flula Borg as the hilarious and naive Skip Tracer Randy to Bridget Regan as villain Monica Stevens, who is always one step ahead.

The Rookie season 8 filmed in Prague this summer, which suggests that at least one episode could take place there. While fans are certain that Monica will keep the LAPD on their toes and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) will get back together, the rest of season 8 remains a mystery for now. Hopefully, there will be more news about The Rookie North soon, and fans will get the chance to see another likable character starting over.