EXCLUSIVE: ABC‘s hit procedural The Rookie may spawn a second spinoff series — and unlike the first one, it would stay in the cop show arena. The network, Lionsgate Television and 20th Television are in early development on the offshoot, written by The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley, sources tell Deadline.
Set in Washington state, the potential spinoff follows a male cop who is stepping into a new phase of life in his second act. It keeps the major midlife change concept of the Los Angeles-set original series, which started off with Nathan Fillion‘s John Nolan switching careers to become the oldest rookie in the LAPD.
The Rookie executive producer/showrunner Hawley is executive producing the offshoot alongside The Rookie star/executive producer Fillion and fellow Rookie executive producers Bill Norcross, whose real-life story inspired the mothership series, and Michelle Chapman. Lionsgate Television will co-produce with 20th Television.
Headed into its seventh season, slated to premiere Jan. 7, The Rookie remains one of ABC’s most watched series that also has emerged as a top performer on streamer Hulu amid a surge in popularity among young viewers.
Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich revealed in February that The Rookie was at the time the #2 drama on Hulu and had generated more than 500 million hours viewed on the streamer since its 2018 launch, with nearly half of them in the most recent year.
“Fans are still discovering that show and will continue for years to come. That’s the staying power of a good drama,” he said.
Looking to capitalize on that, I hear ABC earlier this year gave Hawley a blind script commitment intended for a potential new Rookie spinoff, which resulted in the current project in development.
This is a different route than the one ABC took with the first Rookie spinoff, which originated with a two-episode backdoor pilot on The Rookie during the 2021-22 season that introduced a handful of characters, led by Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. Co-created by Hawley and Terence Paul Winter, the offshoot, titled The Rookie: Feds, was picked up to series whose run was cut short at least in part by the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
Lionsgate completed the acquisition of The Rookie producer eOne at the end of 2023, almost two months after The Rookie: Feds had been canceled after one season. The indie studio took over Hawley’s eOne overall deal and then extended it this past summer with expanding The Rookie franchise among the goals.
Hawley also is the creator/executive producer of Lionsgate TV’s Netflix series The Recruit, starring Noah Centineo, which is returning for a second season Jan. 30. He is repped by the Shuman Company and attorney Adam Kaller.
