Pilot

The Rookie North, Alexi Hawley’s anticipated spinoff from his long-running ABC drama The Rookie, is getting closer to fruition.

“I think we are looking at shooting a pilot in the spring or late winter, so we are gearing up for that,” Hawley told Deadline of the project, which has not been officially picked up to pilot, on the red carpet at ABC’s End of Summer Soirée Friday night.

Deadline revealed exclusively in December that ABC was developing a second Rookie spinoff set in Washington state, written/executive produced by Hawley and executive produced by The Rookie star/executive producer Nathan Fillion and fellow EPs Bill Norcross and Michelle Chapman.

“I’ve been going back, and there’s a script, I’ve been doing some drafts and getting some notes,” Hawley told Deadline in May. “You know me, I’m a hopeful person, so I remain hopeful.”

By early July, The Rookie North was in serious pilot consideration at ABC. As Deadline reported at the time, the project had been gaining momentum for a pilot order, which was believed to be contingent on casting the lead role, a former overachiever in his 40s-50s who becomes a rookie cop after his life does not go as planned. A well-known TV actor was approached, but things didn’t work out.

I hear a pin has been put in the casting process to wait for the new cycle when more big names become available. ABC brass are looking to cast the role with someone of the caliber of Scott Speedman, who headlines the network’s only drama pilot ordered so far this year, RJ Decker, now filming.

Additionally, I hear the network and producing studios, Lionsgate TV and 20th Television, took their foot off the gas to give the script more time and not rush it to production.

Those considerations are consistent with the timeline provided by Hawley, and a formal pilot pickup is expected.

If The Rookie North comes to fruition, it would be the third series in the franchise, following spinoff The Rookie: Feds starring Niecy Nash, which was canceled after one season in 2023. Of that offshoot’s demise, Hawley said last year: “A lot had to do with the forces that led to strike … the consolidation of the industry, the economic impact of the streaming wars have had on different companies. I do feel it was not a creative decision. It was a business decision. I can’t argue with that. I’m not running anything. It was a treat for us. We love that show … it’s all I can really say.”

The mothership series, headlined by Fillion, will return for its eighth season in early 2026, re-teaming with High Potential and Will Trent on ABC’s Tuesday schedule.