'The Rookie' Spinoff in the Works at ABC

By Daniel S. Levine

Nathan Fillion's hit police drama The Rookie is getting its first spin-off. The new series follows the same format but moves it to the FBI. Former Reno 911! star Niecy Nash will play the oldest rookie at the FBI academy, similar to how Fillion's character began the show as the oldest LAPD rookie, reports Deadline.

Nash's character will be introduced in a two-part planted pilot in which Officer John Nolan (Fillion) and the FBI's Los Angeles division will ask FBI trainee Simone Clark (Nash) for help. One of Simone's former students is suspected of terrorism after an explosion at a local power station, so John asks her for some assistance. Simone is a single mother of two who put her dreams on hold to make sure her children could follow their own. The spinoff was created by The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley and executive producer Terence Paul Winter.

Like many other spin-offs, the still-untitled FBI Rookie show will be set in the same universe as the mothership show, so characters could easily move back and forth. ABC knows a thing or two about this successful format, as the network's Thursday nights are dominated by Grey's Anatomy and Station 19, which are both set in the same world.

Nash's Simone is not expected to be the only new character introduced in the big two-parter. Sources told Deadline that three other actors will make guest appearances in the special and they could join Nash's show if it gets picked up. "I'm so excited to guest star on The Rookie and bring Simone Clark to life! She is a spirited and spicy fish out of water," Nash told Deadline. "The cast is amazing and I can't wait to play!"

The Rookie launched in October 2018. At the beginning of the series, Fillon's John, a 45-year-old newly-divorced Pennsylvania man, is inspired to move to Los Angeles to join the police force as the LAPD's oldest rookie. The show also stars Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O'Neil, Eric Winter, Mekia Cox, Shawn Ashmore, and Jenna Dewan. It is now in its fourth season and airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. It is also available to stream on Hulu.

In October, Hawley made headlines by becoming the first TV showrunner to ban the use of "live" weapons after the tragic accident on the set of the film Rust. "As of today, it is now policy on The Rookie that all gunfire onset will be with AirSoft guns with CG muzzle flashes added in post," Hawley wrote in a memo to staff at the time. "There will be no more 'live' weapons on the show. The safety of our cast and crew is too important. Any risk is too much risk."

Nash is best known for starring as Deputy Rainesha Williams in Reno 911!, which earned her two Emmy nominations. She also starred on HBO's Getting On, TV Land's The Soul Man, Fox's Scream Queens, and TNT's Claws. She also earned an Emmy nomination for Netflix's When They See Us. She is now filming Netflix's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story limited series.

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