‘The Rookie’ Spinoff in the Works With ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Actor

The Rookie is heading up north.

The popular ABC police procedural is getting another spinoff starring Top Gun: Maverick actor Jay Ellis.

Titled The Rookie: North, the series will take place in rural Washington. Much like the main series, it will center around a middle-aged man who becomes the oldest rookie in the police department.

According to the official synopsis, Ellis stars as Alex Holland, who “believed his mid-life wasn’t worthy of a crisis. But after a violent home invasion ignites a dormant purpose, Alex battles a lifetime of failed commitments by joining the Pierce County Police Department as its oldest rookie. Policing from the urban coast to the rural forest where backup isn’t just 5-minutes away, Alex must prove to his skeptical training officer, his fellow rookies, and himself, that he’s finally found something worthy of the fight.”

It’s the second spinoff of the series, following The Rookie: Feds, which starred Niecy Nash as the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy.

Getting Ellis involved in the series was apparently challenging, according to Deadline, as Ellis currently stars in Netflix’s series Running Point and will soon be a series regular on Hulu’s upcoming comedy Not Suitable For Work. He is best known for his roles in HBO’s Insecure and the aforementioned Top Gun: Maverick.

Season eight of The Rookie premieres on ABC on January 6.