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Between his work in Castle, Firefly, and even James Gunn’s new DCU, Nathan Fillion has plenty of notable credits in his filmography. However, the role he’s given the most time to in his career thus far is John Nolan, the lead character in the hit ABC cop drama, The Rookie. Fillion first suited up as Nolan in the debut season of The Rookie back in 2018, and almost 10 years later, he’s showing no signs of leaving the character behind anytime soon. He has mentioned that, while he’d like to move on eventually, he has at least 10 more years of playing John Nolan left in him.
With any show as popular as The Rookie, which has been on the air for eight seasons, it’s only natural for fans to start asking about spin-offs. The Rookie had its first spin-off back in 2022, The Rookie: Feds, but it was canceled after only one season. The show followed Special Agent Simone Clarke (Niecy Nash), the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. Recently, ABC confirmed that another spin-off is in the works. The Rookie: North will follow a middle-aged man who joins the Pierce County Police Department as its oldest rookie after a traumatic home invasion.
One of the names attached to star in The Rookie: North is Karen Fukuhara, who has earned acclaim in the last seven years for her performance as Kimiko in the hit Prime Video series, The Boys. Collider’s Steve Weintraub recently sat down with Fukuhara to chat about the next season of The Boys, and he asked if there was anything she could tease about the new Rookie offshoot, which is currently just a pilot at this stage. She told Collider:
“Thank you for that. I just got back from shooting the pilot in Vancouver for The Rookie: North. It’s a spin-off of a show called The Rookie. The original is led by Nathan Fillion, and he’s been a friend of mine for years. He’s just a wonderful human being. He’s so kind-hearted, so I knew stepping into this project, I was in good hands, because everything trickles down from the number one. How they conduct a set is going to be how the vibe of the crew is going to be. It’s really important to have a good number one, and we have Jay Ellis, who is at the forefront of it all. I really hope we get picked up. We find out at the end of April, beginning of May. So, I might be a Canadian again.”
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Who Else Might Star in ‘The Rookie: North’?
In addition to The Boys veteran Karen Fukuhara, The Rookie: North also stars Janet Montgomery, famed for her work in New Amsterdam and Scarpetta, as well as Taylor Sheridan’s 1923. Top Gun: Maverick veteran Jay Ellis is set to lead the series as the titular rookie. Chris Sullivan, who could recently be seen playing the villain in Mercy, Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson’s latest sci-fi thriller, also has a role in the new series.
Watch all episodes of The Rookie on Hulu and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of The Rookie: North.
- Release Date
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October 16, 2018
- Showrunner
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Alexi Hawley
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Adam Blevins
Almontather Rassoul
