Actor and producer Jay Ellis is bringing a new late-blooming police recruit to ABC, with THE ROOKIE: NORTH now set to premiere Jan. 6, 2027, right after the series that started the franchise.
“You’re rooting for this guy, and you want him to get his life together,” Ellis told Deadline in an April interview about the pilot.
Ellis plays Alex Holland, a man whose life takes a sharp turn after a violent home invasion. He joins the Pierce County Police Department as an older rookie, trading years of failed commitments for a demanding job that forces him to prove himself.
The premise may sound familiar to fans of actor Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan, but ABC’s official introduction makes the geographic difference clear. Alex will patrol an area stretching from an urban coast into rural forests, where help can take considerably longer to arrive.
That change gives the new show its own set of pressures. Alex must earn the confidence of his training officer and fellow rookies while finding out whether this is finally a commitment he can keep.
Ellis wasn’t looking for a broadcast series when the project reached him. In his Deadline interview, he recalled receiving the script while working in New York and reading it on the flight back to Los Angeles.
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“This character gets to do so many different things in this pilot,” he said.
He had reservations about entering broadcast television, but the script hooked him. A dinner with franchise creator and executive producer Alexi Hawley followed, helping Ellis decide to take the role.
ABC ordered the spinoff to series in May, as TV Insider reported at the time. Its early guide still left the premiere date open, but the wait for a firm answer ended with the franchise’s Oct. 11 New York Comic Con presentation.
According to Deadline’s report from the announcement, THE ROOKIE will begin Season 9 at 9 p.m. on Jan. 6, followed by THE ROOKIE: NORTH at 10 p.m. Both shows will air Wednesdays on ABC and stream the following day on Hulu.
The new ensemble includes actors Chris Sullivan, Janet Montgomery, Karen Fukuhara, Froy Gutierrez, Mya Lowe and Malik Watson. ABC’s announcement also identifies Ellis as a producer, with Hawley writing and executive producing alongside a team that includes Fillion.
Fans can expect familiar faces to visit, too. Fillion appears in the spinoff’s pilot, and Hawley announced at Comic Con that original-series stars Eric Winter and Melissa O’Neil will also appear in the new show.
The event’s sizzle reel gave viewers an early look at both series. Deadline described Alex starting his new career in a leafier, more rural setting, while the original show’s team faces a dangerous rescue mission involving two kidnapped colleagues.
That last detail matters for parents considering the franchise. ABC labels the original show’s recent episodes TV-14; its rating does not establish the spinoff’s eventual rating or suitability for younger children.
Ellis’ interest centers on a character trying to change course and do work that matters. Viewers will get their first full introduction to Alex on Jan. 6.
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