Nathan Fillion Reveals His 10-Year Plan For The Rookie (And It’s Perfect For Fans)

“The Rookie” fans are patiently waiting for Season 8 to arrive on Tuesday, Jan. 6 (10/9c). However, Nathan Fillion — who plays Officer John Nolan on ABC’s hit procedural drama — is thinking about a date much farther down the line: In a recent interview with People, the “Castle” alum said that he hopes to be part of “The Rookie” family for the foreseeable future.

“In 10 years, I would like to be just wrapping up ‘The Rookie,’ maybe handing it off to someone else,” Fillion told the outlet. “And then spend a soft retirement visiting ‘The Rookie’ and dabbling in the four-to-seven ‘Rookie’ spin-off series that are still going and very, very popular. In the meantime, when I’m not working on those, I would like to be in my beach house.”

Notice that Fillion didn’t mention the possibility of “The Rookie” and “9-1-1” having a crossover event (which will probably never happen), but fans will still be happy to know that he wants to contribute toward the franchise’s continued expansion. Even though “The Rookie: Feds” was canceled after one season, hope isn’t lost yet for more offshoots to materialize: At the time of this writing, another “Rookie” spin-off is in development.

Nathan Fillion also told People that he is sometimes mistaken for a real-life police officer by members of the public, which leads to some harmless fun. That said, the actor says he prefers the exchanges he has with the folks who actually recognize him as Officer John Nolan, as they remind him why he loves being part of the series.

“My favorite part is that they always tell me that they’re watching it with their family, that they get together with their friends, and this is their show,” Fillion said. “It’s an event that they share. Bringing people together, I think that’s probably one of the best parts of my job.”