North’ Gets ABC Pilot Order; Jay Ellis To Star In Spinoff

Jay Ellis (Running Point, All Her Fault) is set to headline The Rookie: North, Alexi Hawley’s anticipated spinoff from his long-running ABC drama The Rookie. With him on board, the network has picked up the long-gestating project to pilot, written and directed by Hawley.

Closing Ellis’ deal took some scheduling work as the in-demand actor is also a series regular on the upcoming Hulu comedy series Not Suitable For Work in addition to recurring on Netflix’s Running Point. If the pilot goes to series, he will be able to do both The Rookie: North, co-produced by Lionsgate and Hulu and ABC sibling 20th TV, and Not Suitable For Work, from Warner Bros. TV.

Unlike the first Rookie spinoff, The Rookie: Feds, which starred Niecy Nash as the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy, The Rookie: North closely follows the premise of the mothership series starring Nathan Fillion. It also is about a middle-aged guy who becomes the oldest rookie cop while transplanting the setting from an urban (Los Angeles) to rural (Washington state) environment. Ellis will play a character whose name, Alex Holland, draws parallels to Alexi Hawley. (The last name also rhymes with that of The Rookie lead John Nolan, played by Fillion.)

Alex Holland (Ellis) 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.

Hawley executive produces via his Perfectman Pictures alongside Fillion, Mark Gordon, Bill Norcross and Michelle Chapman. Ellis is a producer.

This marks ABC’s second drama pilot this season, following RJ Decker, starring Scott Speedman, which was recently picked up to series. (The network also has comedy pilot Do You Want Kids? starring Rachel Bloom and Rory Scovel.)

Deadline revealed exclusively last December that ABC was developing a second Rookie spinoff set in Washington state with Hawley.

“There’s a script, I’ve been doing some drafts and getting some notes,” Hawley told Deadline in May.

By early July, The Rookie: North was in serious pilot consideration at ABC as part of the network’s “second cycle” strategy. As Deadline reported at the time, a pilot order was contingent on casting the lead role.

After a brief exploratory talent search, all parties took their foot off the gas to wait for the new cycle when more big names become available and to give the script more time. ABC brass have been are looking for someone of the caliber of Speedman, which they have now found in Ellis.

“I think we are looking at shooting a pilot in the spring or late winter, so we are gearing up for that,” Hawley told Deadline in early September.

Ellis, an NAACP Image Award winner for Insecure, is on two hit current series. He is part of the main cast of Peacock’s limited series All Her Fault, which recently launched to strong viewership, and he recurs on Netflix’s comedy Running Point, which is returning for a second season. Ellis, also known for Top Gun: Maverick and Lionsgate’s Freaky Tales, is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360 and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman.

Hawley is the creator, writer and showrunner behind The Rookie, whose upcoming eighth season premieres on ABC Jan. 6. He previously created and was the showrunner on the Netflix spy drama The Recruit, which ran for two seasons, and co-created and was co-showrunner on The Rookie: Feds, which aired on ABC for one. Hawley also directed both the Season 7 premiere of The Rookie and the Season 2 finale of The Recruit. Hawley, whose company Perfectman Pictures has an overall deal at Lionsgate Television, is repped by The Shuman Company and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman.