The Rookie may not be returning on the 2026 TV schedule following the Season 8 finale, but Season 9 is coming in hot for the 2027 season. ABC’s hit procedural is officially back in production for the new season, and it will be joined midseason by its newest spinoff, The Rookie: North. Nathan Fillion is already confirmed to be crossing over to the Jay Ellis-led series, but there’s another character mashup the EP wants that I love even more.
When The Rookie: North was officially ordered, it was hard to tell if there would be any crossovers with its parent show, especially since the two series are set and filmed in different cities. However, Fillion, who is also an executive producer on the spinoff, weighed in on the crossovers, sharing that there will indeed be some to look forward to. Now, series creator Alexi Hawley is expressing excitement with Entertainment Weekly in bringing Fillion's John Nolan and Ellis' Alex Holland together:
There’s nothing more rewarding than a second spinoff of your baby, a second child, so to speak. And so, it’s great. And they’re a treat together for sure. I’m hoping to get more of it as we go forward, it’s a real treat to see them together.
As someone who watches a handful of TV franchises, I'm a sucker for a good crossover. It’s great to know that while The Rookie is in LA and The Rookie: North is in the Pacific Northwest (set in Washington state and filmed in Vancouver), crossovers are still going to be a thing. Not much has been shared about what will bring Fillion’s Nolan to Washington, but definitely look forward to seeing how that turns out and his dynamic Ellis' Holland and the other new characters.
Even though it’s unclear how many crossovers there will be, if Hawley has his way, Nolan may not be the only Rookie star to make the jump to North. The EP admitted what other two characters he’d want to see in the spinoff, and I definitely need it now more than anything:
I do think we need to get Chenford in the mix up in North at some point in season 1. Yes, I said it out loud, there you go!
Obviously, given the ending of The Rookie’s Season 8 finale, Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) will have to wait a bit to go anywhere. Just moments after getting engaged on the beach, the happy couple was kidnapped. So there's no telling how long that storyline will go or what the aftermath will be like for either of them.
However, the fact that Hawley wants them both to appear on The Rookie: North seems to mean Lucy and Tim are very likely to come out of this dangerous situation alive. I mean, I'll take any chance to see more of Chenford, given my love for this pair. Furthermore, the two may need a change of scenery after what they’ll seemingly go through at the beginning of Season 9.
Of course, it may not be as easy as Hawley would hope, as The Rookie and The Rookie: North aren’t exactly close in distance. He mentioned how it was easier to do crossovers for the short-lived spinoff The Rookie: Feds, since that was set and filmed in LA, as opposed to North. With that in mind, Hawley explained his approach to cross-pollination moving forward:
It’s tougher. I mean, with Feds, which was set in L.A. literally on the same lot as us, the crossovers were easier. But we do have other ones planned, which I don’t wanna spoil. In season 1, we’re mindful of how to keep it feeling organic. And it is a plane ride away, it’s not an easy crossover. So, I think we wanna make them impactful because we can’t do them every other episode. But at the same time, we’re definitely planning to collide those worlds where we can.
Even without crossovers, I’m just excited to finally see the new show following months of updates on The Rookie: North. Honestly, the crossovers are just a plus, though I'll certainly remain hopeful that Chenford will mix it up with the new characters.
Unfortunately, both the spinoff and Season 9 of The Rookie won’t be premiering until at least January 2027. I'm hopeful that the wait, however, will be worth it. For now, all eight seasons of Rookie are streaming with a Hulu subscription.
