Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: The Rookie, The Rookie North

The Rookie: "This Is Us" Star Chris Sullivan Joins "North" Spinoff

Chris Sullivan (This Is Us) has joined the cast of Alexi Hawley's Jay Ellis-starring pilot for the spinoff series The Rookie: North.

A few weeks back, series creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley had some insights to share about the Jay Ellis-starring pilot The Rookie: North, a spinoff of the hit ABC series. Now, Deadline Hollywood is reporting exclusively that Chris Sullivan (This Is Us) has joined the cast in the role of Sgt. Nix, "a recently promoted Watch Commander, whose heart still wants to be out on the street." If the pilot receives a series green light, Sullivan's character is expected to become a series regular.

Speaking with Deadline Hollywood earlier this month, Hawley offered some insights into the spinoff series, how its different locale sets it apart from other procedurals & patrol shows, why Ellis was the right choice to lead the series, and the chances that the original series and spinoff series will have a crossover. "I think ultimately, what I got excited about was, I think every patrol cop show versus a procedural has really been big-city oriented, New York, Boston, Chicago, LA, so I like the idea that this place is a bigger slice of America, where people live," Hawley shared about the spinoff series' unique setting. "The county that they're policing does include Tacoma, so there is some urban but at the same time, it's also the suburbs and the exurbs, and it's also the meth lab in the woods, and a National Park, and there's a military base. That sort of county is really interesting."

With most procedurals/patrol shows set in and around a big city, "if you need the world to show up, it shows up in a giant way," Hawley explained. But The Rookie: North flips the script in a big way. "I thought it would just immediately set the show apart visually and then thematically; I think our lead, the character that Jay plays, is a guy who never really found something he's passionate about before this," Hawley said. "And part of that has to do with a tragedy in his past, which we get into a little bit. So that was a little bit of a different way in, it is a guy who's a little more lost. I think Nathan's character was a successful professional, obviously blue collar or whatever, he was just a little lost after his divorce and everything. But this is just a little different."

When it came to his lead, Hawley saw in Ellis the same traits that Nathan Fillion brought to John Nolan in the original series. "Tonally, with 'Rookie,' because we do everything, you really want to find somebody who, like Nathan, can play comedy, but can also bring the emotion, and Jay is just so, so talented across the board," Hawley explained. "It's another name that gets floated to you, and you're like, is that possible? And then it all worked out. So I'm very excited about Jay, I think he really opens up the show to be its own thing in a great way." As for the possibility of both shows crossing over, Hawley admits that Vancouver and Los Angeles present a geographical dilemma. But if the spinoff turns out to be a success, he added that "it's not impossible."

The spinoff pilot is set to focus on Ellis's Alex Holland, a middle-aged man who becomes the oldest rookie cop in his new rural Washington state home after moving from Los Angeles. According to the pilot overview: "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 is set to executive-produce via his Perfectman Pictures banner, alongside Fillion, Mark Gordon, Bill Norcross, and Michelle Chapman. Additionally, Ellis will serve as a producer on the spin-off series.

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