‘The Rookie’ Sets Date For Two-Episode Backdoor Pilot With Niecy Nash – Watch The Trailer

ABC has set Sunday, April 24, for Part 1 of a two-part event that will serve as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff of The Rookie. Part 2 will follow on May 1. You can watch a trailer above.

The potential spinoff follows the premise of The Rookie, which stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, the oldest rookie in the LAPD. As previously announced, Niecy Nash will guest star as Simone Clark, a force of nature, the living embodiment of a dream deferred – and the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. Her two episodes set the stage for the potential untitled spinoff next season allowing the franchise to expand beyond the Los Angeles Police Department.

2022 ABC Pilots & Series Orders

Co-written by The Rookie creator/executive producer Alexi Hawley and executive producer Terence Paul Winter, and directed by Liz Friedlander, Part 1 of the two-part event, titled “Simone,” finds Officer John Nolan (Fillion) and the LA division of the FBI enlist the help of FBI trainee Simone Clark (Nash) when one of her former students is suspected of terrorism following an explosion at a local power station.

The two-episode arc also stars Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark, Kat Foster as Special Agent Casey Fox and Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza.

In addition to Fillion, The Rookie stars Mekia Cox as Nyla Harper, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T. Jones as Sergeant Wade Grey, Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen, Eric Winter as Tim Bradford, Jenna Dewan as Bailey Nune and Shawn Ashmore as Wesley Evers.

Winter, Mark Gordon, Fillion, Michelle Chapman and Bill Norcross also are executive producers on the series. Entertainment One (eOne) is the lead studio and international distributor. The Rookie is a co-production with ABC Signature.

The Rookie two-part event begins at 10 p.m. Sunday, April 24, on ABC.