<\/p>\n
The Rookie<\/em><\/a> universe could be expanding, and chances are we\u2019ll know if a second spinoff<\/a> is going to be ordered to series soon; networks announce their plans for the following season in mid-May.\u00a0The Rookie: North<\/a><\/em> pilot is completed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping to hear soon,\u201d\u00a0The Rookie<\/em> showrunner Alexi Hawley<\/a> told TV Insider while discussing the upcoming Season 8 finale<\/a>. \u201cI feel incredibly optimistic. I\u2019m an optimistic person by nature, but I do feel like it\u2019s warranted. The pilot came out great.\u201d<\/p>\n The series would star Jay Ellis<\/a> as Alex Holland, who becomes the oldest rookie of the Pierce County Police Department after a violent home invasion. The cast also includes Chris Sullivan<\/a> as the watch commander, Janet Montgomery<\/a> as Alex\u2019s training officer,\u00a0Froy Gutierrez<\/a> and Mya Lowe<\/a> as rookies, and Karen Fukuhara<\/a> and Malik Watson as training officers.<\/p>\n \u201cJay is a no-brainer. He\u2019s such a TV star. He\u2019s so talented,\u201d raved Hawley. \u201cThe rest of the cast was equally great. It was one of those things where it felt like we\u2019d been working together forever, even with the pilot. There was an ease. I did put them through some police training. We sort of separated them into the rookies train together and the TOs and Chris Sullivan trained together. So you already start to do those lines, the differences between them.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cWe just had a really special experience and I think that it couldn\u2019t have come together better. And it does feel like The Rookie<\/em> and yet not. I think the sort of really changing location to Pacific Northwest, and it just has a different vibe. It has a different energy, which is really cool. So yeah, I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n