Fans of One Life to Live's Nathan Fillion (ex-Joey Buchanan) will soon be seeing the actor back on ABC, as the network has given an official greenlight to The Rookie after having seen the successful pilot for the crime drama series.
Though the show, by former Castle executive producer/co-showrunner Alexi Hawley Entertainment One and ABC Studios, was given a straight-to-series order back in February, ABC reportedly still had the right to make a final decision after seeing the pilot -- and the final decision was a resounding yes.
Inspired by a true story, The Rookie stars Fillion as John Nolan, the oldest rookie in the LAPD.
Says an official description: "Starting over isn't easy, especially for small town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he's met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis. If he can't keep up with the young cops and the criminals, he'll be risking lives including his own. But if he can use his life experience, determination and sense of humor to give him an edge, he may just become a success in this new chapter of his life."
As Soap Central previously reported, Days of our Lives alum Eric Winter (ex-Rex Brady) will play Tim Bradford, an overbearing training officer. Dark Matter alumna Melissa O'Neil will play Lucy, a rookie cop in the LAPD who struggles with a domineering training officer and realizes she may be smitten with Nolan. Afton Williamson is set to play Talia Bishop, a newly promoted training officer whose first assignment is Fillion's forty-year-old rookie.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Diaz will play Angela Lopez, Richard T. Jones will play Sergeant Wade Grey, Titus Makin will play Jackson West, and Mercedes Mason will play Captain Zoe Andersen.
ABC has reportedly been looking for another character-driven light procedural to take the place of Castle, which starred Fillion in the title role and ran for eight seasons. Since the now-defunct series' shocking cancellation in May 2016, Fillion has returned to ABC with a recurring stint on Modern Family's last season. The actor, who played OLTL's Joey from 1994 to 1997 and again in 2007, also had a recent role on Netflix's Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
What do you think about the premise of The Rookie? How much are you looking forward to seeing Fillion back on ABC? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
