ABC Sets Date for Two-Part Backdoor Pilot for “The Rookie” Spinoff Series Starring Niecy Nash

A two-part event for ABC’s The Rookie has been set for an April 24th debut. The event will serve as the backdoor pilot for the previously reported potential spinoff series starring Niecy Nash, according to Deadline.

  • The first part of the upcoming The Rookie event will debut on April 24th with part two airing on May 1st.
  • In addition to Nash and The Rookie star Nathan Fillion, the two-episode arc also stars:
    • Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark
    • Kat Foster as Special Agent Casey Fox
    • Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza
  • The Rookie two-part event begins at 10 p.m. Sunday, April 24, on ABC.
  • ABC released a trailer for the upcoming episodes, which you can see below:

About the spinoff series:

  • The new spinoff series will be set within the FBI with Nash as the series’ star.
  • The series, which currently does not have its own title, will be introduced in a two-episode arc of the current fourth season of The Rookie.
  • The project will come from The Rookie creator and executive producer Alexi Hawley, executive producers Terence Paul Winter and Mark Gordon and studios eOne and ABC Signature.
  • The new series will follow the same premise as The Rookie, which follows the oldest rookie in the LAPD.
  • 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.
  • Simone has never shied away from a challenge or a fight. She is a single mother of two who put her dreams on hold to make sure her kids pursued their own.
  • In the two-episode arc, 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.
  • Nash is known for her role in Comedy Central’s Reno 9-1-1, Fox’s Scream Queens and most recently TNT’s Claws.
  • She also recently had a recurring role on FX’s Mrs. America.