By Michaela Gordoni
Five more cast members have officially joined THE ROOKIE: NORTH.
THE ROOKIE spinoff will star Janet Montgomery, Malik Watson, Mya Lowe, Karen Fukuhara and Froy Gutierrez, CBR reported.
Jay Ellis will take the leading role as Alex Holland, a middle-aged rookie in the Pierce County Police Department in Washington state. Chris Sullivan stars as Sergeant Nix.
THE ROOKIE creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley recently said the series “will definitely stake out its own identity.” He added that moving to the Pacific Northwest from THE ROOKIE’s LA “will just visually make it feel very different.”
“Most patrol shows you’ve ever seen are just big-city shows. They’re in Boston, they’re in LA, they’re in Chicago,” he explained. “I’ve never really seen a cop show take place in the parts of America that most people live in, which is a little bit urban, but also the exurbs in the suburbs, and even the rural areas.”
Related: ABC Greenlights New THE ROOKIE Spinoff, Set in Washington State
So THE ROOKIE: NORTH will have a fresh feel.
He said, “Pierce County, up in Washington state, really jumped out as a place that had all of it. It’s got Tacoma, it’s got a giant joint military base nearby, it’s got fancy suburbs and strip malls near freeways, and then it’s got a national park and mountains.”
The show will film in Vancouver this month, with a fall release date expected.
Lowe, who will play rookie Elora Howe, shared on Instagram this week, “so excited to bring elora to life with this dream team!! ❤️👮🏻”
Guiterrez also shared, “Psyched to be joining this talented group 💫.
Unlike the spinoff, THE ROOKIE: FEDS, THE ROOKIE: NORTH is a standalone series. It will not be introduced in connection with THE ROOKIE, Blex Media reported.
Fukuhara, who will play a training officer in the show said, “Moved to Vancouver, becoming a ‘TO,’ meeting the incredible cast & Alexi…it’s been an exciting few weeks ✨👮🏻♀️feeling incredibly grateful and beyond excited to tell the story of Leah.”
Hawley says Holland is an inspiring character who had meandered through life until now.
“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.”
It will be exciting to see the character grow in his career as the department’s oldest rookie ever.
While we wait for THE ROOKIE: NORTH to make its way to TV, THE ROOKIE Season 8 streams on Hulu. THE ROOKIE is yet to be officially renewed for Season 9, but Deadline anticipates that it will be given the green light for continuation.
Read Next: THIS IS US Star Joins THE ROOKIE Spinoff
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