Hannah Gearan (she/her) has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep passion for cinema dates back to the age of 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral notebook, wrote down every film she watched and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, where she studied film, environmental studies and writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic faucetshas been screened at numerous film festivals, including the Boston Independent Film Festival (IFFBoston). As editor of Movie News, she draws on her extensive experience studying, directing and analyzing films to tackle dynamic breaking stories.
Log in to your ScreenRant account
The rookie showrunner explains how the upcoming spin-off of the series The Recruit: North differs from the flagship franchise. Starting in 2018, The rookie is a crime drama about a man who decides to take his career to the next level, pursuing his dream of joining the LAPD. The stars of the series Nathan FillionAlyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones and Eric Winter.
The rookie has had seven completed seasons so farand was renewed for an eighth season. The rookie season 8 premieres next week, January 6. A spin-off, called The Recruit: North is also in development and is also expected to debut in 2026.
In an interview with ScreenRantby Tatiana Hullender for The rookie Season 8 premiere, showrunner Alexi Hawley talks about the differences between The Recruit: North and the main show. Hawley defines framework as the main differencenoting that “setting it in the Pacific Northwest will make it visually very different“.
Hawley notes that most crime shows take place in major centers like Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago. Instead, he wanted The Recruit: North feel like the “The America most people live in.” Hawley then described the specific intricacies of this framework, in a fully realized quote below:
ScreenRant: Speaking of the long game, the Rookie universe continues to expand with The Recruit: North. Can you tell me how this series will bring its own identity into play? But at the same time, will there be any character crossovers to connect him to The rookie?
Alexi Hawley: Yes, it will definitely put his own identity at stake. I think setting it in the Pacific Northwest will make it visually very different. As I was putting together the pilot for this show, it occurred to me that most patrol shows you’ve ever seen are just big city shows. They are in Boston, in Los Angeles, in Chicago. I’ve never really seen a cop show set in the parts of America where most people live, which are somewhat urban, but also in the suburbs, and even rural areas.
Pierce County, Washington really stood out as a place that had it all. There’s Tacoma, there’s a giant joint military base nearby, there are upscale suburbs and shopping centers near the highways, and then there’s a national park and mountains. Visually, this show seemed to be very different from a show in a big city. It’s exciting for me, in the sense that it’s such a different vibe.
But at the same time, deep down, it’s still a patrol show. As soon as they get out of their car, anything can happen. I think that’s what makes The Rookie not a procedural thing, we’re not doing a case of the week. We don’t drop a body in Act 1 and resolve it in Act 6. It’s all about “Who knows what’s going to happen this week?”, which is the fun part.
Hawley would be sure to point out that “in his heart” The Recruit: North will always contain the same familiar elements and is “always a patrol show” He also explained how The rookie as a series differs in format from procedurals and other common genre formats. He hopes to move this project forward North.
It is This isn’t the franchise’s first attempt at a spinoff series. This took the form of The recruit: the fedsairing for a single season from 2022 to 2023. This series focused on an older FBI recruit, Special Agent Simone Clark.
Contrary to The Recruit: NorthHowever, The federal government kept the same urban setting as the flagship series, taking a field office in Los Angeles. This gave it the more typical feel of a detective series described by Hawley, as was the case in one of these main centers listed.
As such, The Recruit: North will really be a strong opportunity to stand out from existing franchises. It will be interesting to see how much the spinoff is able to really lean into context. in how promising the showrunner seems. If successful, the Pacific Northwest backdrop could lead to some really interesting and unique scenes from the main series.
- Release date
- October 16, 2018
- Network
- ABC
- Showrunner
- Alexi Hawley
- Directors
- Garret, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa White, Lunre Olabisis, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Lizis, Lizis, Fraeras, Renton, Monier, Renton, Choodenglan, Ch Shomlan. Brown, McCormick, Marcus, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro, Adamson, Anna Mastro.
- Writers
- Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
