Summary
ABC evidently wanted to build a franchise aroundThe Rookie,starting with its first (and only) spinoffThe Rookie: Feds, but the second show failed to meet expectations and was canceled shortly after its debut. The police procedural series, created by Alexi Hawley (the creator andshowrunner ofThe Rookie) and Terence Paul Winter, took the original show’s premise and applied it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Instead of Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, a middle-aged rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department,The Rookie: Fedsstarred Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, a middle-aged rookie in the FBI.
Following the season 6 finale,The Rookiestar Eric Winter, who plays Tim Bradford, shared that more spinoffs are certainly possible (but nothing is official).
The Rookie: Fedspremiered in September 2022, but its two-part backdoor pilot was featuredinThe Rookieseason 5a few months earlier. Fans of the original series were introduced to Simone when Nolan andotherRookiecharactersworked with the FBI on a terrorism case. They learned that one suspect had a connection to FBI trainee Simone Clark and brought her in for assistance. During the episode,Simone and Nolan bond over their shared experience of being the oldest rookie in the room,and the rest is history. Sadly, though,The Rookie: Fedswouldn’t make it past season 1.
The Rookie’s Creator Attributes Feds' Cancelation To Industry Changes
Alexi Hawley Co-Created The Rookie: Feds
The Rookiespinoff’s season 1 finale aired in May 2023, butABC didn’t decide the fate ofThe Rookie: Fedsseason 2until November. After months of speculation regarding the probability of its return, the network canceled the crime drama after only one season. At the time, the exact reason behind the show’s cancelation was unclear, although many could surmise what influenced ABC’s decision. Some believed the 2023 Hollywood strikes were to blame. However,co-creator Alexi Hawley addressedThe Rookie: Feds' ending during the Television Critics Tourand claimed, “It’s a bigger conversation than [the strikes].” According toDeadline,Hawley explained:
“A lot had to do with the forces that led to strike … the consolidation of the industry, the economic impact of the streaming wars have had on different companies. I do feel it was not a creative decision. It was a business decision. I can’t argue with that. I’m not running anything. It was a treat for us. We love that show … it’s all I can really say … I think the honest answer is I’m not sure, nor do I think the industry knows what is happening right now. The strike is still fairly close in our rearview mirror. Consolidation is happening across the industry. ABC has been nothing but supportive about The Rookie. Again, The Rookie: Feds was an unfortunate casualty, more of a casualty of the whole process.”
Hawley believes that the state of Hollywood played a bigger part in the demise ofThe Rookie: Fedsrather than solely blaming the strikes.Network TV isn’t making as much of a profit as it used to because of the rise of streamingand its recent dominance in Hollywood. Consequently, networks have to be more picky about which shows to renew and cancel. Unfortunately, forThe Rookie: Feds,its season 1 results weren’t enough for ABC, leading to its cancelation. Meanwhile,The Rookieis headed into season 7as it continues to be reliable and consistent amongst the changes in Hollywood.
Hollywood Strikes Were A Factor In Feds' Cancelation (But Not The Main Reason)
The 2023 Writers & Actors Strike Didn’t Help The Rookie: Feds' Renewal Chances
Despite Alexi Hawley’s assertion that the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes weren’t the main cause behindThe Rookie: Fedsseason 2 cancelation, they still undeniably played a part. The writers strike lasted for almost five months, one of the longest labor stoppages in the WGA’s history, while the actors strike lasted for nearly four months, the longest labor stoppage in SAG-AFTRA’s history.The strikes irreparably damaged the industry as writers and actors justly fought for their rights,andThe Rookie: Fedswas sadly one of the casualties.
7 The Rookie: Feds Characters We Hope Join The Rookie Cast Following Spinoff’s Cancellation
ABC canceled The Rookie: Feds after only one season, but as the season 6 finale of The Rookie proved, the spinoff’s characters can always return.
The Rookie: Feds Did Not Perform As Strongly As The Main Show
The Spinoff’s Ratings Never Lived Up To The Rookie’s Viewership Totals
Of course, the most significant reason behind ABC’s cancelation ofThe Rookie: Fedswas its poor ratings. The spinoff series failed to live up to the viewership standards set by the parent TV show as, perTVLine,The Rookie: Fedsaveraged 4.3 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating (with Live+7 playback).Meanwhile,The Rookieseason 6 averaged almost 6 million total viewers during its sixth season, making it one of the most-watched scripted series on ABC, trailing only9-1-1season 7 andWill Trentseason 2.
The season 1 finale wouldn’t be the last time fans sawThe Rookie: Fedscharacters as a handful appeared inThe Rookieseason 6 finale, and they could easily return in future episodes.
Despite ABC’s attempts to boost the spinoff’s ratings by linking it to the original show viaappearances byThe Rookiecharacters inThe Rookie: Feds,Niecy Nash-Betts' series didn’t perform as well as needed to succeed. Consequently, the network concluded that the spinoff wouldn’t be able to improve with time, and it ended the crime drama after only 22 episodes. Nevertheless, the season 1 finale wouldn’t be the last time fans sawThe Rookie: Fedscharacters as a handful appeared inThe Rookieseason 6 finale, and they could easily return in future episodes.
The Rookie: Feds
Cast
The Rookie: Feds is an action crime-drama spun-off from The Rookie, starring a new cast of characters in the FBI Academy. Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the academy, is enlisted to help when one of her former classmates is a prime suspect in a terrorist attack, throwing her into the middle of the field.
