Nathan Fillion is a big name on the small screen thanks to roles on a couple of unforgettable shows. He starred in ABC's Castle for eight seasons, and he still has a large fanbase due to his work on the late lamented Firefly on Fox. Fillion has made guest appearances on a number of shows, including Modern Family and Brooklyn Nine Nine, since Castle came to an end. Now, he has signed on for a lead role on a brand new show that already sounds fantastic. Nathan Fillion is headed back to ABC for The Rookie.
On The Rookie, Nathan Fillion will play a rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department who is decades older than the typical rookie. In fact, John Nolan is the very oldest rookie in the entire LAPD force, having left his comfortable life in a small town to chase his dream of becoming a cop. In a class of other rookies who are twenty years younger, he'll have to use all his wits, skills, and probably charms to keep up in law enforcement. The show will be a dramedy, so we'll get to see Fillion go comedic as well as flex his dramatic muscles. Fans of Castle will know well that he's quite capable in both drama and comedy, so it should be fun to get him back on the small screen in a more regular capacity.
ABC already seems to have faith in the show, as the network has handed The Rookie a straight-to-series order. The show will partner Nathan Fillion with his former Castle executive producer Alexi Hawley. Fillion is on board as an executive producer as well. Interestingly, the premise of The Rookie is inspired by a true story. That doesn't necessarily mean that The Rookie will feel especially realistic, but we'll have to wait and see how it goes. Deadline reports that there was network competition for The Rookie, with ABC coming out the winner. Given Fillion's success on the network with Castle, ABC might be the perfect fit for the new series.
Unfortunately, it has not yet been announced when we might get to see Nathan Fillion make his primetime debut as the middle-aged LAPD rookie John Nolan. Everybody behind the scenes will undoubtedly want to land the perfect cast to surround Fillion, and the project will almost certainly have a high profile simply based on the headliner. Hopefully we don't have to wait too terribly long. We also don't yet know how many episodes have been ordered, although "straight to series" indicates that we're in for a decent set of episodes. All things considered, I'd say we have a lot to be optimistic about moving forward.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news. If you're now in the mood for a fix of Nathan Fillion, you can find the full series of Firefly streaming on Hulu. Our fall TV guide can point you toward some other options as well.
