Less than a month after its premiere on ABC, The Rookie is getting some outstanding news from the alphabet network. The cop drama premiered in mid-October to ratings ABC was highly enthusiastic over. Now, the network is doubling down.
ABC has given a full-season order to Nathan Fillion's new drama The Rookie. This news comes a week after word of an additional script order had circulated. In its announcement, ABC was not shy about alluding to some of the reasons for its decision. The ratings clinched it, and not by a thin margin either.
The Rookie has delivered an 84% spike in total viewers for the network's historically troubled 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot. To put that percentage in perspective, let's turn to the hard numbers. Last season, the time slot captured 4.5 million viewers. Fast forward to this season and The Rookie is delivering a total viewership of 8.3 million.
The good news for ABC ratings-wise has not ended there. In another ratings highlight, The Rookie has also elevated the time slot's showing in the Adults 18-49 demographic, increasing its performance in the demo by 36%, an impressive lift worth noting.
The freshman series' success marks another for its star Nathan Fillion. Fillion previously starred in the uber-successful ABC crime procedural, Castle. The show premiered in 2009 and lasted for eight seasons, concluding in 2016. A little over two years later and Fillion is back on the network with another successful show to his name.
Despite the show leaning away from Castle-style humor, it has managed to find a booming audience. Nathan Fillion's new series chronicles his character taking on a huge life change. Fillion's John Nolan goes from working at a construction company to pursuing a career as a police officer for the LAPD. The trials and tribulations John Nolan encounters as a rookie fuel the series, which counts Castle producer Alexi Hawley as its executive producer.
With this announcement, fans of The Rookie can rest easy knowing they have a full season to enjoy. Investing in new shows can be rough when there are questions as to their long-term trajectory. Hopefully, Season 1 does not end on a huge cliffhanger. Given its peril-filled storyline, one can easily imagine how that could happen.
Nathan Fillion does appear to have found his niche in the crime drama genre. The Rookie is his second success with one. With so many police procedurals on the air, there may have been doubts as to how another could succeed. The Rookie is proving it can hold its own.
The first episode following the announcement will be The Rookie's fourth. New episodes of The Rookie air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. Nathan Fillion's freshman drama is a part of the ongoing slate of fall premieres.
