In a shocking turn of events, ABC canceled The Rookie: Feds after season one, which means that Simone Clark and her team of FBI agents would not be bothered with any new cases anymore. The decision to axe The Rookie: Feds comes after a year-long anticipation for the second season since the show debuted on September 27, 2022.
The Rookie: Feds is a spin-off of ABC’s The Rookie, which was renewed for a sixth season in April 2023, just before the cliffhanger ending of the season 5 finale. Starring Niecy Nash as Simone Clark, “the procedural was introduced as a two-part event during the current fourth season of “The Rookie”, as Variety mentions, where Simone is enlisted by Officer John Nolan (played by Nathan Fillion) and the LA division of FBI. This enlistment comes in the wake of realizing that one of her former students is a prime suspect in a terror attack.
The spin-off was created by the co-showrunners and executive producers Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter. At the same time, Mark Gordon, Niecy Nash-Betts, Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Bill Norcross, Corey Miller, Michael Goi, and Bibby Dunn serve as the executive producers of the show.
Why was The Rookie Feds canceled after season one?
The announcement of the spin-off’s cancellation comes approximately 24 hours after a tentative deal is approved between the SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP, which would end the 118-long day strike. The WGA strike took off in May, joined by the actors’ strike in July, thereby significantly impacting Hollywood. As a result, a lot of shows and movies were put on hold, including The Rookie: Feds.
Be that as it may, it would be erroneous to assume that the spin-off’s cancellation was predominantly caused by the strikes. Season one unfortunately debuted in September 2022 with 2.2 million viewers, as TVLine reported, and “a 0.3 demo rating in ABC’s Tuesdays-at-10 death slot.” In addition, the outlet states that its readers gave the debut an “average grade of “C+”, with only a disappointing “66% saying that they planned to stay tuned.”
However, the series did receive surprising boosts and spikes in viewership figures, but as per the reports, these figures gradually waned, possibly owing to its shift to the 9 o’clock slot, followed by its parental series, The Rookie.
On average, TVLine reports that the spin-off garnered 4.3 million total viewers and a 0.5 demo rating, surpassing only ABC’s A Million Little Things’ final season and The Company You Keep.
In conversation with TVLine, Nash talked about the uncertain future of The Rookie spin-off, calling herself as a “lady-in-waiting.” She said, “I haven’t heard anything, I’m the same as you.” She further expressed her admiration of the series and the people she worked with, stating, “I love my job at Rookie: Feds. I love the people that I work with, so being able to do another season of it would be like heaven to me.”
Elsewhere, with Variety in June, Nash-Betts elaborated on her wish for The Rookie: Feds season 2 by drawing the attention of the viewers to the show being headlined by a non-white woman who did not hesitate to pursue her dream of joining the FBI at 48.
The phenomenal transition of Nash-Bett’s character as Simone from a guidance counselor to an FBI agent not only makes her the oldest rookie in the agency but also an inspiration to look up to. The first season underscored her role as the FBI agent who courageously battled with challenges that came her way, proving everyone wrong who doubted her capabilities, especially her boss, Special Agent Matthew Garza (played by Felix Solis).
Talking about this inspirational role, she said, “I’m happy for little Black and brown girls to see something that they can aspire to be. Less than 1% of Black women make up the FBI. She’s a Black woman over 40 in the FBI. She’s not married. She’s an equal-opportunity dater if you know what I mean. Like, who is this unicorn? If she were a real person, she would be my homegirl. She’s in her second act and she is making the best of it.”
In addition to Nash-Betts, the series also featured Frankie R. Faison as Simone’s father, James Lesure as Carter Hope, Britt Robertson as Laura Stensen and Kevin Zegers as Brendon Acres.
Unfortunately, The Rookie: Feds is not the only spin-off to be axed. ABC has also canceled The Good Doctor spinoff, The Good Lawyer.