Copy & Paste: Franchise Fatigue & Why The Rookie’s New Spinoff Already Lost Us

Did we NEED another spinoff of The Rookie?

No, the answer, my dear Rookie Fanatics, is a resounding no!

News sources have been talking today about a second spinoff in the works for ABC’s popular cop drama. Under any other circumstances, it might appeal to fans.

(Disney/Raymond Liu (ABC))

However, for those of us still reeling from the mixed bag that was The Rookie: Feds, we’re skeptical about ABC’s attempt to expand a popular franchise.

For starters, franchise fatigue is most certainly real.

Television has built a new era around franchises, spinoffs, revivals, reboots, and adaptations.

It’s not to say that many of them aren’t good or even successful. NCIS: Origins has been one of the most delightful expansions of the NCIS franchise in quite some time.

(Erik Voake/CBS)

Dick Wolf pretty much cornered the market on franchises with three different ones across two different networks with Law & Order, One Chicago, and FBI, and, hell, he’ll probably do the same with the upcoming On Call on Prime.

Cop procedurals, in particular, are always wildly and massively successful and are typically a safe bet.

ABC has already realized that franchises or showrunner supremacy serve them well.

The Grey’s Anatomy universe has been the network’s bread and butter, and we’re still lamenting the loss of the Shondaland series primetime domination from many years ago.

(Disney/Ser Baffo)

But now, they’ve focused on making Ryan Murphy productions a network staple, especially after adapting 9-1-1.

The 9-1-1 franchise will expand as well with new series (Sorry, 9-1-1: Lone Star, you had to die so that whatever new locale could thrive in its new home).

And now, ABC is trying their hand at yet another The Rookie spinoff, despite how easily they threw in the towel with Niecy Nash Betts’ The Rookie: Feds.

Some of us are still a bit bitter about things like Suits: LA making its debut soon to capitalize on the renewed success of Suits and expand that franchise all these years later.

And that’s to the chagrin of all four of us Pearson Fanatics, who never got to see the first spinoff get the success it deserved.

(Disney/Raymond Liu (ABC))

Everywhere you look, and on every network, they’ve opted to produce repeats or extensions of what they feel works instead of taking bolder risks and creating original, fresh content.

It sucks, even as someone who enjoys a spinoff or two or entire franchises; it’s disappointing that everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel instead of taking a big swing at manufacturing something new entirely.

And The Rookie, my dear TV Fanatics, epitomizes “more of the same.” They’re not even attempting to do anything different with this latest spinoff.

Instead, after the unsuccessful spinoff that saw a middle-aged, queer woman of color getting a fresh start as an FBI agent, no matter how implausible it was, the new spinoff intends to stick to the original formatting.

(Disney/Raymond Liu (ABC))

What is the new spinoff’s premise, you ask?

The spinoff follows a male cop stepping into a new phase of life in his second act.

So, the series will once again be about a middle-aged man who is having a midlife crisis and will become a cop.

Are you blinking as much as I am right now? Isn’t that the exact same format as the original Nathan Fillion-led show?

Oh, wait, you guys. What distinguishes this from the original series is that it will take place somewhere in the state of Washington!

(Disney/Raymond Liu (ABC))

And by Washington, I’ll bet your bottom dollar it’s somewhere in Seattle because, let’s be real, everyone acts like Seattle is the only city in Washington!

Hey, maybe, if we’re lucky, they can somehow finagle a crossover with Grey’s Anatomy or something. Doubtful, but a girl can dream.

So, not only has The Rookie opted to repeat the original series verbatim, but they’re also essentially borrowing from the 9-1-1 franchise.

We’ll just replicate the same show over and over again and place it in a new location!

(Disney/Raymond Liu (ABC))

It feels like they’re resubmitting an old assignment with a new date and title and keeping their fingers crossed for the best.

The thing is, that works for 9-1-1 as a first responder show that deals more exclusively with firefighters and paramedics responding to a wide array of calls that can be culturally specific to whatever locale they’re in (earthquakes and wildfires in Los Angeles or cowboy-themed foolery in Texas).

It doesn’t have the same feel when you’re exclusively dealing with law enforcement.

While responses were mixed regarding the award-winning Betts leading The Rookie: Feds spinoff, it was genuinely refreshing to explore a woman entering a new stage of her life via a career change.

(Raymond Liu/ABC)

There was nothing wrong with that concept on its own, and it’s a storyline worth exploring because we’ve exhausted storylines about men and their midlife crises for 50 years!

Would it have killed anyone to have at least this latest spinoff be female-led just for some razzle-dazzle?

And that’s where the news of this spinoff elicits more boredom and frustration than excitement.

The Rookie has been on the air for seven years and is still one of the network’s top series. It is massively successful and possibly still has a lot of life left in it.

(ABC (Youtube Screenshot))

It’s worrisome that Hawley and ABC could stretch themselves thin by devoting their attention to a newer, flashier version of the exact same series rather than focusing on the one they already have.

And if they were going to do that, wouldn’t it be worth it if they actually, you know, switched things up a bit or took a more original approach to this new series?

We can at least feel it’s worth it or understand the purpose.

Given the franchise’s ongoing theme, the irony of potentially replacing The Rookie with a more current, younger version of the exact same series isn’t lost.

I get not knocking what already works, but this is ridiculous and a bit underwhelming.

(Disney/Raymond Liu (ABC))

But maybe we’re being premature. As new information trickles in about this spinoff, with interesting casting and a more detailed synopsis, we could change our minds about this.

For now, The Rookie, essentially copying and pasting itself to expand its universe, is a prime example of everything wrong, archaic, annoying, and underwhelming about the franchise era and why viewers are over it.

Over to you, The Rookie Fanatics.

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