The Rookie Creator Alexi Hawley Renews Lionsgate TV Deal, Expanding a Busy Franchise
Alexi Hawley has signed a new multi-year overall deal with Lionsgate Television, keeping the creator of The Rookie exclusively on the studio's roster as the police drama heads into its ninth season and its second spinoff nears launch.
An overall deal means a writer-producer develops and produces projects exclusively for one studio rather than shopping each show around individually. Hawley's renewed pact is his fourth consecutive overall deal across Lionsgate Television and its predecessor company eOne, according to Deadline.
The relationship has survived corporate upheaval. When Lionsgate acquired eOne, the combined company cut roughly 70% of its overall and first-look deals in 2024 — but retained Hawley with what Deadline described as a premium overall pact. He was reported at the time to be the top TV creator on eOne's roster. His production company, Perfectman Pictures, operates under the deal.
The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion as a middle-aged newcomer to the Los Angeles police force, was renewed by ABC for a ninth season in April 2026. The series generated more than 12.8 billion minutes of domestic viewing in the first half of 2026 alone, per Deadline. Originally produced by eOne alongside ABC Signature — now folded into 20th Television — the show has been a steady broadcast performer and a licensing asset for Lionsgate's television division.
A spinoff, The Rookie: North, was picked up to series by ABC in May 2026. Starring Jay Ellis, it expands the franchise beyond Los Angeles. Both The Rookie and The Rookie: North are set to premiere on ABC and Hulu in early 2027, according to Deadline. A previous spinoff, The Rookie: Feds starring Niecy Nash, ran for one season on ABC under Hawley's earlier eOne deal.
Beyond the Rookie universe, Hawley has a hostage-recovery drama titled The Envoy in development at HBO Max. The series was originally set up at Hulu in August 2024, entered turnaround — meaning the original platform released it, allowing the producers to find a new home — and landed at HBO Max in spring 2026. It is inspired by journalist Adam Ciralsky's June 2024 Vanity Fair article about Roger Carstens, who served four years as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and whose State Department team brought home 70 American hostages. Hawley executive produces alongside Ciralsky, Gene Klein of P3 Media, and Carstens himself.
Hawley also created the Netflix spy thriller The Recruit, whose second and final season launched shortly after the Lionsgate-eOne merger. He is represented by The Shuman Company and Hansen Jacobsen Teller.
For viewers, the deal extension means the Rookie franchise has a clear runway through at least early 2027, with a new spinoff joining the flagship — and one more drama, rooted in a real hostage-recovery operation, working its way toward HBO Max.
