Nathan Fillion set to return to ABC in cop dramedy The Rookie

Nathan Fillion is returning to ABC and the world of police procedurals, but this time he’s the one with the badge.

The former Castle star is set to headline and executive produce The Rookie. The drama reunites him with Castle producer and co-showrunner Alexi Hawley and is produced by the Mark Gordon Company. ABC has ordered the show straight to series, EW has confirmed.

The series is based on a true story and stars Fillion as John Nolan, a rookie cop in the LAPD who is twenty years older than most of his fellow rookies. Nolan ditched his small-town life and career to move to L.A. and pursue his dream of becoming a cop, but now he finds himself navigating the unpredictable, dangerous, and occasionally humorous world of a “young cop.”

The series has all the signs of a potential hit for the network — Mark Gordon Company most recently brought the Kiefer Sutherland-led Designated Survivor to ABC, now in its second season; Hawley got his big break as a writer on the Fillion-led Castle beginning in 2009.

Castle was one of ABC’s most successful procedural dramas for the entire eight seasons it was on the air before it was abruptly canceled in May 2016 following the shocking announcement that Fillion’s costar Stana Katic would not be returning to the show. Fillion has remained in close contact with ABC, featuring in a prominent guest-starring arc on the net’s hit comedy Modern Family in the last year.