ABC has made its new series orders.
The Disney-owned network has picked up Hilary Swank-fronted drama Alaksa (fka Alaska Daily News), The Rookie spinoff The Rookie: Feds and comedy Not Dead Yet to series.
It comes on a busy day for the network ahead of its Upfront presentation next week; it renewed Big Sky for a third season, A Million Little Things, for a fifth season, and comediesThe Conners, for season five,Home Economics, for season three andThe Wonder Years, a second season as well as a slew of unscripted renewals.
Alaska, which scored a pilot order in September, stars Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald, a recently disgraced reporter who leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.
It comes from Spotlight and Stillwater director Tom McCarthy and is produced by 20th Television.
It also stars Jeff Perry as Stanley Cornik, Matt Malloy as Bob Young, Meredith Holzman as Claire Muncy, Grace Dove as Rosalind “Roz” Friendly, Pablo Castelblanco as Gabriel Martin, Ami Park as Jieun Park and Craig Frank as Austin Greene.
McCarthy, who wrote and directed the pilot episode, and Swank exec produce alongside Melissa Wells, Bert Salke and Anchorage Daily News’ Kyle Hopkins and Ryan Binkley
As we signposted, The Rookie spinoff is also making it to air. The series, known as The Rookie: Feds, stars Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy.
It was introduced as a two-part event during the fourth season of the show, where Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the L.A. division of the FBI enlist the help of Simone Clark when one of her former students is a suspect in a terror attack.
The series also stars Frankie Faison as Christopher “Cutty” Clark and Felix Solis as Special Agent Matthew Garza.
It was created by Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter, who exec produce alongside Mark Gordon, Niecy Nash-Betts, Nathan Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Bill Norcross and Corey Miller.
Entertainment One (eOne) is the lead studio and will distribute internationally. It is a co-production with with ABC Signature.
Finally, the network has picked up comedy Not Dead Yet.
From The Real O’Neals creators David Windsor and Casey Johnson, the series stars Gina Rodriguez. Based on Alexandra Potter’s Confessions of a 40-something F**k Up, it sees the Jane The Virgin star play Nell Stevens a broke and newly single self-described disaster, working to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago. When she lands the only job she can find – writing obituaries – Nell starts getting life advice from an unlikely source.
This Is Us alum Windsor and Johnson, who landed a pilot order in February, created and exec produce alongside Rodriguez, Wonderland Sound and Vision’s McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh.
The pair wrote the pilot episode, which was directed by Dean Holland. It comes from 20th Television.