The Rookie has been an excellent show for ABC. Yet some fans may not realize it’s based on a true story with the man involved actually being on the series!
When The Rookie premiered in 2018, its setup looked like pure TV fantasy. John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) is a 40-something divorced architect who feels lost after a tough divorce. When he’s caught in a bank robbery, John is inspired to join the LAPD, despite his age and lack of police experience.
Despite a rough start, Nolan has succeeded on the force, winning the respect of his bosses and becoming a training officer himself. It looks like a fantastic idea perfect for a TV series, but it turns out to be inspired by a real person.
In an extensive New York Post story, William “Bill” Norcross was in much the same place as Nolan. In 2015, the then-44-year-old Norcross decided to leave the family printing business in Pennsylvania and head to L.A. to fulfill his dream of becoming a cop.
"“[Law enforcement] was something I had always thought about in the back of my mind … then, all of the sudden, I wake up and I’m 40-something years old and I figured if I was ever going to make a change, that now was the time to do it. I looked around; I always thought about LA — the LAPD has no age limit, as long as you can pass the requirements — and I saw they had expedited testing where you can cram a couple of months of testing into one week, and that’s how it started. I knew no one out here except for one or two college friends [including Steinberg]. The LAPD tested over 40 applicants and by the end of the week, there were only two of us left standing.”"
Norcross is still on the force today and seems amused at how his tale inspired a TV show.
How did Norcross’s story become The Rookie?
Norcross would run into his college friend, Jon Steinberg, sharing stories of his exploits on the LAPD. Already an experienced writer/producer, Steinberg saw the potential in the story and crafted it into a pilot picked up by ABC.
Norcross does drop in on the show’s set when he has a day off to meet the cast. He even made a cameo in one episode but says he has no plans to give up his “day job.”
“I keep it pretty quiet and don’t tell many people but word has slowly gotten out,” he says. “But it’s business as usual — I’m going out and doing my job.”
So when fans watch The Rookie, they can know it’s based on a real cop who proves it’s never too late to start a new path in your life.
The Rookie is available to stream on Hulu.