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EXCLUSIVE: Once Upon a Time alumna Mekia Cox is returning to ABC with a series regular role on the upcoming second season of the network’s light cop drama The Rookie starring Nathan Fillion.

Cox will play Detective Nyla Harper. After a four-year stint working undercover, Nyla Harper nearly lost herself. Now she’s putting the uniform back on, hoping to find normalcy again as she takes on the role of training officer. However, with her home life in disarray, and the demons of undercover life still in her head, Nyla’s got as much to learn as she does to teach. Her character first appears in the upcoming fourth episode “Warriors and Guardians.”

While this is a brand new character, the addition of Cox will likely help fill the void left by the departure of original series regular Mercedes Mason, whose character was killed off in Episode 19 of Season 1, and by the abrupt exit after Season 1 of fellow original series regular Afton Williamson who went public with sexual misconduct and racism allegations. They triggered an investigation, commissioned by lead studio eOne, which did not uncover inappropriate behavior on the show.

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The Rookie stars Fillion as John Nolan, Alyssa Diaz as Angela Lopez, Richard T. Jones as Sgt. Wade Grey, Titus Makin as Jackson West,Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen and Eric Winter as Tim Bradford.

The Rookie is a co-production between Entertainment One and ABC Studios. Alexi Hawley is writer and executive producer; Mark Gordon, Fillion, Michelle Chapman, Jon Steinberg and Bill Norcross are executive producers.

Cox joined the seventh and final season of Once Upon A Time as a recurring, playing Princess Tiana, and was promoted to series regular beginning with the fourth episode. She also has been recurring on Chicago Med. Cox is repped by Charlton Blackburne Management, Global Artists Agency and attorney Jeff Bernstein.