Despite sending its first two spinoffs to the graveyard of shows canceled in 2025 — R.I.P. FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted — CBS’ G-Men franchise is growing larger thanks to the imminent arrival of the alphabetical offshoot previously titled FBI: CIA. Fans questioned the project’s need to exist in place of the other established series, but it looks like all involved are feeling quite bullish about the new concept’s chances, with two big updates cementing the spinoff’s future.
CBS Officially Orders FBI's CIA Spinoff To Series
Network execs appear to have made a big call with the new project, with Deadline reporting that CBS is officially moving forward with a straight-to-series order for the drama offshoot, meaning it's now confirmed to be joining the mothership series during the Fall 2025 TV schedule.
At this point, details are fairly few and far between, so it's not clear exactly how many episodes will be produced from the jump, and whether or not the option for more eps will be in place. But we do know that CBS may be cutting the FBI connective tissue out of the title to simply call the new drama CIA.
The new show is the creation of David Hudgins (FBI: Most Wanted), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy), and former CIA officer David Chasteen. It'll follow two partners with opposing personalities, with one being an impulsive rule-breaking CIA officer, and the other being a meticulous rule-following FBI agent, who are assigned to work out of the CIA's New York Station, where they must work through their differences to catch and/or thwart dangerous threats.
The initial CIA plan was to build it into FBI proper as a backdoor pilot, with the two main characters and a third lead meant to be introduced into one of the current season's installments. That plan was delayed and reconfigured a couple of times due to a lack of casting decisions, and then the backdoor pilot idea was avoided entirely in place of a straightforward order.
Lucifer Vet Tom Ellis Cast As FBI's CIA Spinoff Lead
No more casting delays now, though, at least when it comes to locking down the CIA officer side of the new show's duo. For that role, the Dick Wolf-produced drama has cast Tom Ellis, who is arguably best known for his years of portraying the devil himself across six seasons of Lucifer. (Which altered its ending and jumped to Netflix after Fox canceled it three seasons in.)
Ellis will be portraying the less rigid member of the pair, and is described as being a fast-talking loose cannon. Both things that I can easily see the UK actor portraying without stretching his talents too far. Add in a heaping dose of "self-satisfied snark," and it's essentially Lucifer Morningstar with a badge.
Interestingly enough, Tom Ellis was attached to CIA casting reports starting around February, and they seemed to dissipate after a month or so of negotiations. Apparently something changed behind the scenes that was positive enough to sway Ellis to sign on. And once he was confirmed to be on board, CBS was reportedly more eager to work out the series order details.
Stay tuned for more casting details for the new CIA spinoff to learn who will be tamping down Tom Ellis' rambunctious behavior when the new show kicks off this fall on CBS.
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