| CIA | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Related | |
| FBI | |
CIA is an American police procedural television series created by Dick Wolf and David Hudgins to air on CBS beginning February 23, 2026. The series is produced by Wolf Entertainment, CBS Studios and Universal Television, with Wolf, Nicole Perlman, David Chasteen, and Peter Jankowski serving as executive producers. It follows the teaming of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer with an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the two are based in New York City and work together investigating domestic threats to the United States. It is a spinoff from the FBI television franchise.
CIA case officer Hart Hoxton is a bit of a loose cannon with no regard for the rules, and FBI special agent Bill Goodman is strictly by-the-book. The two of them must team up and find a way to work together to protect the United States from domestic terrorism threats.
The CIA spinoff series was in development at CBS in January 2025, originally intending to begin with a backdoor pilot airing as an FBI episode. [1] After the proposed backdoor pilot had been repeatedly pushed toward the end of the season, FBI was nearing the end of production for the season, while casting for CIA was still underway, so the series was instead being considered for a straight-to-series pick-up without the backdoor pilot launch and with a new script. [2] The series was created by Dick Wolf and David Hudgins, with Hudgins initially planning to be the showrunner. [3] [4] While a procedural in nature, Hudgins said that it would be different from FBI because it would focus on the relationship dynamic between the two leads from different organizations and approaches. [5]
CBS made the straight-to-series order in April with Wolf and Hudgins executive producing along with former CIA officer David Chasteen, Nicole Perlman, and Peter Jankowski. Production companies for the series are Wolf Entertainment, CBS Studios, and Universal Television. [3] Eriq La Salle joined the series in July to direct the pilot and executive produce. [4] By July, Warren Leight took over as showrunner for Hudgins, and the series was delayed to adjust. [6] While in production, La Salle left the series, [7] followed by Leight, with both stepping down as executive producers, with Mike Weiss, FBI showrunner, expected to take over on CIA as well. [8]
Upon the series order announcement in April 2025, Tom Ellis was cast to star as the CIA case officer. [3] Ellis said he had been doing chemistry reads as part of casting for a partner on the show, and confirmed his character would be American. [9] The second lead opposite Ellis was not cast until September 2025 when Nick Gehlfuss was cast as the FBI special agent working with Ellis' CIA officer. Michael Michele was also cast as chief of the CIA's New York station, [10] and Natalee Linez joined the cast as a CIA analyst. [11] After production began, Michele left the series in November, requiring her role to be recast. [8]
The series began filming in September 2025 in New York City. [12] [7] After the departures of Michele and La Salle, production was planned to continue,<ref name="La Salle departure"> but it was ultimately put on hold when Leight left as well. [8]